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Career

Common Reasons to Consider a Career Change

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It’s no secret that most people don’t exactly love their jobs – and in many respects, this is understandable. After all, even if you’re very good at what you do, working is an oftentimes tedious experience that lacks personal fulfillment. Still, there are varying levels of worker dissatisfaction, and if your professional ennui has reached a fever pitch, it may be time to think about a career change. So, if any of the following items apply to you, give some thought to pursuing a more rewarding line of work.

Lack of Flexibility 

When identifying things they dislike about the work experience, many people’s minds will jump directly to the workplace itself. Cumbersome commutes, needlessly formal dress codes and rocky office politics are just a few of the stressors found in many modern places of business. Furthermore, being required to remain at the office for at least 40 hours per week is absolutely pointless for many members of the workforce. Not only can their jobs be done effectively and efficiently from the comfort of home, they often don’t have enough actual work to warrant spending that much time in a formal workplace.

Despite this, many businesses refuse to budge on requiring employees to spend 40 hours at the office each week. Needless to say, this doesn’t exactly endear them to employees with small children, people who act as caregivers and other individuals with pressing personal obligations. So, if inflexibility on the part of your employer has made attending to important personal matters exceedingly difficult, a career with a more flexible schedule may be right up your alley.

Lack of Benefits 

Since we live in a country with a profit-driven healthcare system, it’s only natural that people would expect their respective employers to provide them with health insurance coverage. Unfortunately, a significant number of employers go out of their way to avoid providing such benefits to workers. So, if your current employer is unable or unwilling to provide you with the benefits you seek, it might be time to think about a career change.

A lack of benefits can prove particularly problematic for people suffering from disabilities. If your employer refuses to provide the disability coverage you seek, consider checking out long term disability insurance plans on your own.

Lack of Recognition  

In light of how many waking hours many of us spend working, it makes perfect sense that we would want our efforts acknowledged. However, employers have a troubling habit of failing to reward hard work in any significant way – if at all. In far too many workplaces, supervisors claim full credit for the accomplishments of the people working under them, with the latter receiving nothing in way of acknowledgement.

While it’s true that earning money is most people’s primary motivation for doing their job, this doesn’t excuse a lack of recognition on the part of employers. So, if your current place of business has consistently snubbed you or failed to give you the acknowledgement you deserve, no one could blame you for seeking out a healthier work environment.

Lack of Advancement 

There are many reasons for which employers fail to provide sufficient room for advancement. Nepotism-based promotions, the desire to pay employees as little as possible and general indifference are all contributing factors to this problem. If you’ve given years of your life to your current employer and have regularly found yourself passed up for promotion, it may be time to look for a place that offers a clearer path to advancement. Additionally, continuing your education and earning an MS in accounting can effectively boost your employment prospects, thereby presenting you with more advancement opportunities.

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Most members of the workforce experience some level of professional dissatisfaction. In some cases, this is purely the result of internal factors – i.e., a certain type of career no longer provides fresh challenges. Other times, the reasons are largely external – i.e., abusive bosses, unreasonable workloads and unmanageable work schedules. While most people cope with job dissatisfaction out of necessity, remaining at a job that makes you profoundly unhappy can be a major contributor to a host of physical and mental health issues. So, if you find that you identify with any of the items discussed above, a career change may be worth considering.

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Sean Jacobson

I'm Sean, a former HR and business consultant providing you insights into the business world for Leader to Leader.

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