How many people do you know who complain about their jobs?

They grin and bear the work, whine in the break room, and then talk about how much they hate their job over happy hour drinks.

We hear so much about job satisfaction these days. It has become more of a priority within the majority of companies around the world, as a result of: 

1. increased emphasis on workplace culture
2. open concept offices that encourage community and collaboration
3. a multitude of wellness classes and options offered on-site

Even though these modern versions of the stale cubicle farm are improving satisfaction amongst employees about their workday and the overall vibe of the company, enough attention still is not being to employees' enjoyment of the tasks they are working on during said workday for said company. 

If you do not care about constructing a diversified financial portfolio for clients or in engineering a video game for the mass market, no amount of lunchtime yoga classes or movie ticket raffles will make you care. 

You have to care about the responsibilities of the role so that THEN you can enjoy the rewards of the workplace environment.

So how do we ensure you like the job before you get mesmerized by the indoor basketball court and raw juice bar?

First, ASK YOURSELF WHY YOU APPLIED FOR THAT JOB. But really, WHY? People tend to take jobs for three reasons:

1. They need money.
2. Some psychological reinforcement (i.e. their pride of avoiding unemployment, pressure from family and friends to have a job, etc.)
3. Genuine interest in the product, mission, or personal growth opportunities

Numbers 1 and 2 are out of desperation. The common thought process for those two is: "I can make it work, I'll have a job and I will have income."

But then they work the job for two weeks, they realize that they do not care about the job at all, and they wish they were doing something else. 

Cue the happy hours drinks.

The tricky part about the American economy is that there are a lot of times that someone takes a job for the third reason, one based on genuine care and passion, but then they are disappointed to learn that the company was not as dedicated to its mission than advertised or that the role itself is not what the advertisement described. As a result, self-motivated, passionate employees feel dejected and lost. 

After asking yourself Why you pursued that job in the first place, ask WHAT HAS OR HAS NOT SATISFIED YOUR HOPE FOR THAT ROLE?  What caused your satsifaction to go astray?

It is different for everybody. For some, it is the coworkers' attitudes. For many, it is the boss' leadership style. Where and when did your interest in the day to day tasks begin to falter?

Once you are able to identify what specifically happened for you to dislike your job, you are able to better answer the question: WHAT MUST BE CHANGED FOR THIS EXPERIENCE TO IMPROVE?

• A conversation with your boss?
• Enrolling in some kind of professional development course to learn a new skill?
• Changing companies altogether?

Remember, everyone's experience of their job is unique, which means that their reasons for hating their job and the subsequent options to change something about their job are unique as well. 

Next time you or a friend are complaining about hating a job, start by asking the three questions we outlined here. Things may be able to turn around just that quickly...