Ten Warning Signs - Time To Look For a New Job

It is no secret that it is hard to find work these days. That makes it doubly difficult if you are still working and are miserable at your job. Other people will tell you that you should be happy to be working and bringing in a pay check. Being unhappy at work makes your whole life feel bleak. At what point do you decide that now is the time to find something better?

A recent study of US workers found that 55% were unhappy with their jobs. Here is a list of signals that you are ready to look for a new job.

1. You get a sinking feeling on Sunday afternoon in anticipation of work on Monday. You dread going to work every morning. The clock moves very slowly and you check it frequently. I once worked with a man who said he got physically ill at the site of the building where we worked.

2. You have done your job for so long you are on automatic pilot. You go through the motions and are good enough at it to get by. A colleague told me he'd done his job for so long he could do it in his sleep. He was bored with it! He knew what calls to take on Friday afternoon and which ones to avoid because it would mean working part of the weekend. This person realized he had a problem and resigned from his job to find something new and more exciting.

3. You are constantly getting sick or having accidents. Being miserable makes you less resistant to germs and since you are frequently distracted by negative thoughts you don't see warning signs of danger coming like obstructions in your path or misplaced objects to trip on.

4. When you talk to others you complain all the time. Everything that happens at work bothers you and you talk about it to others. People are starting to avoid you and you feel isolated.

5. You never volunteer for special projects and avoid those who might give you work. You have become adept at work avoidance and do the bare minimum to satisfy your boss.

6. You both envy and resent others who seem happy in their work. You tell yourself to grin and bear it but it gets harder and harder to do.

7. You notice that everyone else's job seems more interesting than yours. You keep wondering what it would be like to have a different job but you never explore the possibility any more than think about it. You tell yourself it isn't worth investigating because there is nothing else for you.

8. Your friends ask you what is wrong. They say you don't seem to be yourself. You get angry easily and lash out at whoever is close by. You've become a screamer.

9. You know you are at the highest level that you will ever reach in the company and there is no chance for promotion. You don't feel challenged. There is no opportunity for growth. You know new jobs are hard to find. You feel stuck.

10. You are forced to go against your values and your integrity is being compromised. Years ago at my first sales job I had to interface with a young woman who was the customer service rep at a service bureau. The bureau consistently got backed up and was weeks behind in getting reports to customers. Each time I called her she said the reports would be in tomorrow. Eventually she realized the job was making her lie to customers and it made her very angry. She went from sweet and friendly to cold and bitter. She finally left the job.