You never feel like yourself when you're at work, struggle to make relationships with colleagues and can't relate to your company's values. You're bored, distracted and hate the thought of starting another working week.
Ever feel your job just isn’t right for you?
If you just can't shake that feeling, here are 7 signs that’ll help you know for sure that you should start looking for a new role…
1. You don't really connect with your colleagues
We know some people don't go to work just to make friends. But if you can’t find the motivation to engage with any of your colleagues in any way, that should be a red flag.
Remember, these are people who you're supposedly sharing a common cause with – people who are pulling in your direction, striving to achieve the same goals.
If you're not pulling in their direction, you're probably not pulling in the company's direction. And if you’re not pulling in the company’s direction, you’re standing still.
2. You don't feel yourself when you're at work
You shouldn't ever feel pressured to change how you behave at work.
Whether it's in a professional context (like constantly having to change your work style) or in an interpersonal way (not feeling comfortable or relaxed at lunch with your colleagues), you can’t feel like somebody else heading to work each day.
Remember, you always need to feel at home when you're at work!
3. You get Sunday evening blues
Nobody really likes saying goodbye to the weekend. But the consolation you should always take on Sunday evenings is that tomorrow is a brand new week.
Sunday evening should have you brimming with ideas on how you're going to take on this new week and all the challenges it's going to throw your way.
But if instead of that feeling, you just get a lingering sense of dread, chances are you just flat-out don't like what’s in-store for you on Monday morning.
4. You bore yourself trying to describe your job
We've all been there before – you meet someone new at a dinner party, family event or down the pub and the topic shifts to your work.
Do you find yourself speaking enthusiastically about your job, or do you sheepishly half-explain what you do before changing the conversation?
If you can't take pride in your job, or even stay awake while you talk about it, it's time you started seriously thinking about your next one.
5. You can't relate to the company's values
Whether or not you always notice it, your company will always be communicating a set of values – defining principles that outline the company's long-term goals and how it wants to achieve them.
These things should resonate with you – if you don't agree with all of them, you should at least respect them and be motivated enough to help the company achieve them.
You should think about a new job if those values don't mean anything to you – or worse still, you have no idea what your company's values even are!
6. You actively seek distractions at work
Coffee run every 30 minutes? Scheduling unnecessary meetings? Ordering lots of packages to the office so you can nip down to the post room?
These are distractions you can do without at work. But when you find yourself seeking them out, it's a sign that what you're meant to be doing just isn't interesting enough.
7. Money is the only reward
If you have to pick just one thing you always look for in a job, does a good wage always trump work-life balance, work variety or even cultural fit? Probably not.
There's nothing wrong with loving the money, and there's nothing wrong with money being a motivating factor in your work. But money should never be the sole reason you get out of bed in the morning.
Are any of these signs feeling familiar? Time to brush up on your CV and get applying!