We spend approximately 50% of our waking hours at work. Doesn’t it make sense to make the most of that time, otherwise what’s the point? OK, it pays the bills but shouldn’t it be about more than that. The happier you are at work, the happier you can be with other areas of your life.

If work’s getting you down or you’d like to try something different, here are a few things to consider.

1. So, are you happy at work? If not, why not? Is it the type of work you do, the people you work with or your boss? What can you do to change your situation? How could you make it more interesting, how could you improve the relationships with the people you work with? Could you do the same thing but for a different company. Could you delegate tasks to someone else in your team?

2. Do you love what you do? What is your passion and what motivates you? What values in your life are important to you – health, money, security, family, relationships etc. Follow these and you’ll be happier in your work and in life generally.

3. What are you good at? What skills and abilities do you have? Where could you make improvements? Training for the job that you do could improve your job satisfaction and your job prospects and could enable you to take on a new role.

4. Where do you want to go? Are you looking for promotion, salary increase or a job change? Sometimes we have to start at the bottom in order to get where we want to be. Have your goal in mind so you don’t lose sight of what you’re doing and more importantly why!

5. Get yourself a mentor. Find someone you respect, who’s where you want to be or done what you want to do. If you don’t know anyone at work, is there someone outside work you could discuss your plans with and who would be prepared to give you advice and support?

6. Keep your CV up-to-date. Be ready to take advantage of any opportunity that might present itself if you’re looking to change jobs. Alternatively, go out and find those opportunities – if you want to change, you need to make it happen. Opportunities will present themselves if you’re looking for them.

7. Take control of your own career. There are always things we can do to change and grow. If you’re looking for a new career then spend some time thinking about what you want from your work. What do you value, need, want? What does work mean to you? How important is it in your life? What are the things you’re good at, what sort of work do you like to do? How could you create your perfect job?

Sometimes living from day to day is fine but it helps if you have a plan in mind. Where do you want to be a year from now, three years from now? Set a goal “Next year, I want to be doing …” Then set some specific steps to get you there.

There was a time when employees would stay at their jobs for 30 years or the life of their career. Today it is unusual to find someone that has been at their job for beyond 10 years. Employers used to frown on applicants that appeared to be job hopping. It raised questions as to the persons loyalty and work ethic. The trend has seemed to shift and employers treat long time employees as if they were lazy and lacked ambition because they did not look elsewhere for better opportunities. The stigma is no longer attached to job hoppers as a matter of fact as long as you have been making strides in your career no one seems to care where those strides were made.

Given this information it is still important to realize that changing jobs is really a big decision, especially when job security is so important in this economic climate. People change jobs for many different reasons. Money, advancement, boredom, and many more reasons. Before changing jobs there are several factors that should be considered, such as commute time, is the commute time longer if you switch jobs? Money; would the compensation be higher if you change jobs? And at what cost would that compensation be rewarded (more work more responsibilities)? Is there room for advancement? Whatever the motivation is the decision should be made in a rational manner never out of anger.

When a Job Change is Beneficial

A job change is beneficial when you have reached the pinnacle at your current job. When there is no possible way for you to achieve a higher position. Instead of becoming stagnant in your field it is best to move on to another job. In certain fields you almost have to change jobs to be successful in your career. If you are in a support oriented career than changing jobs is something you have to do to climb the ladder. Many times changing jobs will give you an opportunity to expand your skills in a given career field this is always beneficial. A larger salary, better health insurance may be a benefit for changing jobs even if you like the job you have. Changing jobs should not be confused with changing careers generally if you are happy with what you do but unhappy with the company that employs you to do it than changing jobs is the answer. If you are unhappy with what you do and it is not relevant to the employer than perhaps a career change is in order.