Many people who come into my office tell me they are unhappy with their career.

Some of them describe what I call the blue flu – they consistently dread going into work not because of a physical ailment but because they are so unhappy in their job.

How to Be Happier at Work

One of our first steps to helping them be happier in a career is to uncover the root of their unhappiness.

Some typical reasons are listed below:

• Is it the work itself?
• Is it only some of the tasks that are creating the unhappiness, but those tasks take up a high percentage of their work day?
• Is it the work environment or culture?
• Is it the interactions with their co-workers or boss?
• Is it the hours they work or lack of flexibility?
• Is it the commute?
• Is it a combination of many of the reasons above?
• Is it the lack of appreciation or recognition for exceptional work?
• Is it the poor prospects for a promotion or raise?

The reasons why my clients are unhappy with their jobs differ greatly. Once we uncover the root of the unhappiness, we can address it properly. In our coaching sessions, we create a plan to address this unhappiness and craft a strategy to help them find or shape a satisfying career.

What kind of work strategies can address this unhappiness?

• For some clients, they need to completely find a new line of work. A career that more closely aligns with their skills and interests.
• For others, they will continue with the same type of work, but they need to find a new company to work for. The environment is draining them and keeping them from enjoying the work that they do.
• They need to find a culture that more aligns with their work values.
• Other clients simply need help identifying changes that they can make or affect that will allow them to eliminate/mitigate the sources of dissatisfaction with their current job.
• Some clients decide to open their own business and begin to realize a dream they had not considered implementing previously.
• Others who own their business, decide to either go back to the corporate work environment, or decide to redesign their business model and continue to own their own business but in a new way.

There are ways to address the unhappiness in your career. Unfortunately, there is no magic button you can push to make this unhappiness go away immediately. However, with some work, you can begin to look forward to going to work each day!