How to Survive a Job You Hate

Based on the most popular articles on this blog, a fair number of you hate your job.

Sadly, there are all sorts of reasons why just finding a new job isn’t possible (right now, at least).

Some examples can include:

• You get paid well above market rate and would have to take a serious pay drop if you went elsewhere.
• You’re waiting patiently for a new promotion, pay raise or sideways movement that you’ve been promised.
• You’re hoping to apply for a mortgage, and you don’t want to switch jobs part way through the process.
• You’ve looked around and there simply aren’t any suitable jobs right now.

Whatever the case, some of us just have to suck it up and continue working at a job we hate.

So if your fantasies of telling your boss where he or she can stick their job isn’t going to happen any time soon, the next obvious question is how do you survive a job you hate without driving yourself mad?

Trust me – I’ve been in that exact situation more than once.

So today I’d like to talk about some of the tips that I’ve personally found helped to make a terrible job more bearable.

This Too Shall Pass

The first thing to realize is that while you may be stuck in your boring, soul-sucking job right now – but it’s unlikely that you’re stuck there forever.

Your experience will grow. New opportunities will open up. New employers will open their doors. Heck, the entire market could change at any point.

Therefore try not to feel trapped and caged, but instead tell yourself that you’re merely in a “holding pattern” until something better comes along.

Find Your Purpose

Why do you work to begin with?

Some people might simply say that they have to in order to make ends meet. But think a little deeper about that seemingly simple sentence and notice all the benefits it provides. For you. For your family. Perhaps even for wider society.

What if, for example, you continuing at the job you hate allows you to feed and clothe your children? It lets you take your partner out on date night. It pays for the motorcycle you love to ride on weekends. It lets you give generously to charities that you support.

The reality is that work is really a means to an end. If you can find no meaning in your work, then try to find meaning in the lifestyle the money you’re earning provides.

You may well find, like I did, that finding your purpose – a big, lofty goal you’re achieving thanks to your job – makes it more bearable.

After all, it’s a lot easier to ignore your bosses constant aggression when you’ve only got a couple more hours till you can sail out of the door for a weekend of fun with your family.

Stoicism in the Workplace

Over the last twelve months I’ve spent a fair amount of time reading about stoicism.

Should it be a new concept to you the most basic explanation is that there is a clear differentiation between external forces and internal forces. And we can control how the two interact.

Let me give you an example…

One of your team messed up over the weekend, and the company website went down for the best part of two days. It’s Monday morning and, while the website is now back up, you’ve just been called into your bosses office for a roasting. Not a great way to start the week.

Most people would allow the negativity of that situation, of being held to account, of being criticised, to affect them internally. They’d come out stressed, angry and/or depressed.

However, with practise you can learn to sever the link between the internal and external. Culture an attitude of serenity and refuse to let external forces to affect it. Let these negative experiences wash off you like water off a duck’s back.

After all, whether it’s tomorrow, next week or next month, your bosses anger will subside. You’ll forget all about the situation eventually. So why not choose to do it now?

Become the Lowest Common Denominator

A risky strategy I will admit, but in every job I’ve ever had there have been people operating below my exacting personal standards.

They turn up late. They do bad work. They spend their entire shift talking. They achieve nothing.

Then they get paid the same you – while you’re gritting your teeth with the unfairness of it all.

Guess what – you could be that person too. After all, if they’re genuinely getting away with it then there’s nothing to say you can’t do the same.

You could stop caring. And when you stop caring, you stop worrying so much. And that can make your job far less stressful and more bearable.

Of course, this strategy does come with risk. You could get pulled up at any time. But hopefully pointing out all the other people doing the same (“benchmarking”) should pretty quickly help you win the argument. All the same, appreciate there is risk to this idea.

Upskill

Spending most of your time and energy on a job you hate can make it feel like you’re just treading water, going nowhere with your career. Another option is therefore to invest into increasing your skill level.

Whether you do this in the workplace or in your free time will depend on a range of factors.

Learning new (marketable) skills helps you to take control of the situation, and makes you more employable in the future. So get those certificates. Read those books. You’ll find it ever easier to escape as you upskill, meaning that the finish line gets closer every day.

Make More of Your Free Time

I know from my personal experience of jobs I hated that when the weekend rolled around all I wanted to do was laze about the house. I didn’t have any energy left to do much that could be considered “fun”. 

However I found that when I did really push myself to do something “fun” – normally because friends would press-gang me into an event I had tried to avoid – I actually had a great time. The following week at work, in comparison, seemed that much less painful.

If your job sucks, therefore, you need to make your non-work time as valuable, exciting and enjoyable as humanly possible.

You might even want to spend a little bit of money on “treats” so you experience the fruits of your labours.

Count Your Blessings

I’ve written before about the years I spent in terrible retail jobs – long, antisocial hours, missing out on family parties, always being stressed and tired. Sometimes I’d start work at 4.30am, and other times I’d finish long after midnight. It sucked.

While I’m glad I escaped from that career once and for all, after I walked out of the store for the very last time I realized there were actually some good things about the job. Things I’d taken for granted.

For example, my odd shift patterns meant that there was never any traffic on the roads (= super-fast commuting).

I had some weekdays off each week, which meant everywhere I wanted to go was lovely and quiet.

I was also compensated enough to pay off a whole load of debt.

And if I’m honest, now I work Monday-Friday, 9am till 5pm, I’m sick of getting stuck in traffic, and finding everywhere so busy at weekends.

So try to get away from the “I hate everything about my job” mindset. Instead, think about the good parts of your job. Pay more attention to them going forward, and your job probably won’t feel quite so bad.

Change Your Level of Responsibility

Over the years I’ve received a number of promotions – and with them a pay raise. Which is great. Isn’t that what we all want – more money?

The downside of course is all the additional responsibility that gets piled onto your shoulders.

These days I often look longingly at the people doing the job I used to have. They arrive dead on 9am. They have no worries all day except for meeting their targets. Then they leave dead on 5pm.

All that while I live in a whirlwind of meetings, negotiations and performance reviews.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but my life was a lot simpler (and more enjoyable) when I first started out.

So another option if you hate your job is to change your level of responsibility. Could you take a step down to a different position, or somehow offload some of your workload onto someone else? Could you promote someone and then give them a load of your tasks?

Heaven forbid, could you even consider stepping up to a higher level of responsibility; it might just be that such a situation will transform your job and make things exciting again – at least for a while.

Start a Side Hustle

Starting a small business of some kind can be an exciting proposition. It gives you a reason to come home. It can bring in additional cash. It can encourage you to learn and develop your skills.

Speaking personally I wrote and self-published an ebook many years ago which still brings in revenue to this day. And, of course, the topic I speak about most: I now run a number of profitable blogs.

So consider how you could start making more money outside of work. At the worst you’ll learn new skills. With enough patience you should start to bring in some side income. If you’re lucky you might even be able to replace your job entirely – instantly solving your problem.

Conclusion

Many jobs suck – you’re certainly not alone. However if you can’t escape right now and your job is driving you up the walls then there are things you can do to improve your situation. The key is taking action.

In closing – leave a comment below and tell me what has helped you to survive a job that you hate?