LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS OF CAREER DISTRESS

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Aline Ayoub, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

Most people will experience career malaise at some point in their lives. You can overcome this phase by recognizing the symptoms first and act upon them next. Avoid the quick fix, examine the real issues, determine what you want, and get yourself back onto a positive and rewarding career track.

The signs.
Reflect on your emotions. Does your job fulfill you? Have you identified what you`ve liked and didn`t liked? Does the thought of going to work in the morning make you grind? Do you like your boss? How about your coworkers? Are you feeling like you`re not accomplishing anything? Do you feel that other people are happier than you? Do you feel better on the weekend?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, chances are you are going through a career distress.

The prescription.
Sadly, there is no prescription to cure the whole symptoms. Solving a career crisis requires work. That work is sometimes painful. Let us outline the high level remedies.
First, you need to determine what you want. Identify what`s really true about yourself. Such as your values, your priorities, your life purpose. Dismiss any fear of disapproval from your family, friends, spouse or wife. This is YOUR life. You owe yourself the favour of doing what you want in your life.
Then, understand your career crisis. Look at what has changed. For example, do you have a new boss? Have you changed department? Are you in a different industry? Are there any other needs or values that are now more important to you? Confront the possibility of making a change instead of avoiding it.
Thirdly, get support. You may think you can solve the problem by yourself. After all this is not a disease that keeps you in the hospital! You may also see asking for help as a sign of weakness. It`s in fact the opposite. Asking for help is a sign of awareness and willingness to live differently.

You`re not alone.
There are many reference manuals written on career distress. It addresses a huge demand. The rapid growth of change, globalization and the multicultural working environment are contributing to increasing stress and leaving people in disarray. You are normal. The fact that other people are not in that state does not make you a failure. Set your own compass to evaluate your success. To the contrary, ask yourself what you could be doing differently? How can you get more of what you want?

As a career coach who has worked with hundreds of clients, I’ve come to believe that there are several warning signs of career distress and that there are effective ways of dealing with them. You will get our of that rut much quicker by seeking help. Choosing to do it on your own may result in damaging other areas in your life.