As the old saying goes, if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. But here’s the thing: the average person will spend more than 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime, so it stands to reason that not every single one of those hours is likely to be enjoyable. After all, managing spreadsheets is notoriously not a fun activity. How many of us honestly look forward to hour-long meetings that could have been emails? What percentage of people truly think of their colleagues as friends and would choose to socialise with them even if they didn’t share an office? 

The point is, while having a job you love might be the goal for some, it’s certainly not a common experience. The reality is that most of us feel OK – not in love with, just OK  – about our careers. In a 2017 YouGov poll, only 17% of British workers said they loved their job. Thankfully, our outlook has improved in recent years: according to a 2022 report, 74% of UK employees were satisfied with their jobs, but one in three also admitted to being unhappy.

There appears to be a generational difference at play when it comes to how much we enjoy our work.  Interestingly, just 22% of people aged 18–24 were happy with their jobs (compared to 57% of people aged 25–40), which may explain the rise in behaviours like ’career catfishing’, ‘revenge quitting’ and ‘rage applying’ among those groups. 

But working in a role you don’t enjoy doesn’t just provide you with nearly endless material to complain about over drinks post-5pm. Extensive research suggests that job satisfaction plays a very important role in our overall wellbeing. The overwhelming conclusion? That continued job dissatisfaction in your 20s and 30s has negative health effects by the time you reach age 40. In a 2016 study by Ohio State University that tracked job satisfaction in a cohort of 14–22-year-olds in a range of industries until their 40s, people in the consistently low satisfaction group reported much higher levels of depression, sleep problems and excessive worry, as well as scoring lower on mental health measures.

Further studies show that having a job you don’t love can lead to increased stress and anxiety, as well as physical symptoms like headaches, digestive issues and a weakened immune system. Then, of course, there is the mental health toll of spending 9–5 every Monday–Friday wishing you were anywhere but your desk.

According to Matthew Cook, culture and people specialist and co-founder of theSHIFT, feeling frustrated, worried or overwhelmed at work can be normal, but it’s important to take note of what triggers these feelings. “A little pressure before a big presentation or a tight deadline is normal and can even be motivating. But when stress becomes overwhelming, constant and starts affecting your wellbeing, it may be a sign that your job is causing excess anxiety rather than just normal nerves,” he explains. Because work stress is usually tied to specific situations, like an important meeting, a looming deadline or a performance review, you may feel a bit nervous or on edge before these events, but once they pass, the stress subsides. However, as Cook points out, if work stress is constant, affecting your physical and emotional wellbeing or making it hard to function in other areas of life, it may be a sign that your job is causing excess anxiety. “Persistent worry or ‘bad feelings’, even when you’re not at work – such as Sunday Scaries – can be a sign of something more serious,” he adds.

So if you find yourself checked out at work or constantly complaining about a bad boss, is handing your notice in the only way to fix the problem? Not exactly.

It goes without saying that job market right now is an extremely challenging one, so switching roles – even if you’re not enjoying yours – isn’t always an immediate option. While it’s definitely advisable to reconsider what kind of career would make you happy, career consultant Tessa Grint, founder of Light Me Up, believes that small shifts in your current job can make a big difference to your satisfaction and sense of fulfilment. 

“A job we don’t love drains us of energy and excitement, and before we know it, this has become our norm. We accept the monotony of our weeks, the fact we don’t love what we do and are happy to live for the weekend and to pay our bills. Importantly, in and around this and the other things life throws at us  – parenthood, caring for a family member, home renovations, endless to-do lists – we then have no energy to change anything,” she says.

Whether you hate all aspects of your job, bits of it or just feel disengaged, here are three steps Grint says you can take to redesign it into a career you love.

1. Write your dream job description

“This is a great exercise I do with most of my clients,” she says. “Ask yourself: what would a fulfilling job look like? What do you love to do that you want to do more of? What are your favourite parts of this current role? What do you hate doing that you’d like to do less of? Lean into what gets you excited and makes you feel good.”

2. Think about how you can bring aspects of your dream job into your current role or next step

Now you’re clear on what it is you do love about the job, think about how you can better fit these aspects into your current role. “Does your list indicate that greater leadership responsibilities are something you’d like to work towards? If so, ask your boss how you can take on a more managerial role. Does your desire for community indicate that you might want to become the social secretary and work to improve the office culture?” asks Grint. If there isn’t room for movement in your current role, you can also use this as a checklist for future roles.

3. Create a plan to get rid of what you don’t want 

Next, it’s time to take action. Before you go to your manager, think about how you can make space to do more of the things you’ve just identified you want to do more of. “That’s where we look at what we can delegate, automate or outsource; from the list of things you want to do less of, what would you recommend delegating to someone more junior, automating via an AI platform or outsource to a supplier?” Grint asks.

4. Take the proposal to your manager 

“Now we take this proposal to your manager and demonstrate your problem-solving ability, which is a key leadership skill. You’ve identified a problem (you don’t love what you do), you’ve taken the time to reflect on the possible solutions (redesign your job) and you’ve come up with creative ways to make it possible (delegate, automate or outsource)” she shares.

“Many of us can identify that we’re unhappy at work, but we might blame others for not being where we want to be. I believe it’s time to take back our power and proactively take the steps to redesign our jobs. A total role change might not always be available, but a good manager should want to work with you to ensure you’re doing – and feeling – your best at work.”

Images: Adobe; Getty