This question often takes a lot of different forms:
“Am I in the right job?”
“Am I at the right company?”
“Should I switch companies?”
or “Should I change positions?”
I’m going to try to address all of those here.
No, you are not in the right job. You’re in the wrong job because you searched for this topic on the internet. There must be some reason(s) why you are asking the question, as well as some doubts about your current work situation. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your current company or even position are wrong, and they very well could be right for you, but something needs to change.
Let’s try to get to the bottom of what is going wrong in your current job position and what are the correct steps to take to fix it.
What’s the Problem?
The first step in determining what your next steps should be is to figure out what’s causing you to ask the question. Here are a few example questions that might help you start to narrow down the problem:
- Are you paid enough?
- Are you excited about how much you get paid?
- Do you enjoy the work?
- Is the work rewarding?
- Is the work interesting?
- Did you choose your current job position, or did you feel pressured into it by friends, family, or societal/cultural pressures?
- Do you like your boss?
- Do you enjoy the team you work with?
- Does the company culture or environment make you feel comfortable and great?
- Do you believe in the goals and mission of the company?
- Do you feel like you’re making a difference in your company?
- Do you feel like you’re making a difference in the world?
If you answered negatively to any of these questions, you can start to drill down better to the root of the issue. There are some helpful categorizations and mathematical ways to better evaluate the problem more holistically.
Review the 3 Factors of Job Satisfaction
Refer to my article over here for a detailed breakdown on the 3 Factors of Job Satisfaction, and how to evaluate them properly.
For the purposes of this post, I’ll summarize the main categories here:
- Compensation – These are all of the factors of your job that have to do with the money (or perceived money) that you receive from your work. So this includes:
- Take-home pay/salary
- 401K match
- Health benefits
- Bonuses
- Anything else that you receive from work that can be tied to a dollar amount
- Work Environment – These are all the factors of your job that influence your physical/mental/social/emotional work environment. So this includes:
- Your Manager (and how you like them)
- Coworkers (and how you like them)
- Office Politics
- Physical Work Space (desk, lighting, nearby hazards, etc.)
- Physical Work Space Perks (pool table, arcade machine, etc.)
- Flexibility (hours of work, days of work, ability to take vacation, etc.)
- Paid Time Off/Paid Holidays
- etc.
- Engagement – These are all of the factors of your job that have to do with your interest in the job, ability to grow, impact on the company, or impact on the world. So this includes:
- How much you love the work
- How much you believe in the company/mission
- Passion
- Fulfillment Level
- Amount of Recognition
- Learning/Growing Opportunities
The rest of this article will sort of be a “choose your own adventure” experience. Once you’ve figured out what’s bugging you, find the corresponding section below to help with tips on what to do to resolve it. Be honest with yourself. If you’re making enough money to pay all of your bills with a little extra leftover for things you want to buy, then compensation may not be the problem. Would you be happy “working” if it meant getting paid your current salary to play video games and eat pizza with your friends all day? If so then the problem likely isn’t compensation, it’s work environment or engagement.
I’m Not Receiving Enough Compensation
On the surface, most people who have a complaint with their job will point to compensation as the problem. “If I just got paid more, I’d be happy.” However, closer inspection usually reveals that something else is the core of the problem. That being said, you need to be paid what you’re worth, and having more money usually doesn’t hurt.
Are you getting paid enough for your specific job/position? Use services like glassdoor.com or payscale.com to figure out if you’re getting paid appropriately.
Here are some specific solutions to your problem, depending on your scenario:
- Leave the company and look elsewhere
- Use outside job offers/data to negotiate a pay raise
- Look at where you’re spending money, and see if the company is willing to offer reimbursements or perks. For example, many local governments offer discounts or tax breaks for companies that pay for public transport passes for employees
- Work on your skillset to develop more highly-paid skills
- Work on automating aspects of your job to free up time and company resources
My Work Environment is the Problem
Your manager can make or break your experience at work, and is the most likely reason why your work environment would be a problem. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that managers are often those with the most experience or knowledge rather than those that would best at managing people. This leads to many frustrating managers. The good news is that there are some things that can be done (see the bulleted list below).
If the entire company’s culture is toxic, you likely aren’t going to be able to fix that. Get out. You owe it to yourself to work in an environment that is collaborative and supportive.
Here are some specific solutions to your problem, depending on your scenario:
- Leave the company and look elsewhere
- Discuss the issues with HR or your manager. Sometimes all it takes is firing one bad apple to save the bunch (Is this a phrase? Did I get this from my grandma?)
- Introduce some natural lighting and walks into your daily work routine. It can make a massive difference in your mental health
- Be the manager. It may take some effort to work up to a management position but can be incredibly rewarding, and can put you in a position to have a greater influence on the company culture
I Don’t Feel Engaged
Interestingly enough, this may be the strongest reason for leaving your current position. It’s very rare for the mission of a company to change – at least meaningfully (though some companies go from a mission statement of “Don’t Be Evil” to “Maybe Be Evil if it’s Profitable” – here’s looking at you Google – kidding, don’t kill my search rankings).
So ultimately, if your problem is with the overall goal or mission of the company, you’ll need to switch companies. On the surface, we could probably ask a condemning question like, “why did you join the company if you didn’t agree with the mission of the company?” But that question doesn’t take into account the fact that most companies don’t have a clearly stated mission, and even if they do, they likely have a hidden “true” mission statement. In other words, it’s very likely that you couldn’t have known the company’s mission before joining the company. It’s not your fault.
However, if your problem isn’t with the overall mission of the company, then you could look at changing your position or day-to-day responsibilities in the company. Is the work too easy? Too challenging? Are you able to learn new things on a daily basis? Do you want to learn new things on a daily basis, or would you rather ‘stick to what you know?’
Here are some specific solutions to your problem, depending on your scenario:
- Leave the company and look elsewhere
- Look around the company and see if there’s someone else doing something more along the lines of what you’d like to do
- Examine whether your company provides opportunities to employees within the company to be able to change positions or job responsibilities
- Start working on a side hustle or project that you’re more passionate about. This can be especially good in situations where your job is covering your expenses and is flexible, but isn’t fulfilling/rewarding.
Can This Be Fixed Here, or Do I Need to Change Companies?
Ultimately, you’ll need to decide if the problem can be fixed within your current position and company, if you need to change positions, or if you need to start getting your resume together to apply for other companies.
Even if the problem can be fixed at your current company, another important question to ask is: is it worth it to stay here? Studies have found that while the average pay increase per year for employees staying at a company is about 3%, the average pay increase for switching companies is between 10% and 20%. So even if your company is willing to offer you a raise, it’s probably worth it to shop around a bit.
I’ll continue to write posts on specific solutions to these problems, like:
- “How to ask for a raise”
- “How to put together an awesome resume”
- “How to move to a different position within your company”
- And more!
So stay tuned. And also, good luck! I really hope that you can find a work environment that is awesome for you.