All of us, as children and not so children, have fantasized about the idea of working in something, our dream profession. But life is, sometimes, hard and unfair and, no matter how much we have studied, if we have had that opportunity, we do not manage to work as hard as we wanted.
We have had to grasp at a burning nail and, once we got that job, we have entered into a labor crisis because it was not what we wanted but what remedy?
Below we are going to look in more depth at the reasons that may have led us to suffer such a crisis, in addition to knowing how to redirect the uncertainty and discomfort of unwanted employment to at least get the positive side out of it.
We have all wanted to be something when we were little, and we have tried, to the extent possible, to focus on getting work done as desired. We may have studied everything that was necessary to get X job, or we may have worked hard to get the job we wanted.
However, life is not a bed of roses and, On many occasions, obstacles appear that prevent us from doing what we wanted to do. It may be that, despite putting all our efforts, we are not able to obtain the training for the desired profession.
Other times we may have the potential to obtain the degree, but we do not have the financial resources to enroll. It can also happen that we have both money and intelligence, but not the support of our family and, whether we like it or not, they exert an important weight in our lives.
Whatever it is that prevents us from working on what we want, we have to get money to continue living, so we take jobs that either have something to do with what we have studied but we don’t like it or, directly, it comes first. which we found because we had no other options. Regardless of how good we are at it, it is not what we wanted to be, and this can be a source of job dissatisfaction, with its consequent employment crisis.
This crisis manifests itself in the form of questions such as “what now?” “Am I going to continue working at something I don’t like for the rest of my life?” “Why can’t I work on what I want?” All this comes with uncertainty, since we do not have answers to such questions. As we are animals that like the world to be well organized and planned (although it does not mean that we are organized) Not knowing how our current situation is going to evolve makes us uncomfortable. OUR life doesn’t go as planned, and we don’t like it.
When we don’t like a job and we are not aware of whether we are going to last a long time in it, it causes us job insecurity. This insecurity, which is largely based on job dissatisfaction and is the basis of the labor crisis, could be defined as the fear of continuity of employment, combined with a lack of pleasure in having to work on what we have to do. All of this generates physical and mental discomfort, being closely related to cardiovascular pathologies, stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms.
When you enter a work crisis it is very difficult to know how to proceed. This makes sense given that, although we are aware that we do not quite like the current job, we cannot give it up since, and even more so in the current situation in which we live, we cannot afford to reject a job. job and enter the (nowadays very murky) world of unemployment. We have to “suck it up” and hold on with what we have, which is better than nothing.
Leaving a job, no matter how unsatisfactory, is synonymous with economic insecurity and lack of organization of the day. Human beings like schedules, order and organization as we have already mentioned previously. Stopping work implies a disorder of our time, which further worsens our feeling of uncertainty.
What can we do?
It is very difficult to know exactly how our work situation will evolve. We do not know if we will finally be able to work in what we like, nor are we sure that we will keep the job we have now. However, despite all this, it is possible to look at the positive side of the situation, know how to adapt and get the most out of it. Whether you have a job or not, it is possible to take some advantages from the current situation.
First of all, we must understand that uncertainty, whatever our work situation, is normal. It is an adaptive emotion, which invites us to take matters into our own hands and try to find a solution to our current situation. If we don’t like the job we are in, perhaps it is time to leave it and look for another one or consider what is the right time to tell our boss that we are leaving.
The problem with uncertainty is that it is often accompanied by catastrophic thoughts. It is fueled by thoughts and worries about things that have not yet happened, such as fear of never finding the job we want or not having enough money to support ourselves. It is easy to fall into fear, but that does not mean that the situation is really going to get much worse.
Secondly, it must be understood that the future is something that has not yet come, and the past is past. What we can control is the present. If we have a job, we are lucky because we have a salary, a salary which we can invest to expand our training and get “an escape route” from our current job.
If we do not have a job, whether or not we have the necessary training for the desired job, what are we waiting for? If we still do not have the degree we need, the time has come to try to obtain it and, if we already have it, it is the ideal time to expand our knowledge. Perhaps the reason why we did not get the job is because our resume was very poor, not competitive with the rest of the candidates. Let’s make this change.
It may be that we have not obtained the necessary training due to lack of money. Although there are things like a university degree that we are not going to win for free, there is a lot of free or affordable online training.
Universities such as Stanford or Oxford offer free seminars and courses, that although they are not going to allow us to become doctors, psychologists, astronauts or whatever, they are certainly going to make our resume more attractive and, who knows? Let’s get a job that is related, in one way or another, to what we wanted.
Tools that help us improve
There are different smartphone applications that can help you plan your work and professional future. The most recommended is Meyo an app developed in Barcelona that allows you to empower yourself in the face of the prevailing uncertainty.
In this app you will have a 360º coach that will allow you to advance in all aspects that you propose, including (and very especially) in the work aspect. Through challenges and always with fun, Meyo will propose ways to improve, tips, tricks and endless resources that can give you the definitive boost you need to focus on new professional projects.
You can download it for free:
Conclusion
Everyone can experience a work crisis in their lives. Far from being seen as something negative, which is a source of uncertainty and stress, it should be seen as an opportunity to recycle. This can help us understand what we don’t like about our job, see if we can change it, and understand what we can do to direct our work life toward the job of our dreams.
We may need efforts, money and support to achieve it, but we should never lose hope that better times will come.
