Natwerk Designs

Hate my job, but need to do well.?

I took a technical job that I genuinely thought I would like, but I hate it. Details are below if you're interested. The main thing is, I am committed to this job for 3 more years and I really want to do well. I want to contribute, and hold up my end of the bargain. However, I hate it. I dread going to work. I'm miserable when I'm there. If I were doing manual labor, I could just force my body to perform the motions, but it's so much harder to force my mind to concentrate. Does anyone have practical advice for overcoming a situation like this? Mental tricks, strategies, tactics? Note: I CANNOT quit. Details: I'm creative, but my work requires no design, only oversite, paperwork, and audits. I am not averse to hard work, but I prefer blasts of intense, almost frantic activity, followed by slow periods. This job is just a daily grind, no ups, no downs. Also, the corporate culture does not suit my personality. I used to be enlisted in the military and was used to a crude but fraternal environment with lots of different personality types and backgrounds. This office is extremely homogenous (politically, ethnically, educationally, and by gender). It is rather formal, and people tend not to work together on things outside of formal meetings.

Public Comments

1. Yes I switched fields and it is still an adjustment. You will learn to fake it, it's part of growing up.
2. This sounds like you are completely stuck. I've had to do this myself a couple of times. When you hate your job, but you know you HAVE to do it.... the only thing you can do is make the rest of your life more exciting to make up for it. If you feed off of adrenaline rushes or thrill seeking or even just would prefer variety, you might need to liven up the rest of your life so that you can use your job just as a means to an end. A way to get a paycheck that will pay for your time to travel, or have other experiences that are more satisfying to you. Be aware of your stress levels. Take a day off if you just can't take it anymore... do something different for the day and try to regain perspective. Have a goal in mind that helps you find an inner motivation for putting yourself through this 3 year period of miserable employment. Try remain positive- look for the things about your job that you like and try to focus on those as reasons to make it work. Good luck :)