I Hate My Job

Know Why Most People Hate Their Jobs?

Have you ever caught yourself saying these four words, “I hate my job”…?  They are often followed by, “God help me!”

When that feeling bubbles up, it doesn’t take long to identify the root of that toxic thinking.  Most Americans who hate their jobs do so for the same reason.

Care to take a guess at the number one reason why people hate their jobs?  Their direct manager!

That’s probably not very shocking when we stop and think about it.  When we have an inspiring, compassionate, interested and engaged manager, we tend to reflect those traits.  The same is true if we have a dull, insensitive, uninterested and disengaged manager.  We tend to lose our desire to give extra.

All of Us Land in One of Four Categories:

• Engaged
• Satisfied
• Disengaged
• Actively Disengaged

Engaged employees go above and beyond, striving to make themselves and the company successful.  They feel commitment to and from the company.  Their focus is “We win”.

Satisfied employees tend to just do their job, focused only on their own personal success and not the company’s.  Most times they feel committed to the work but no commitment from their company.  Their focus is “I win.”

Disengaged employees are those that have lost drive and ambition. They tend to complain some and can be found unproductive and inefficient.  They believe the company is non-supportive and disinterested in their well-being.  Their focus is “I lose.”

Actively disengaged employees have not only lost drive and ambition, they feel angry at work. They have grievances at many levels and are certain their company is out to make life difficult to them. They take steps to undermine the success of the company by sabotaging customer relationships, internal relationships or outright stealing from the company (be it time or materials). Their focus is “You lose.”

Is it OK to Hate Our Job?

As followers of Christ, which of these four states of mind are acceptable?

To answer the question, re-read each definition but this time, replace “company” with “God.”

Engaged employees go above and beyond, striving to make themselves and God successful.  They feel commitment to and from God.

Satisfied employees tend to just do their job, focused only on their own personal success and not God’s.  Most times they feel committed to the work but no commitment from God.

Disengaged employees believe God is non-supportive and disinterested in their well-being.

Actively disengaged have grievances and are certain God is out to make life difficult for them. They take steps to undermine the success of God by sabotaging relationships.

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for man

We probably realized quickly that being disengaged or actively disengaged at work is not acceptable as a Christian.  In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, God says we are to work as though we are working for Him and not man.  That means working very hard to be engaged all the time.  This includes those times when you have a manager/boss that is mean or unappreciative or uncaring or harsh or __you fill in the blank__.

So how do we change our perspective in such a way as to get engaged even while reporting to a “bad” boss?  Jesus has the answer:

Matthew 5:44
But I say love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

I am taking this verse only slightly out of context.  I say slightly because the word persecute means “to drive away”.  Although your boss is probably not actively trying to make you quit, we sometimes feel he or she just doesn’t want us around.

So what do we do?

The Answer is Prayer

We pray!  This is where we say, “God help me!”  This is where we pray for our manager too.  Pray for their well-being.  Pray that we will find favor in their eyes.  Pray that our work will be a blessing to them. Pray we will have compassion for them.

This will not only make a difference in that relationship, it will also help us draw closer to God.  After all, He placed us right where we are for a reason.

If you have a situation at work that seems impossible, drop me a line through my Contact tab.  I would love to hear from you.

To His name be the glory through our career.

Shawn Sommerkamp is a motivational speaker and Executive Coach with 20+ years of Fortune 100 leadership experience.  He founded Motivationeer™ to coach Christian professionals how to bring the power of Christ’s word, as the foundation of career success, into corporate and small business America.