Stuck in a job

you can’t quit?

by Claire

Perhaps you’re procrastinating about leaving a job that’s burning you out. Maybe you have a new manager who doesn’t support your ambitions. Or you’ve hit a milestone age and life isn’t exactly what you thought it would look like…

It’s more common than we think to have these thoughts and feel disconnected with our working life. For a lot of us self-worth and identity are deeply rooted in our career, plus financial stability can outweigh the potential of a career move, keeping us stuck instead of curious.

What should you do if you find yourself in this situation? Are there any ways to get unstuck in your career?

1) Get some space and find life in other things: Pursue your passions, pick up a book, nurture your friendships. What’s more consider how you can step beyond your comfort zone to gain new perspective. Volunteer, start an exercise class, try a new recipe. Whether it’s something big or small, stretching yourself can really help you breakthrough the stagnation, and bring fresh energy into your life.

2) Get clarity on the root cause:

Once you’ve taken some distance, it can be helpful to try to better understand why you’re feeling stuck at work. For example: Taking the job solely for the money? Realising the position doesn’t match the one you interviewed for? Not being challenged enough? Being assigned tasks that don’t relate to your strengths or vision? Having to deal with difficult colleague(s) or long unflexible working hours?

This exercise will help you to establish if the issue is a temporary one and where to focus your efforts to rekindle the fire, or whether it’s time to look for an alternative career path.

3) Re-establish your values & what matters most: If you’re anything like me, the thought of uncovering what drives you can feel intimidating & off-putting. But it doesn’t need to entail endless soul-searching. A very practical and tangible way to get back into alignment can be to write a list. Get down all the things you enjoy about this role (or previous ones) and why. Knowing what you don’t like can also be a good indicator to be clearer in what you do want.

These 3 initial steps, are just that, initial steps worth exploring when feeling stuck in a job that no longer fulfils you. Finding ourselves in a rut can feel uncomfortable. Don’t be afraid of the discomfort. It’s our body’s way of telling us something isn’t right in our current set up. It’s urging us to change. And if it’s feeling overwhelming, just take it one small step at a time, until you’re feeling more aligned and inspired to take action.

Photo by Lauren Mancke on Unsplash