Stress from a wretched job you loathe can quickly turn your home life upside down.
You’re not alone if you completely loathing your job, this feeling certainly isn’t new for many of us. If you’re a single guy there are some great options out there for you but if you are a parent, you likely don’t have the luxury of flipping the double birds and bouncing on an urge. Health insurance and a paycheck may mean you need to stick around because you are a responsible family man.
However, as a responsible man who is sticking with a job you hate just to pay the mortgage can take a toll on your mental and physical health—not to mention the stress you cause to your family. Also, you run a risk of burnout which can change your personality which will eventually leach over to your peers at work.
As a family guy, quitting your crappy job isn’t much of an option, so your strategy on how to manage this stress at work and at home needs to be a priority. Here are some ideas you can ponder to help you with work life integration.
‘Why’
Why did you take the job in the first place? Was it for the money, the challenge, or was it a dream job? Now you hate your job, what has changed? Maybe you got passed up for a promotion, you have a new boss, your co-workers have changed. With these disappointments or changes you should try to remember why you were inspired to take the job in the first place. Try to keep in mind what drew to that job in the first place, maybe it was the passion, goals, or even values of the company. Has hard as it might be, try to stay the course until a better opportunity comes along.
Take a Break
OMG! Take a break. Give yourself the opportunity to recharge throughout the day, this includes at home. Good news is that you don’t have to take long breaks. If you work in an office environment, go for a short walk every hour. Perhaps you work a more physically demanding job, find a place to relax for 10 minutes every hour. After a long crappy day at work, walking into a house full of kids can be overwhelming. I have a rule when I arrive at home from work, my kids can’t ask any question for 15 minutes. This gives me time to change and put my ‘dad hat’ back on.
Give Yourself an Incentive
Give yourself something to look forward at the end of the day or a long week. Just looking forward to something fun can motive you to push through day or week. Plan a date night, take in a movie, meet some friends for dinner and drinks. Heck go bowling, throwing and hit stuff make me fill better and they have beer there.
It’s the Small Wins
To make you day more tolerable, accept and celebrate the small wins. Focus on the areas you can control; it doesn’t have to be completing some meaningless work project. It can simply be making time for lunch with a peer, taking breaks more often, or even signing up for a new project that outside your comfort zone. Acknowledge these small wins, it may keep you sane.
Home…It’s Your Time
For many of us, there is no such thing as work life balance. Prioritize your workload so you don’t bring it home with you. You need to focus on your family when at home as much as possible. Yes, work emergencies pop-up, learn to recognize when these work-related ‘emergencies’ start increasingly creeping back into your home time. Don’t be apprehensive to talk to your boss about boundaries or some sort of compensation. Your time is worth money.
Talk to Your Boss
Believe it or not, your boss isn’t a mind reader. Even though he/she may talk to you everyday they may not know you are struggling with your job. If you think your job is worth saving try talking to your boss, maybe between the both of you two you all may find a tolerable compromise. The good thing, most employers are reasonable with good performers they will be afraid to lose you.
Time to Bounce
You found a new opportunity! Before making any rash decisions be sure to talk with your wife. Write down the pros and cons as well as short- and long-term goals. Sacrifices will have to made even if you have a new career lined up. Most times, you won’t have as much leave, might have a gap in paychecks, perhaps the work schedule is different, and the stress of juggling a new career and co-workers can take some time to adjust.
Stop Overthinking is great book to read if you are struggling with stress in your life and ways to coupe with it. It’s a straightforward approach on how to apply the techniques found in this book.
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