Do you really hate your job?  Maybe you do.  Maybe, your current job is the worst possible thing you could ever be doing.  Maybe, you need to get the H out of there STAT, but here is another idea.  Maybe, it’s you.  Before you leave a job you hate, ask yourself, “Do I hate every single job I’ve ever had?”  If the answer is “yes”, then you might want to figure out why before job hopping again.

For me, any job I’ve ever had has been pretty fulfilling.  From waiting tables to working retail, from pharmacy tech to hotel concierge, from billing to nursing, I really haven’t hated any of it.  I think when it comes to working, it isn’t really about the job itself, but the people you are with while at work.  Even with a terribly narcissistic boss, if I enjoy the folks I’m working WITH, I enjoy the job.

I’ve only quit one job without notice.  It was when I worked at a restaurant in Statesboro.  The boss liked to get drunk every night after work and follow us waitresses around while we were cleaning telling us (totally unprompted) that he didn’t beat his wife.  Good for you, buddy.  Anyway, I was sweeping the floors and listening to his drunken rants when all of the sudden he goes, “Missed a spot, idiot.”  I didn’t even think.  I don’t remember an actual thought entering my mind.  My body went into automatic.  I dropped the broom, took off my apron, and walked out.  Except for that one event, I’ve never just walked out of a job.  Even then, I felt guilty for leaving my fellow waitresses to have to cover my shifts, but gosh that guy was a real sack of turds.  What self-respecting girl could work for a turd sack?  Not this one.

That being said, I do think it’s possible to enjoy your job and have a boss you don’t like.  There are jerk-bosses out there.  There always will be.  Any job you will ever have will probably employ at least one bubble nugget that everyone wants to pop.  In the face.  Really hard.  It’s something that can create a tight-sealed camaraderie among co-workers.  The common ground of boss-bitching can actually breed teamwork.  Not that you should sit around complaining all day, but it’s nice to have someone to listen to your frustrations, whatever they may be.  Job satisfaction really isn’t about the boss.  It’s about the people who are working along side you and whether or not you can hang with them for eight to twelve hours every day.

There is a type of employee I’ve met many times.  I can usually pick them out after only one shift.  I call them the job-hoppers.  They’ve just left a job they hate to come work with you on another job they hate.  Their supervisor wouldn’t let them call out today.   They can’t help that they’ve already called out 10 times this month.  Their sister’s kid broke their arm and she needs someone to sit with her in the ER for emotional support. Their old boss was the worst.  They tried to say that she shouldn’t come back to work because she forgot to call out one day.  She didn’t mean to do that, but her husband’s family had a barbeque planned and she forgot to request off that day, so she had decided to call out.  Well, then, through no fault of her own, she went to Walmart to buy some twinkle lights for the ho-down and dammit if work didn’t call and bitch her out like it was the end of the world!  SOME PEOPLE!  So, she quit that job for this one.  This terrible, terrible  job where the terrible schedulers hate you terribly and the terrible boss always wants to talk to you about your terrible attitude.  In the nursing home setting, I pray for these hoppers to hop along.  I wish I could just let them know as soon as they arrive.  You will also hate this, darlin’.  Please, just go ahead and move along.  Take your negativity to another place that doesn’t appreciate you.

I think the only thing worse than a job-hopper is a job-dweller.  They are here and they aren’t going anywhere, but dammit if they’ll like it.  At least the job-hoppers leave.  They go searching for something, and I seriously hope they find it.  The dwellers are just as negative as the hoppers, but they don’t leave.  They spread their poor attitudes and their ugly energy like corn dip on a Frito.  I choose to speak sarcastic kindness to this group of people.  For example, “Well, good morning, sunshine!  Aren’t you just excited to get the day started?!  It’s always a treat seeing your smiling face!”  Usually, this is met with absolutely no reaction whatsoever.  They don’t even have the energy for it.  If you are one of these people, you really need to consider a change.  If you hate your job so much that you cannot kindly interact with those who are working beside you, you are seriously in the wrong field.

A common misconception that many employees have is a fierce feeling of entitlement.  They demand appreciation for their work.  I think it produces great results for an employer to praise and thank employees for their efforts.  If I were an employer, I would definitely show appreciation to my workers, but folks, it isn’t required.   You should do your job because you are being paid to do your job.  Not because you’ll get an extra star on your apron or your picture on the wall.  The only form of appreciation that you should look for in a job is whether or not and how often they perform evaluations, and whether or not a good one earns you more money.  As long as they are doing that, get over yourself.  You aren’t a puppy being house trained.  You aren’t a 2nd grader who needs motivation to read more books than the others.  You are an adult doing an adult job earning an adult paycheck.  Act like one.

I’ve never had a job that required much of me physically.  I turn patients and whatnot, but any CNA will tell you that I am one of the weakest nurses out there.  Because I’m not very strong, I’ve never worked in a field that required strength.  I would never go apply for construction work or farming.  I’m good with people, so I’ve always liked jobs that involved customer service.  I liked waiting tables, but I needed more money, so I became a nurse.  A nurse is essentially a waitress who passes pills instead of food and has a little more medical knowledge, although any good waitress knows the Heimlich.  The point is, I worked odd jobs, figured out what I liked, and went to school for something more.  If you really hate your job, quit it.  If you hate all your jobs, suck it up while you find something you really like to do.  Most importantly, though, learn to hang out with many types of people.  Find common ground.  Help people you’re working with and they will help you.  Be the happy person that people want to work with.  It’s not just good for them.  It’s good for you.  If you’re happy, those around you usually follow suit, except of course the occasional dweller.  Don’t be a dweller.  As the old saying goes, “Don’t dwell.  Be swell!”  By “old” I mean a few seconds ago, and by “saying” I mean something I said.  So, I’m going to ask you one more time.  Do you really hate your job?