By Merrill Banks, CSP, CEO & Founder, LLoyd Staffing
My favorite day of the week is Sunday (night) because I go back to work on Monday morning. That sounds crazy to most of the people I know. Does it sound crazy to you?
Let me explain what motivated this blog post. The other night my wife and I were having dinner with two other couples when I turned to the gentleman next to me and congratulated him on his present semi-retirement as a dentist. He had just transitioned his practice and I asked if he was sad about giving up his life’s work and not being a dentist any longer. His response was fast and loud, “I can’t wait for it to end!” He went on to say how much he had hated the thirty years he had spent as a dentist.
WOW! Before I could even respond, the other gentleman at the dinner table chimed in with, “I know how you feel, I can’t wait to retire myself because I also hate what I do in the commercial real estate industry.” Then they turned to me and inquired if I liked what I did. I didn’t hesitate – I said I love what I do – BIG TIME! And, because I have such a passion for my work, I was sorry to hear how they felt about something they had done for the greater part of each day of their lives and for so many years.
When I asked each of them why they hadn’t explored a new career, the dentist said he became a dentist at his mother’s insistence in a career as a medical professional. Then, as each year passed he became more and more afraid of not being able to learn something new… to make a career change. My other friend said he stayed in commercial real estate (although he dreaded going to work every day) because he couldn’t give up the income and didn’t believe he could match his earnings in a new field. In fact, he was most likely correct about that, although that shouldn’t have stopped him from moving forward.
During my many years in the staffing industry I have placed several thousand candidates into new careers and I have always preached to them AND believed they should NEVER accept a new job based purely on the financial remuneration. I would tell them to accept less salary if the new position would make them want to go to work each day with a smile on their face.
When you are happier at work and with your work, you are a healthier and happier person and therefore, you tend to make other people in your life happier, too. It’s also been proven that happier workers become more successful sooner at their jobs and therefore begin earning even more and are promoted at a faster pace.
Nothing is better than looking forward to going to work in the morning, especially on a Monday. If you’re not happy at your work, I encourage you to start looking to change that as soon as possible. But before giving up on your industry or the job within that industry for which you have worked so hard and long, investigate if what you really need to change is the organization, environment and/or culture.
Contact a career placement (talent acquisition) professional/recruiter that is ideally a specialist in your field of work and discuss the pros and cons of leaving or staying. You owe it to yourself to make a career move, no matter how long it takes, that will have you enjoying going to work each and every day.Good luck, you are worth it and so is the time you invest in finding that new career.
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The average American spends 90,000 hours at work over their lifetime.
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87% of Americans have no passion for their jobs.
Put yourself in that lucky 13% of those who do!!
Source: 17 Seriously Disturbing Facts About Your Job