I Hate My Job!

Have you ever said these four words, “I Hate my job”…?

I realize that I have. When that feeling surfaced, it did not take long to identify the root of that negative thought.

Can you guess the main reason why people hate their jobs? Their boss!

This may not be too surprising when we stop and think about it. If we have a boss who is inspiring, caring, engaging, and connected, we tend to take on the same character. The same thing happens when we have a boss who is boring, insensitive, uninteresting, and disconnected. We will lose the desire to give more.

In general, workers fall into these four categories.

• Connected
• Satisfied
• Disconnected
• Actively disconnected

Workers who are connected will give more. They will try to make themselves and the company successful. They feel commitment from and to the company. Their focus is “We win.”

Workers who are satisfied tend to just do their jobs. They will focus on personal success. They are committed to their work but not to the company. Their focus is “I win.”

Workers who are disconnected are those who have lost their enthusiasm and ambition for work. They tend to complain constantly and work in unproductive and inefficient ways. They believe that their company is not sup-portive and is not appealing to them. Their focus is “I lose.”

Workers who are actively disconnected are workers who have not only lost their enthusiasm and ambition, but also feel hatred toward their jobs. They carry a lot of resentment and are convinced that the company exists only to make their lives harder. They will take steps to damage the company by sabotaging customer relationships, damaging internal relationships, or even stealing from the company (time or goods). Because they hate their jobs, their focus is “You lose.”

As followers of Christ, which category does God desire?

To answer that question, try reading each category definition again, but this time replace the word “company” with “God.”

A connected worker will give more and strive to make themselves and God successful. They feel commitment from and to God.

Satisfied workers will only do their work, focusing on personal success and not on God. Much of their time may be committed to work, but they have no commitment to God

Disconnected workers believe that God does not help them and is not interested in them.

Actively disconnected workers hold grudges and are convinced that God exists only to make their lives difficult. They take steps to weaken God's success by sabotaging their relationships.

Colossians 3:23  "Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as for the Lord and not for men.

We will realize that being disconnected or actively disconnected is something unacceptable for a Christian. Do you feel the same way about the satisfied category? after reading the verse above, how do you feel now?

In Paul's letter to the church in Colossae, God says that we must work as though we are working for the Lord, not for people. This means we must work diligently at all times. Including in seasons when our boss is mean, does not appreciate us, does not care, is rude, or _____ (fill in the blank yourself)

So how do we change our perspective if we have a bad boss? Jesus has the answer:

Matthew 5:44  "But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

This verse is taken slightly out of context. Slightly, because the word persecute means “drive away.” Even though your boss may not intend to drive you away or make you leave your job, sometimes we think that he does not want us to be at work.

What should we do?

We pray! Pray for your boss and manager too. Pray for them. Pray that they will notice you. Pray that your work will be good in their eyes. Yes, pray that you will have compassion for them.

This will not only make a difference in your relationship with them, but it will also help draw you closer to God. After all, He surely has a reason for placing us where we are right now.

Let us glorify Him in our careers.

Translated from the article “I Hate My Job” by Shawn Sommerkamp at www.mydtconnect.org

Related article: How to Win Over Negative Thoughts