How to Survive in a Job You Hate

There is absolutely no point in going to a job that you hate every day. No, really. There's absolutely no point in it, even though you have bills to pay and mouths to feed (even if it's just your own) and a landlord gunning for a reason to get rid of you and your delicious rent control. The simple fact of the matter is that, despite all of those things, it's just not healthy for you to go into work every day dreading it and counting the hours until the workday is over. If you're currently hating your job, here are some proven strategies to at least make the struggle a little more manageable.

Remember why you're there.
Maybe you have student loans to pay off or children to take care of. Maybe you're saving money to buy a new computer so that you can switch to your freelancing full-time or pooling every last cent towards the film company you're starting with your best friend. Perhaps you're behind on your rent, paying off medical bills, or go a little crazy when you have too much time on your hands. Perhaps it's not about the money at all, and you're staying at your current lousy job because you need a certain amount of experience in the field, to develop certain skills before moving up or going solo, or you, for needs chronic, acute or merely preventative, need the health insurance that your employer offers. The reason itself is really only significant if you can remember what it is, and what makes you go into work day after day when you'd much rather be doing almost anything else.

Using your long-term goals as motivators is an old trick, but it's one that works. Think of your goals as a sort of mantra that you say to yourself when things are particularly bad; just say them over and over in your mind until you feel a little calmer and a bit more focused. Does this mean that you should stay in a job that you absolutely hate, just to meet your goals? Not necessarily. If your job is offering you something fairly basic, like health insurance or regular wages, then keep in mind that many other jobs could offer you the same thing-- and other jobs might not make you want to pull your hair out.

Start looking for a new job.
Nothing helps you appreciate the job you have like looking for a new job. No one likes looking for work, and many of us actively avoid it for as long as possible. It's a matter of the evil you know versus the one you don't; at the very least, you know why your current job just isn't working for you, but you don't know anything about the jobs to come. Finding a new job means going through that rigorous process of emailing, calling, interviewing, potentially multiple times, all of which require that you spend what little time and energy you have on the search.

Looking for a new job, however, doesn't mean that you can simply spend half the afternoon on craigslist, emailing all the interesting jobs to yourself. Sure, that's a step in the right direction, and it might be enough to placate you for the time being, but at the end of the day, you're still not going to be happy in the job that you have, and for that, there's only one solution. Find a new job. This means beefing up your resume, networking and discovering new jobs, and actually applying for them. Yes, this will require time and energy and, if you're commuting, probably some extra money, but in the end, you'll learn exactly where you stand in the employment world. You might discover that you need some more experience before you move on, that every other employer is interested in you and you therefore have options, or that the job you have, when compared to the world outside, is really not so bad as you had originally thought it to be.

Find your job perks, whatever they may be.
Maybe you work in an office, and you have free access to an unlimited supply of color copies. Perhaps you work behind the counter at a locally-owned video store and you get all the movie rentals you could possibly want. Whatever your situation, there are certain perks that come with it. They might be as simple as really great health insurance, a flexible schedule, office supplies, or entertainment perks, but whatever they are-- find them. Exploit them. Make the very most of what you're getting from your job in this current moment, and worry less about all the things that your employer isn't giving you. If you get unlimited movie rentals, try moonlighting as a movie critic, starting your own blog or selling reviews to local (and internet) takers. If you have all the copying you could desire, try publishing something, whether it be that novel you've been working on, a comic you created with your friend from high school, or a small arts magazine. Make a list of the resources that you have at your disposal and try to find something that you can create or work on as a direct result of having those resources. If you hate your job that much, you probably won't keep it forever, so you might as well make use of the situation you're in while you're still in it.

Plan an escape route.
If you're already at the point where you're ready to walk out your office door, never to return, keep in mind that while doing so on a whim has in fact worked out in the end for many people, it usually doesn't do so without a considerable amount of struggle. Leaving your job without adding to the amount of stress in your life typically requires careful planning, and, sometimes, just the planning can be enough to make a horrible job a little more worthwhile. If you're holding onto your job due to benefits or pay, building up savings or enrolling in a savings plan can be enough to revolutionize the way that you perceive your job. Knowing that you're fully covered should something happen can ease a lot of the stress of the workplace, and it will help you reevaluate your situation with a head cleared of the material pressures of everyday life.

If you're working at your current job as a stopgap until you do something that you really want to be doing, start planning out what your real goals look like. Give them names, flesh them out, and develop a timeline for yourself, wherein you create firm deadlines by which you will complete each task, and don't let them pass unheeded. Tap into your energy and time reserves and move yourself closer and closer to your goals, and the daily chore of going to work will either become slightly less troublesome as you personally progress or you will finally find a way to move yourself out of your cubicle prison and into the life of your dreams.

Know your rights.
All of this having been said, if you dislike your job because your employer is doing something downright illegal, you've moved past the point of negotiation and into the realm of legal action. You should, regardless of your situation, be up to date on employment laws in your state. This is incredibly important, so I'll repeat it: You must, for your own sake, be up to date on employment laws in your state. There's a common misconception that illegality in business practice is the exception, and not the rule, but the fact remains that most employees are completely oblivious to the rights that they have in the workplace. While not all employers are willfully breaking the law, many do, banking on the fact that their employees will not be informed enough (or courageous enough) to confront them.

Some of the basic things that you should look into, regardless of the job that you have, include sexual harassment (which now includes disparaging remarks about sexual orientation or gender, among other things), overtime and benefits, exempt vs. non-exempt status, and the details of contract law. These are some of the most common workplace issues, and simply knowing your rights can help prevent workplace abuse from happening to you (and those who come after you).