I’m so grateful for my 23-year corporate career and the opportunities it gave me. I worked in different companies, sizes, and cultures with all the rich experience that brings, I was given a lot of responsibility and involved in the most interesting projects, transformations, rebrands, new company set ups, and old company overhauls, I learnt so much, and achieved things I never thought I would do when I started them. I’ve also travelled the world with my work; from Cape Town to Madrid to Hong Kong, from Moscow to Cebu to Hanoi and many other places in between, and I got the opportunity to move from London to Singapore, where I lived for four years and loved every minute.
I’m also, however, grateful it’s over, as the downside of corporate life for me were years of chronic stress and anxiety, trying to prove myself every day to whoever I was working for, and also working to my own ‘unrelenting standards’ (more on this in some of my other blog posts at www.karenhaguecoaching.com). Corporate life can be tough, we all know it if we’ve experienced it. Working for and with people that we don’t necessarily choose to, working within a culture that might be different to what we thought it would be, and doing a job that has probably changed since we applied for it.
We spend so much time at work that it has to be something we enjoy. I honestly believe that that is non-negotiable. I spent too many years miserable in a job I didn’t enjoy or wasn’t suited to, or miserable because I felt I wasn’t achieving enough, or miserable because I was working in an environment that was unhealthy for me. I understand that everyone cannot change jobs or set up their own business overnight, but if you don’t love your job or your work, change needs to happen, whether tonight or tomorrow, or next year. Life is too short to spend most of our waking hours either doing something we dislike, or thinking about something we dislike. If you don’t like your job or the people that you work with, chances are you spend a lot of time thinking about and talking about the fact that you don’t like your job, which is even more time wasted.
So if you’re unhappy at work, how can you make a change today? Change doesn’t always have to be one big change overnight, little changes every day lead to big change long term. Try one of these today if you’re feeling unhappy, overwhelmed, stressed, or burnt out, you never know it could make a difference:
Positive flip: get off the negative train. Get yourself a cup of tea and sit for 10 minutes thinking only about the positive elements of your job and your colleagues. I know if you’re having a miserable day you probably want to throw something at the screen for this suggestion, but I promise it works. It at least starts a process, and if you can force yourself to do it every day, change will start to happen.
Find meaning: what is it that led you to apply for your job in the first place? Remembering this can help to find something positive if you’re finding it difficult. What was it you liked about the company and why did you choose to work for them? This reason is probably still there, so uncover it and remember what the point was.
Work out what you want: If you don’t want what you’ve got, do you know what you want? Going through a process to work this out can help. Are you unhappy because you want a promotion or pay rise in your current company? Are you over it and want to move to a different company? Is it the job content that’s the problem and you need a change? If you get clear on what you want, and then you can start to move towards it
Set goals: set SMART goals with clear targets and timelines to get you to where you want to go. Go for the big goals if that's what you want, don't settle for less than you want. It might take you a while to get there, but you can do it.
Create a plan: underneath each goal add detail for how you will achieve them. No point in having huge goals with no plan for how you’re going to achieve them, that just creates more pressure and stress.
Control: having control over my situation certainly makes me feel happier (self confessed part-recovering control freak!). Even though there are many areas of life and work that we can’t control, what are the areas that you can? You definitely can’t control what other people do and letting go of trying can change your working life.
Learning: there are always opportunities to learn at work. Even if you’re feeling bored in your job, find colleagues you can learn from to add a different slant, or can you find a course that you can do that relates to your job and put a business case in for your company to pay for it? And if not, find the free courses and do it yourself.
Find the good ones: there are always going to be people at work that get your goat or grind your gears, that’s life. Be professional with them and find the people that you do get on with. They are always there, even though it might not feel like it at times. Find them! Having a tribe you love at work, even if it’s just one or two people, is a game changer.
Balance: work less instead of more. I say this as someone who worked long hours in corporate for 23 years trying to do better, but it doesn’t make you do better. Much better is high productivity in less hours, and going to work refreshed because you had a proper break and sleep.
Mindfulness: this is always part of my posts. Meditation, mindfulness, taking a few deep breaths, whatever version of this you can do, do it. It’s a total game changer. Taking a few deep breaths in a toilet cubicle will summon your parasympathetic nervous system and relax you. I promise if you’re stressed and feeling out of control, it will make you feel better, especially if you do it every time you go to the toilet (or anywhere else, just trying to make it easy!).
If you would like any more information on this topic, or want to discuss your situation in more detail, you can get in touch with me on karen@karenhaguecoaching.com or via my website www.karenhaguecoaching.com.
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