Tell me why I don’t like Mondays

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If you were lucky enough to get a decent break over Christmas you will have come back to work one of two ways:

1) You've had your fill - literally and metaphorically - of the Christmas excess and the lazy days. You’re fully energised and pumped up for working. Your New Year’s resolutions include being more efficient at your job and aiming for that promotion.

2) You've been dreading coming back to work for days. You made a resolution for a dry January, yet you needed those couple of glasses of wine or few beers to save you from tossing and turning the night before coming back.

If the answer is 2, or something similar, now’s the time to act on it and it doesn't necessarily mean leaving your job. First thing to do is to pin-point why you dread going to work, if you haven’t done so already. It might be more than one thing. When you go home tonight take a piece of paper and write down what you like about your job and what you dislike. Then try to challenge and change the things you dislike.

Address the issue at work

If you feel you’re going nowhere in your job, set up a plan for your next one-on-one with your manager. Let them know how you feel, if they don’t already know. They might not see the signs that you’re de-motivated. Use it as an opportunity to show how good you are at your job. Even just listing your successes can sometimes give you a lift. Ask your manager what you need to do to get promoted or get a pay rise. If neither is available, or that isn't the issue, ask about changes in your job role or if you can take on some cross-department work.

Equally, if the issue is with your manager or other members of your team, bring the subject up in your one-on-one. It’s a very delicate subject, but if you don’t raise it, it will never get addressed.

Maybe you've already thought of and attempted to remedy some of the pointers above, or others. If so and you've not had any success, you might need to consider a change.

If you’re employed by a large company and you like working there, you could check for job opportunities in other departments or locations. Have a chat with a HR representative to see what options are available.

Change jobs

You may have just decided that the job and company you work for isn't going to get any better. If you’re happy with the career you are following, check out what jobs are available to you via job boards such as Irishjobs or Monster, Linkedin or a recruitment agency.

If you choose an agency that specialises in your field, they can help you from start to finish. A good specialist recruitment consultant can let you know what the current market is like in your profession i.e. opportunities and salaries. They can review and improve your CV and will represent you in relation to jobs that match your skillset.

Having that third party is really valuable, as they have direct communication with the hiring company and can sell your attributes stronger than a direct CV will do.

Equally, they will coach you for your interview, with specific tips in relation to the interviewers and they can also negotiate salary for you. Another advantage, which is just as important, is the solid feedback a consultant can receive on your performance, if you are unsuccessful. Although it’s worth noting that the hiring company is under no obligation to provide feedback.

Change career

The reason for wanting to leave your job may be because you want a complete change in your career. That can be a bit more challenging. Do you know what you want to do? If not it might be worth considering a career coach, who can help you analyse your strengths and what you enjoy doing, to establish some options for you. Once you've decided on your new career path you need to start walking that route.

A lot of job roles require qualifications as well as experience, even administrative or retail positions can ask for these. So you might be heading back to school. Once you've achieved your qualification, you might need to work voluntarily, just to build up that crucial experience that proves you can do the job.

A career change might be a drastic move, but the bottom line is that no-one should be miserable in their job on a day-to-day basis. We all have our ups and downs in work, but if the downs far outweigh the ups and you’re having the Sunday tipple, just to take away the dread from facing work the next day, that is not sustainable. You need to act.

We spend most of our life in work, some of us are lucky enough to love our jobs, the rest should at least like theirs. Make your resolution to end your unhappiness.

Stephen Flanagan
Senior Marketing Manager
Ireland

HAYS Recruiting experts worldwide
16 Fitzwilliam Street Upper
Dublin 2

T: +353 1 619 0580
E: stephen.flanagan@hays.com