{"id":8762,"date":"2019-08-26T11:18:39","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T11:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arielle.com.au\/?p=8762"},"modified":"2026-03-31T07:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:00:29","slug":"hate-my-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arielle.com.au\/hate-my-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do So Many People Hate Their Jobs?"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 15<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

For most people in the Western world work is “just work”, with only 30% of employees feeling engaged<\/a>\u00a0enough to care. It was much the same for our parents, who generally accepted that work is a means to an end.<\/p>\n

This is hardly a surprise when you consider the context in which modern employment was born.<\/p>\n

It\u00a0emerged as an alternative to the\u00a0peasantry-dominated system which preceded it<\/a>,\u00a0because\u00a0it afforded a comparatively superior standard of living.<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, the new system was sold to us in the following way:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cYou will surrender\u00a08-10 of your daily waking hours to your\u00a0employer. You can expect this time to be reasonably dull\u00a0and unfulfilling. However, you will be compensated you for it with financial rewards, which you’ll use to purchase goods and services (as well as obtain some status and power).\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In this system, consumption is accepted as the main avenue through which people experience pleasure and meaning.<\/p>\n

Work is merely a means as this end – it’s embraced as an activity that won’t feed your soul, but will (probably) ensure that you will have a decent roof over your head.<\/p>\n

(Related: Was The Latest Round Of Mass Redundancies Caused By AI?<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

We Sold Ourselves Short.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

During the Golden Age of\u00a0the 1960s, work as a means of enabling consumption became\u00a0the collective purpose of Western societies.<\/p>\n

While comfortable, this\u00a0approach to work has one\u00a0fundamental flaw – it\u00a0celebrates outcome more than the process, thus robbing us of the opportunity to experience deep, intrinsic fulfilment whilst at work.<\/p>\n

It leads us to believe that a decent salary, a relative safety net of a full-time job and progression up the ladder are\u00a0the main cornerstones of a remarkable career.<\/p>\n

\"future-proofing<\/p>\n

This system quickly became the norm.<\/p>\n

After a while, we stopped asking questions\u00a0and accepted that this less-than-perfect situation is\u00a0the way “things ought to be”.<\/p>\n

And yet, regardless of how much success we achieved in this system,\u00a0we were always left with a\u00a0deep-seated knowingness that something is amiss\u00a0and, given the freedom, we would throw it all away for an opportunity to be part of something more meaningful.<\/p>\n

(Related: Outplacement 101: What Are Outplacement Services<\/a>?)<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

How To Cultivate Love For Your Work.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A\u00a0recent\u00a0Future Of Work And The Workplace report<\/a> highlights that more of us are\u00a0expressing an\u00a0interest in reimagining the future workplace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Generation Y specifically is leading the change, expecting that their employers offer\u00a0incentives that go beyond enabling the purchase of consumer goods and receiving recognition.<\/p>\n

\"future-proofing
\n(credit: Hubspot<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I expect that over\u00a0the next 10 years the world of work will change in\u00a0ways that will enable people to experience work in a new light<\/a> – which is the main motivation for this post.<\/p>\n

I’m not setting out to write a\u00a0“How-To” article\u00a0where I\u00a0tell you how to live your life; there’s no shortage of those on the Internet. This\u00a0won’t be a nebulous, academic, heady discussion that has\u00a0no practical applications, either.<\/p>\n

\n

I’m writing this because I want to help create a world where “thank God it’s Friday” doesn’t exist; I dream of a world where people look forward to going to work and are\u00a0energised by their jobs.<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

To this end, I want to\u00a0go on a journey in which I\u00a0examine 15 key\u00a0workplace, societal and technological trends that you can choose to leverage\u00a0in order to build a successful career\u00a0– one that brings satisfaction, joy, connection and a sense of purpose to your life.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

1. Work Will Become A Consumer Experience.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

New research by CBRE<\/a> indicates that employees – particularly Millennials – want to work at companies where work is a curated lifestyle experience:<\/p>\n

\n

[People] want to work with intelligent people on exciting and rewarding projects where they can be creative and left alone to get the job done; values and purpose are as important as money; working for social good is an option; and they want to be a part of \u2018the next big thing\u2019\u201d, points out the report.<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Companies such as Zappos<\/a>, HubSpot<\/a> and Netflix<\/a>\u00a0are leading the way in catering to this shift, by\u00a0responding with a strong\u00a0emphasis on positive, authentic-to-the-core cultures centered around freedom, courage, curiosity, excellence and high performance.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Etsy is\u00a0treating their HR policies as art<\/a>,\u00a0Patagonia has famously\u00a0asked us not to buy their goods<\/a>\u00a0and Tom’s is busy\u00a0giving shoes to people in need<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This practice stands in contrast to the common corporate approach\u00a0of masking\u00a0a core desire for meaningless\u00a0growth with a thin veil of corporate social responsibility; it takes place at the core level and is designed to address employees’ core needs.<\/p>\n

\n

“Employees are vastly more satisfied and productive, it turns out, when four of their core needs are met: physical, through opportunities to regularly renew and recharge at work; emotional, by feeling valued and appreciated for their contributions; mental, when they have the opportunity to focus in an absorbed way on their most important tasks and define when and where they get their work done; and spiritual, by doing more of what they do best and enjoy most, and by feeling connected to a higher purpose at work” – NY Times Energy Project<\/a>.<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For employees such “purpose-centered”\u00a0companies will\u00a0provide prime opportunities for growth, autonomy and responsibility.<\/p>\n

What does all this mean for you as an employee? Well, the key pre-requisite\u00a0to getting a coveted job at such a company will be an ability to define, and live by, your own<\/em> values and purpose<\/em>. These companies will look for people whose personal mission integrates in a win-win way with that of their own.<\/p>\n

(Related Article: How World-Class Executives Facilitate Employee Engagement<\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is not the same as knowing “the right answers” and suppressing\u00a0yourself effectively enough in order to fit in and be accepted by the company.<\/p>\n

Rather, it’s knowing who you are, what value you bring, why you do what you do and being able to communicate it powerfully verbally and non-verbally through a solid track record of performance\u00a0through your resume, your online and offline networks and your online presence.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

2. Digital Fluency Will Become A Pre-Requisite.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Social media will fuel a radical shift in how companies are communicating with the outside world.<\/p>\n

Even today we\u2019re witnessing a rapid adoption of the \u201cbrand as publisher<\/a>\u201d philosophy, which puts social media and content production at the core of every business<\/a> (in contrast to where it once was – a poor cousin to print advertising, neglected\u00a0somewhere in the back of the marketing department).<\/p>\n

This creates a new set of criteria for employees: a fluency in WordPress, Twitter and LinkedIn, Facebook, etc, but more so – it\u2019s the\u00a0ability to employ those platforms in ways that contribute to\u00a0overall business strategy.<\/p>\n

\n

Importantly, the requirement to harness social media will travel well beyond the marketing department.<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As companies become more comfortable with the Internet, we’ll see a continued rise\u00a0in online platforms being leveraged not only for content production, but for crowdsourced recruiting<\/a>, news reporting<\/a>, C-Suite communication with employees<\/a> and so on.<\/p>\n

In 10 years there’ll be a few jobs worth applying for\u00a0which won’t require\u00a0social media and digital shrewdness.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

3. Workspaces Will\u00a0Become Flexible.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Collaboration technologies will\u00a0facilitate the creation of next-generation workplaces which give employees the freedom to work anytime, anywhere.<\/p>\n

Research by the Institute For The Future<\/a> points out that commuting to a pre-defined workplace 5 days a week is set to cease being the norm. Instead, we might work a few days per week from home, a few from the company headquarters and a few from a local co-working space.<\/p>\n

Underneath this shift are new ways of employing\u00a0communications technology coupled with an evolution in\u00a0leadership practices<\/a>.
\nIn his \u201cRevolutionising The Future Workplace<\/a>\u201d white paper, Jack Uldrich argues\u00a0that a combination of new videoconferencing platforms, as well as\u00a0a rise in mobile Internet connection speeds, are poised to retire email and office meetings as preferred\u00a0methods of team communication:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cTo this end, CIO\u2019s must be prepared to accept that for some customers and employees, smartphones, augmented reality and video may actually be preferred over conventional business meetings and traditional practices\u201d, points out Uldrich.<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For employees, it means adapting to the unstructured workplace and developing an ability to create results without oversight.<\/p>\n

(Related: Guide To The Best Stand-Up Desks In Australia<\/a>).<\/b><\/p>\n

For managers and executives, it will require moving away from micromanagement and\u00a0drawing upon the experience of\u00a0companies like Automattic (makers of WordPress), which famously doesn’t have an office, bosses, email or traditional reporting lines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

4. Focus On Intrinsic Motivations Will Increase.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

What do Peter Thiel, Malcolm Turnbull and Lady Gaga have in common?<\/p>\n

To a casual observer it may seem like they\u2019re juggling many balls in the air at the same time (quite successfully, might I add).<\/p>\n

A closer look reveals that their numerous (and seemingly different) worldly achievements are expressions of a single, deeper, sharply focused theme which ties all of their activities together.<\/p>\n

\n

As career coach Kathy Caprino points out, it\u2019s important for us to identify with career goals<\/a> that are intrinsic, rather than extrinsic, in nature.<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In the past, this approach was somewhat hindered by our\u00a0limited ability to create and maintain personal and professional networks that were relevant to our interests.<\/p>\n

In the future world, social networks will provide us with an almost infinite reach, enabling us to leverage our talents, connecting to others who share our passions with ease and in unexpected ways.<\/p>\n

Which leads me to my next point..<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

5. Lines Between Entrepreneurship And Employment Will Blur.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Particularly in the context of Gen Y, non-linear career paths are set to\u00a0replace traditional career ladders and \u201cjobs for life\u201d.<\/p>\n

Periods of working for an employer mixed with freelancing, flexible working and entrepreneurship are\u00a0emerging as the norm.<\/p>\n

In this world, our digital footprints (or online personal brands, if you prefer) will become the means through which we market ourselves, discovering job opportunities and getting discovered by employers.<\/p>\n

Consider an accountant working at a Senior Consultant level at\u00a0a large financial services firm, for example. He specialises in providing assurance, tax and advisory services to private businesses, entrepreneurs and high net worth\u00a0individuals.<\/p>\n