Who hasn’t had a friend complain about being stuck in their job? It might not even have been a friend. You might have felt that you were stuck in a job you hate and couldn’t get away.
This even happens to leaders.
Why We Feel Stuck At Our Jobs
Feeling stuck at your job is a painful feeling. Not only does it bring on a sense of dread, feeling like you don’t have an option when it comes to your work drains the life out of you.
I’ve been there. My wife has been there. And I know plenty of friends who have felt that way.
We lose a bit of ourselves the longer we feel stuck. the more life is sucked from us.
Now, there’s plenty of ways one can feel stuck at their job.
People feel stuck when they don’t have the education to advance
People feel stuck when they have money problems
People feel stuck when they have a vested interest in the organization
People feel stuck when they’ve been denigrated at work
These are but a few ways one may feel stuck in a job they hate.
There’s good news, though. You’re never truly stuck in a workplace. You have choices!
How To Not Get Stuck At Your Job
Here’s the hopeful thing. You can escape that job you hate.
It’ll take work, but I know you can do it. Especially when you want to get out of a bad working environment.
You can get unstuck by being wise with your money: One thing employers love is when an employee takes out a loan to buy a new car or a house. They get very excited about this.
When you go out and get a loan to purchase a big-ticket item, you’re now beholden to that job to pay for that fancy car payment, vacation loan you took out, or other payment-based ways of making a purchase.
Think twice before signing any kind of loan. Unless you want to feel stuck at your job.
You can get unstuck by continuing your education: It’s easy to feel stuck in a position you hate when you’re not improving. To move forward, you need to increase your marketable skills.
Take night classes, read books (here’s a great list of books to read), watch educational YouTube videos.
You can make yourself more attractive to future employers by increasing your skills. Unless you want to feel stuck at your job.
You can get unstuck by networking with others: Another reason people feel stuck in a job they loathe is because they don’t know anyone outside of their workplace.
As you begin to reach out and make connections, you will see there’s a lot of opportunites out there.
Don’t be afraid to reach out and make new contacts. Unless you want to feel stuck at your job.
Getting unstuck isn’t easy but it’s crucial for you to live a life you enjoy.
Going into a workplace you can’t stand doesn’t do you any good. And it doesn’t do your employer any good.
Take the steps to get unstuck and you will see what’s out there. Even if you’re not feeling stuck, these practices are a good thing to put into action.
They’ll keep you fresh and available for when new opportunities arise. You want that, right?
Question: How do you get unstuck when you feel stuck at your organization? Let’s help each other out and discuss it in the comment section below.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.