How to Turn the Job You Hate into the Job You Love

Very few people love every aspect of their job. There are countless articles on doing purpose-driven work for a purpose-driven company. These articles suggest loving your job is as simple as finding a career aligned with your passion. Even more so if the organization has a purpose that enables that passion. What if passion and purpose are present and you still hate your job? How do you turn the job you hate into the job you love?

Those statements and goals are correct. At the very least, it helps you through the functions of your role that aren’t as sexy. It gives you a higher tolerance for annoying co-workers, nasty office politics, and evil bosses. So you found a job that feeds your passion. You found a company with a purpose you can rally behind. Now you have to turn the job you hate into the job you love.

First, recognize you will have responsibilities and tasks that aren’t always fun. It is OK to hate your job from time to time. However, if you hate your job more often than you love it these things may help.

1. Take time off.

Has it been a while since you’ve taken time off? Perhaps you take a day here and a day there rather than a week at a time. Everyone needs to disconnect because doing so will recharge and reignite your passion. Taking time off brings clarity and helps refocus on what matters. When you are in the eye of the hurricane, it is nearly impossible to have an objective view of things. For that reason, taking time off can help turn the job you hate into the job you love.

2. Recommend changes to the job description and love your job again.

When was the last time updates were made to your job description? How long have you been in the role? Tasks are added to your workload over time. It happens because putting it anywhere else doesn’t make sense or you had the time. The last time you looked at the job description was when you applied for the position. So spend about an hour and bullet point your primary day-to-day tasks. Next, dig out the job description and compare the two. Finally, address any gaps with your manager. Updating your job description can turn a job you hate into a job you love.

3. Find opportunities to serve on cross-functional project teams when you hate your job.

Cross-function project teams are a great way to turn a job you hate into a job you love. When organizations are implementing new technologies or processes, they form cross-functional teams. Doing so gives each department representation on how new technology or processes will impact them. Let your manager know you are interested in these types of opportunities to find love for your job again.

4. Identify the moments of passion and build on them to love your job again.

Identifying correlations in the daily tasks that make you happy helps turn a job you hate into a job you love. Work with your manager to build more of whatever that is into your daily tasks and find ways to minimize the areas that bring the most frustration. Look for learning opportunities in the areas of your job that seem dull or monotonous. Identify ways to automate tasks or that would be better served by another team.

5. Become a mentor.

There is nothing more rewarding and energizing that mentoring someone else. Mentoring turns a job you hate into a job you love because it provides an opportunity for you to spread your passion to others. You can mentor co-workers or better yet, find people outside your organization. Join groups of like-minded people through sites like LinkedIn and meetup.com to find opportunities to share your knowledge.

6. Learning and development help you love your job again.

Work with your organization’s talent development team or your manager on a development plan. Seek out development for the next step in your career path or to deepen your knowledge in your current role. Learning brings excitement and reinvigorates you. It helps you find new ways to solve old problems. Most noteworthy is development gives you the feeling of progress and forward movement. Learning and development turns a job you hate into a job you love.

7. Succession planning is vital when you’re in a job you hate.

If despite your best efforts, you are unsuccessful at turning a job you hate into a job you love, start training your replacement. You might be thinking,” what do I care about my replacement.” Part of any good exit strategy is to avoid burning bridges. By training your replacement, you will be able to exit your job with little impact on the team or organization. Having someone fully ready to step into your role also positions you for advancement. Additionally, succession planning gives you the opportunity to mentor and train. It could reignite your passion and turn a job you hate into a job you love.

Regardless of how you feel when it comes to passion and purpose at work, it is vital to be in a job you love. People spend more waking hours at work than anywhere else. It takes you from your friends and family. As a result, when you find yourself feeling stuck and hating your job, find ways to turn it into a job you love.