In a career rut? How can you tell and most importantly, what should you do? It gets frustrating when you feel like you have hit a roadblock in your career. How can you tell if this is something long-term or it’s temporary? We all have good days and bad days and highs and lows at work. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if it is just unique additional stressors or will things be like this ongoing? People that feel happier at work generally take that positive outlook home with them. The reverse is true as well.

Signs of a Career Rut

Sometimes when you feel more stressed at home it can simply be that you were taking your work stress with you and not calling it quits when your workday is over. Sometimes it’s not as easy to disconnect from work stressors and separate work from family life. What you want to consider is do you feel these new changes are more permanent or a short term obstacle that you can overcome? Friends and family members may tell you they have noticed a change in you. They want to help. It’s vital that you listen especially those who have your best interest at heart. Furthermore, look for the warning signs as well.

Your Health

I have a client that started getting more frequent migraines, a colleague that started to see these spots on her body and another suffering from insomnia. When your health starts to be affected and you think it has to do with work, then it’s important to pay attention to those changes. We all have times that get more hectic than others. Accountants are extremely busy month end doing financial closings, inventory control is busy during their internal audits and the benefits department has to manage open enrollments during the latter part of the year. It does vary and most people like to remain busy. However, if you start seeing more extreme situations and your health is being affected, it’s time to take notice.

Your Purpose

Performing meaningful work where you see the value and purpose in your role is crucial. it has a direct impact on your level of job satisfaction. You want to see you contribute to the company mission and that the work you do makes a difference. It makes us feel good to create something or contribute to process and growth. If you lose the meaning in your work, it affects your motivation. You may dread Mondays. Sunday night you may not be able to sleep because you just don’t want to go to the office Monday. If you start to feel a lack of purpose think about what can give you more meaning in your work. It does not necessarily mean you won’t find it again. You want to take stock and try to understand it.

If you have taken steps and still think you are in a career rut, think about what you should do. Feeling stuck in your career can take a toll on your health, job satisfaction and overall sense of happiness.