25 Signs You Hate Your Job

Last night I was talking with some old co-workers at happy hour about what it felt like in those horrible, awful no-good days of being in a job that you hate. It is, for lack of a better word, intense. The feelings are real and sometimes the thoughts are irrational (what? Women? Be irrational?). It feels like you are trapped with no way out. I’ve been there. It's not funny business by any means. That said, we chatted on for a bit about some definitive signs, that the four of us actually went through, that your job is killing you and sucking out your soul.

So here's today's top 25 list of "you know you hate your job when..."

1. You lie on the floor in a fetal position crying on Sunday nights.
2. You come home and yell. At your boyfriend. Your roommate. Your dog. Or nothing at all. You just yell.
3. You wonder how you can change your college major now (and you graduated a few years ago).
4. It takes you 3 days to calm down when you go on vacation and the next 3 days to dread going back to the office leaving 1 day for true escape.
5. You contemplate slipping Bailey’s in your morning coffee just to go to work. And maybe sometimes do.
6. You envy the garbage men, cafeteria workers, and anyone else doing any job but your own.
7. You start panicking about 5pm on Sundays because the weekend is almost over.
8. You secretly (and guilt-ridden) hope for an injury that prevents you from doing your job so you can be on disability leave. (I used to want to break my wrist so I couldn’t type.)
9. You love going to the dentist because at least you can leave work early for that. (ditto for the gynecologist and you know that is saying something!)
10. You cling to your significant other in the morning, tear up, and say - please don't make me go there!
11. You talk about leaving your job, but never actually DO anything about it.
12. You fantasize about your workplace burning down (so you can work remotely while they rebuild).
13. You play the lottery hoping to hit the big jackpot so you can tell your boss to shove it!
14. You live only for the weekends and vacation.
15. You tell yourself..."if I just hang in there for the next month or so, one of those interviews I’ve been on will pan out.” You repeat the next month. And the month after that.
16. When you regularly calculate how far your savings will go once you quit.
17. You contemplate jumping in front of the train each morning figuring it will be less painful than going to work.
18. When "What if I get hit by a bus?" sounds like a step up.
19. You mathematically plan every single hour you can call in sick, take vacation, or "flex" your time so you spend the absolute minimum number of hours at work.
20. Every day you are sick to your stomach (maybe even actually vomit) because you have to get up and go to work.
21. You cry every day on the way to work. Or in your car during your lunch break. Or on your way home. (Or all three…)
22. You do everything you possibly can to numb out the pain (insert any addiction here - coffee, cigarettes, sex, alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs, food, compulsive shopping, etc.)
23. You lie awake sleepless (a lot) and you think, well at least I am not at work!
24. You consistently complain, whine, and moan about your job to friends, family, co-workers, and anyone who will listen.
25. You invent new immediate family members who have passed on so you can take bereavement leave (or your grandmother has died 9 times in the past 3 years).
    

Have you experienced any of these? Have any other doozies you'd like to share?

And with all seriousness, if you ARE feeling like this...first of all, I’m sorry. I know how it is when you feel so totally hopeless, but it is time to take proactive action. Here’s how to de-stress at work (or at least try), find hidden jobs, and rock an interview.

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