Are You In the Wrong Job?

The clock ticks. It is getting closer to the start of your shift.

Your stomach turns.

Your head throbs.

You feel little beads of sweat forming in your palms.

You just don’t want to go. Are you sick? Yeah, maybe you’re sick!

Or, maybe you will have a small fender bender on the way to work. Nothing serious, of course. Just enough to have a legitimate reason to not go to work!

This is normal, right? I mean, no one really likes going to work, do they?

If this describes how you feel about work, you may be in the wrong job. While most people have some “Sunday blues”, thoughts of going to work should not cause physical or emotional distress.

How do you know the difference?

Below are 6 signs you may be in the wrong job.

You are no longer growing.

You feel stagnate. If you were to update your resume today, there would be no new accomplishments, skills or certifications to include. You do the bare minimum when it comes to continuing education and professional development. You simply just do enough to get by.

If your work no longer pushes you to do and be more, it may be time for a change. You may need to start looking for something that gives you the desire to reach for the stars again.

You are always exhausted.

You understand stress. You have been balancing a busy nursing career, a spouse, kids, pets, soccer games and more for years. But, this time, it’s different.

No matter how much rest you get, you simply don’t feel refreshed. And, thoughts of going back to work only make it worse. You may be experiencing burnout.

Burnout is a state of chronic stress that causes physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism, detachment and feelings of inadequacy.

When we experience stress, the normal reaction is to over-engage. Burnout causes us to disengage.  

Burnout is serious. If you are experiencing the signs of burnout, you need to start making space for you. Take some time to reflect on what is driving these feelings. If it is work, you may be in the wrong job.

You are a different person at work.

Work causes you to move outside of your normal comfort zone. This is good. It helps you to grow.

However, if your job is requiring you to be the queen of multi-tasking and you thrive in an environment where you can complete one task prior to moving to the next, it may be time to look for something new.

When you are required to work in a way that goes against who you are every day, you will always feel stressed. This constant level of stress will quickly lead to burnout. Realizing you are in the wrong job prior to this prolonged level of stress is paramount for your overall health and well-being.

You are using more sick days.

Dreading work all of the time may cause you to call off work more than you used to. Sometimes it is for legitimate reasons, and other times…… well, may not.

When you don’t like your job, it is easier to walk away and not feel bad about it. So, finding reasons to not go in, becomes easier and easier.

If you are calling off for no reason, you may be in the wrong job.

You gossip more.

When you don’t like your job, you are more willing to do things that may not be characteristic of you, like gossiping. When you have negative feelings about the facility, your nursing supervisor or other aspects of your job, you will likely find others who feel that way too.

This leads to gossiping and other negative behaviors. When you gossip, you may feel better initially. But, as time goes on, you will start to realize you are simply adding to the toxic work environment. Others will start to take notice too.

Unless you can challenge yourself to drop the negativity, you may need to admit you’re in the wrong job.

You no longer find joy in workplace victories.

Your unit just won an award for the least amount of call offs during the holiday. Everyone is excited that each shift is getting a catered a mea!. All of the other nurses are smiling and happy about this.

Not you. You find yourself being cynical and negative.

When you feel as though you have lost the ability to be happy at work and feel camaraderie with others, it may be time to look for something new.

This is hard.

Admitting you are in the wrong job is difficult, but it is not failure! It can actually be a win. You could be on the verge of something new and great! Look at this as an opportunity and start to research your options.