How to Stay Positive at Work When You Hate Your Job

We’ve all had a job we hate at one time or another. There, we spend our days hunched over a computer watching the seconds tick by as we wait for another horrible day to end. The management and company culture are awful and you feel the work you do is meaningless. So how do you stay positive every day at a job you hate?

To stay positive at work when you hate your job, you first need to determine whether you really hate your job. It’s possible you may just be annoyed with certain elements of the job that are temporary. If it is your job that’s driving you crazy, there are ways to keep your spirits up. Doing your best work, having tough conversations, and even meditation can help you to get through each day a little easier.

In this article, we’ll help you determine if you hate your job or you’re just annoyed with it. We’ll also provide you with ways to cope with your situation if you can’t quit your job just yet. You can even incorporate mindfulness practices into dealing with a lousy job. Don’t worry — we’ll show you how to do that as well, so read on.

What to Do When You Hate Your Job

It’s safe to say most of us have sat down at our desk and thought “I hate my job” at some point or another. Unless you’re one of those blessed few people who honestly love what they do, you probably feel a sense of sadness the night before you have to go to work.

As the work week begins, some of us can push through and feel positive and productive. At the very least, there’s a decent paycheck to look forward to at the end of the week.

What if that sense of dread doesn’t pass, but only grows as you drive to work each day? You can’t bear the thought of looking at your email inbox. The walls are closing in and you keep counting down the minutes until you can run out the door. You hate your job so much you end up bringing home with you the hostility and frustration. Before you know it, the few precious hours you have away from work have been tainted.

You may be intent on sticking it out as long as possible at your job despite your feelings. You may also find yourself in a situation where you simply can’t quit because of finances or other factors. If you find your daily narrative begins with “I hate my job”, there is hope. There are ways to keep yourself motivated, hold your head up, and maybe even move on.

Identification Time: Is It Hate or Just Annoyance?

Any job has the potential to get under your skin at some point. The first step to staying positive is to learn the difference between being annoyed and truly feeling hatred for your job. Having a passion project delayed or missing a promotion can be annoying and even disheartening, but these are temporary.

Feeling overwhelmed by the volume of work you have to do and panicking over whether you can get it done can make you want to throw in the towel. You agree to far too many assignments in the hopes it will improve your standing. Supervisors and management have unrealistic expectations about what goes into completing a task. This can lead to frequent disagreements between you and your superiors, which in turn creates resentment.

Another big factor in hating your job is disengagement. You fail to see any direct connection to your job’s purpose or value. It’s not about how much work is stacked on your plate. Rather, the work feels insufferable, boring, and meaningless. These feelings coupled with chronic stress or lack of advancement opportunities can make your job intolerable.

To identify if you hate your job or its circumstances, begin by assessing your work environment. Try to pinpoint the root of what’s making you miserable so you can start to work towards solutions. Once you determine where you fall on the annoyance vs. hate spectrum, you can find your way back out.

Ways to Maintain a Positive Mindset When You Hate Your Job

Toughing it out at a job you’ve grown to hate is enough to push anyone past their breaking point. As much as you’d love to pack up your desk and walk out, quitting may not be a realistic avenue.

Fortunately for you, there are things you can do to make the worst part of your day just a little more bearable. Check out these five tips to try when you hate your job instead of storming out the front door.

1. Remember Your Mindfulness Techniques

When your job becomes overwhelming, turn to the mindfulness techniques we’ve covered in previous articles. Stop, take a moment, and bring yourself in line with the present. Understand the difficulties you face are temporary and will pass. Observe what is happening around you and allow these things to go by without judgment. Repeat this as often as you feel is necessary.

Your mindfulness practices can also be done while you are on a break or at lunch. Set aside a few minutes for a meditation session in a quiet part of your workplace. If such a place isn’t readily available to you, then you can always perform walking meditation outside. Or put in those earbuds and listen to some short audios that help clear your mind. Practice mindful breathing exercises at your desk anytime things get overwhelming.

2. Remind Yourself You Are Not Your Job

Too often you can attach your personal identity to your job. After all, you put considerable time and energy into your career. This can make you feel like a failure when the company you work for falls short of your expectations. Putting a degree of emotional distance between yourself and your job can help you feel better about your situation.

Rediscover your personal life outside of work. Sign up to volunteer at an organization that resonates with you. Rekindle your love for an old hobby or try out a new one. Take some time to revive friendships that may have suffered due to your work stress. These different experiences will help you enjoy life and reinvigorate your mind and spirit.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Have Tough Conversations

After you’ve discovered what factors are making you hate your job, take some time to speak to your superiors. Are you feeling your pay isn’t matching up to your workload? Is the work you do becoming too overwhelming for you? Are you frustrated with a colleague not pulling their weight? See if your management team can address these issues or make any adjustments.

You bosses are there to supervise you, yes, but also to support and encourage you. They’re supposed to help foster your growth. If there are factors making you hate your job, it’s up to you to speak up about them. Employers will do what they can to keep good employees from leaving. Together you may come up with great solutions to make you happier and address your concerns.

4. Change Your Perspective

When you’re unhappy with what you’re doing, it becomes all too easy to simply go through the motions. You feel you’re biding your time and putting in hours until you can finally get out of your situation. This kind of negative attitude only compounds matters. Shifting your perspective could help make a world of difference for you.

Don’t look at it as just another slot of time you have to push through to escape. Few things are more challenging than getting through a shift at a job you hate. Approach each day as a new chance to hone your skills and overcome new challenges. Try to look at each individual situation you encounter rather than getting overwhelmed by the thought of your entire day.

5. Do Your Absolute Best Work

It might strike you as counterintuitive to give your all to a job you can’t stand, but try it.

Hating your job makes it tempting to coast by with minimal effort. Falling into the rut of mediocrity will only increase your discontented feelings. You already hate your job enough. There’s no need to magnify those feelings any further.

Push through the negativity and continue to do your job to the absolute best of your abilities. Doing this will help lift your spirits and boost your confidence. Remind yourself of this even if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing. If nothing else, you can go home at the end of the day feeling good about the work you’ve done.

Conclusion

Hating your job can make maintaining a positive attitude impossible. When you don’t feel valued and you’re heavily overworked, you can fall into negative feelings. If you wake up every work day feeling a sense of impending doom over the day to come, it’s time to evaluate your situation.

Take stock of whether you’re just annoyed by aspects of your job or you’ve truly grown to hate it. Once you’ve established where your feelings are, make the necessary adjustments to try and turn your mindset around. Incorporate your mindfulness practices when you can and you’ll be back on the road to happiness in no time. Good luck!