‘I Hate My Job!’ Here's What You Can Do (Before Quitting)

27 December 2023

7 min read

Are you starting to worry about how often you’re thinking ‘I hate my job’ lately?

Sure, everyone is dissatisfied here and there, but ‘I hate my job’ doesn’t become their daily mantra.

If you’ve considered quitting, we don’t blame you - spending more than half of your waking hours on a job you hate can be a real nightmare.

Before you rush into decisions, however, consider this: straight-up quitting is the easiest thing to do, but you might come to regret it later. Instead, you should go for what’s best for YOU.

Not sure what that is?

You’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll help you figure out:

If You Really Hate Your Job (Or Are Just Suffering From Burnout)
How to Un-Hate Your Job & Make It More Pleasant
How to Quit a Job You Hate

Do I Really Hate My Job?

It’s Monday and once again you woke up thinking ‘I hate my job.’

Let us just say this - you’re not the only one who feels that way.

A 2020 survey found that overall job satisfaction is at 53.6%, while more than one-half of American workers are disengaged at work.

But wait, there’s more. 2021 career satisfaction statistics tell us that nearly 75% of employees quit their boss, not their job. Meanwhile, 79% of employees would refuse a higher-paying job from a company that didn’t have sexual harassment policies.

So, have you ever asked yourself why exactly you hate your job? Here are some options:

You hate your boss
You hate your company values
You feel undervalued

All of the above are legit reasons to hate your job. The good news is, there are ways to tackle them as issues & make your job a whole lot more pleasant. We’ll get back to this in a bit, but first, let us ask you a question: Have you ever heard of burnout?

I Don’t Hate My Job. I’m Just Suffering from Burnout

It’s easy to mistake burnout with feeling like you hate your job.

According to the World Health Organization, burnout is a syndrome thought to result from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It comes with:

Feeling exhausted
Negativity or cynicism related to one's job
Reduced productivity at work

If this is the case, you don’t hate your job. Rather, you’re suffering from burnout, which in turn makes you feel like you hate your job - and everything that comes with it.

Well, you’re in luck again - there are ways to address the chronic workplace stress that causes burnout, too.

Ready to go over all the ways to not hate your job? Let’s get to it.

How Not to Hate Your Job

Constantly thinking about how much you hate your job might lead you to focus on solving the problem, instead of addressing its causes.

So, instead of giving your boss feedback, or going after a promotion, you might think that quitting is your only option.

But it’s not.

Although you may not see it, there are ways out there to save your steady source of income and keep working in your industry, and they’re easier than you think.

Give Your Boss Feedback

Our supervisors have a huge impact on our job satisfaction.

For example, you may be a goal-oriented employee who enjoys more freedom in the workplace and have a boss who micromanages your every task. That can be enough to make you hate your job.

Or, you might have disagreed on whether it’s OK to submit more qualitative work past its deadline and he has not treated you the same ever since.

Now, you might be tempted to be passive-aggressive towards your boss, pent up all that anger, and then quit…

But trust us, that’s not the right way to go here.

Instead, we recommend you simply talk straight with your boss and give them professional feedback.

They’re people, too! Chances are, if they were aware that this is a problem, they’d work with you to solve it.

Let’s assume, for example, you want to tell your supervisor that the way they micromanage your every task is seriously causing you to hate your job.

Here’s how you’d go about it:

Schedule a meeting. Tell them that you’d like to discuss something work-related whenever they have the time.
Prepare in advance. Don’t just swing it. Instead, make a list of all the points you want to cover and some potential ways they might react to what you have to say.
Practice your feedback skills. Explaining your dissatisfaction will also require that you point out what doesn’t work with their approach. Make sure to give feedback by providing examples to highlight their behavior and data to support yours (e.g. if micromanaging makes you less productive, back that up with relevant examples).
Control your emotions. Don’t go into the meeting thinking “I hate my job” - you might get emotional and fail to get your point across. Instead, focus on effectively communicating your concerns.
Make an offer. Think of an alternative method of work and suggest giving it a go for some time.

Request More Frequent Performance Reviews

Feeling underappreciated? That can definitely make you hate what you do.

It doesn’t have to, though.

If you think that your scope of work should be different or that you can handle more responsibility, you’re perfectly justified to tell that to your supervisor - it should be easier, too, since it doesn’t involve giving them feedback on their behavior.

Actually, it’s the exact opposite.

Here’s what you can do if you’re feeling so undervalued it’s making you hate your job:

Request more frequent performance reviews. Employee performance evaluations are usually given annually, but many companies are moving towards quarterly or monthly feedback. Statistics show that 43% of employees that are engaged at work receive feedback at least once a week. It could also help you realign your output and responsibilities.
Request a promotion. If you are convinced that you’re qualified for a new - and better - position (and you can back that up), don’t hesitate to ask for a promotion. There’s nothing wrong with going after what you deserve - especially if it will make you not hate your job.

Ask For More Flexibility

Now, if you’re suffering from burnout, it’s also possible that it’s your fault.

You might have issues with time management or task prioritization, which can lead to accumulated stress over poor work performance after a certain time. Acknowledging this can help you improve your work ethic and realize you don’t hate your job.

It’s also possible, however, that your burnout is the result of work overload, bad management, or a lack of effective communication in the workplace.

In such a case, you are in your right to ask for more flexibility until you get through your burnout. Politely ask your employer if it’s possible to:

Cut some hours
Work a more flexible schedule
Share some of your responsibilities with other employees
Take some time off to get your mind off work and regain your motivation

The same advice applies every time you speak to a supervisor about job dissatisfaction. Be polite, stay calm and go prepared - e.g. don’t just DM your boss and write, “Hey, can I have a more flexible schedule and less work? Yeah, that'd be awesome, thanks!”

Instead, really build your case. Explain how whatever you’re doing is too much, provide concrete examples and proof, and THEN make the ask.

How to Quit a Job You Hate

Made it to this point and you’re still thinking ‘I hate my job’?

Are you certain you won’t stop hating your boss or feeling undervalued, no matter how effectively and professionally you address these issues?

Do you see no opportunity for growth, mentorship, or improvement on the horizon?

If this is how you feel, the most logical thing to do is quit. Actually, we wouldn’t tell you to stay even if you made a fortune - no amount of money is worth your emotional and mental stability, trust us.

What we would, however, advise is that you find a decent alternative before quitting. That will allow you to look for other jobs without the pressure of having to provide for yourself.

So, tell yourself you won’t be hating your job for much longer and get on with the following:

Choose a Career You Like

If you hated your job, but not your industry, you won’t have to change careers. Instead, you’ll just look for a different employer within the field - it’s as simple as that.

This time around, we recommend reading up reviews about the companies you’re applying for to make sure that they’re a better fit than your current company.

If you hate your job as a concept, though, you might want to completely change your career and do something very different.

In that case, we recommend you to do the following:

Read up on different career paths on the internet. We recommend using Career Explorer to find potential careers and jobs.
Take a career test and see what kind of jobs might be a good fit for you.
Think about your current skill-set - what kind of jobs can they come in handy for? E.g. If you're an accountant, your skills would be useful as a manager at a restaurant (and less so as a novelist).
Create a career change resume. It’s going to be very helpful for landing a job with zero experience in the field.

Brush Up On Your Job-Search Skills

Haven’t looked for a job in a while?

You’ll need to brush up on those job search skills!

Check out some of our best resources on how to find & land a job you’ll love:

Start Applying

All you have to do now is start applying until you land a job you love!

Some of our favorite job boards you can try looking for jobs include Indeed, Monster, and LinkedIn.

Leave On a Positive Note

Finally, the moment you were waiting for has finally arrived. You’re about to quit the job you hate and - hopefully - never have to think ‘I hate my job’ again.

You’re so relieved you feel rushing into your boss's office, yelling “I Quit!” and storming out like they do in the movies.

Don’t.

You don’t want to burn bridges with former employers. You never know, you might end up applying at the same company, having to ask your boss for a reference or working with the same team at some point.

And honestly - at the end of the day, quitting a job respectfully is just the respectful thing to do.

So, what we’re getting at here is, when quitting your job, let your boss/team know respectfully and make sure to submit a resignation letter.

Key Takeaways

And that’s a wrap! We hope that you hate your job a lot less after reading this article (or at least know what to do about it).

Let’s go over some of the main points we covered:

If you hate your job so much you want to quit, ask yourself ‘why?’
You might hate your job because of your boss, or because you feel undervalued there. Or, you might not hate your job at all - you might be suffering from burnout.
There are ways to address your job dissatisfaction before straight-up quitting. They include giving feedback to your boss, requesting more frequent performance reviews, or asking for a more flexible schedule.
If you’ve made up your mind about quitting, do it after you choose a career you like and send out a dozen applications.
Finally, leave on a positive note! Networking is important, so it’s in your benefit to maintain links with your boss and your coworkers.