Why Most People Hate Their Jobs?

Ankh | Posted on April 3, 2022 |

Did you know that most people in the world hate their jobs? Gallup’s World Poll says 85% of the workforce worldwide are not engaged at work and hate their work, especially their boss. Does it sound surprising? We spend about one third of our lives at work. Then how can we keep on doing things we hate day in day out? It might sound absurd, but it is true. In this post, let’s deep dive into why most people hate their jobs?

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
– Confucius

Contents

1 Related Posts on Why Most People Hate Their Jobs?
2 Why Most People Hate Their Jobs
3 What Should Managers Do When Employees Hate Their Jobs?
4 What Should Employees Do When They Hate Their Jobs?
5 Conclusion on Why Most People Hate Their Jobs

Why Most People Hate Their Jobs

According to an article written by CEO of Gallup Jim Clifton on June 13, 2017, named “The World’s Broken Workplace” 85% of the worldwide workforce are not engaged. Because they hate their jobs. More so, in most of the cases, the key reason is that they hate their bosses. Repeatedly, we find employees don’t leave their organizations. They leave their bosses. So let’s explore why most people hate their jobs in more detail.

Managers Manage and Don’t Lead

Fundamental to why most people hate their jobs is managers manage and don’t lead. In this section, we are going to dive into what most of the managers do. They manage but don’t lead. So what is the difference between a manager and leader? Managing is about supervising and controlling to make sure we get the work done. Then what is leading? Let’s find out.

Don’t Provide Vision and Show Direction

Leaders provide a vision and show how to achieve it. Thus, they provide the direction to achieve the strategic goals of any organization. If we can provide the how our tomorrow should look like and then show our folks how to realize it, then do we need to micro-manage their day-to-day tasks? Could we not break down our strategic goals into realistic objectives for the year and instead let our employees figure out how to achieve them? Couldn’t managers be available to only support their employees when they need it the most?

Don’t Explain Why

Then, the other major difference between managers and leaders is that leaders always start by explaining why we are doing what we are doing. Because gone are the days where employees love to do what they are being told to do. Unless we explain why we are doing what we are doing, how can employees internalize the objectives? How can then fully understand and then come up their own game plan to achieve it? Don’t we hire smarter people than we are, or should we? Then why should we be needing to tell smart people how to do what they believe they should do?

Don’t Empower

So what is empower? Empowering is arming employees with skills and freedom to prepare and execute their own course of action. Give them the ability to decide on the way. It is also about bestowing trust on employees. Believing in them and their potential. Companies who cannot empower their people lack either trusting their employees or developing their capabilities to achieve their goals. It’s nothing like when the goals of the company and the goals of the employees become one. Then we may only need leaders and not managers.

Don’t Inspire, Motivate and Appreciate

Then what is the other aspect of employees owning the company’s goals as their own? So how often does your supervisor or manager appreciate even your smallest accomplishment? Science explains we do better and gain confidence when we feel valued. It is all about catching people doing right rather than catching people doing wrong. Most of the times small words of appreciation can make one’s day. Companies always talk about motivating employees but do our managers always spend the extra minute appreciating.

Then inspiring is a much bigger topic. So what inspires us to follow someone? Character, integrity and humility of the leader are vital components along with showing the way to accomplish the vision.

Don’t Engage

So what is engaging with employees? Is micromanaging engaging? Probably not. Engaging is all about spending time with employees that the employees really value. No one enjoys being microimage’d, but what employees like is their leaders spend time with them, listen to them and try to solve their problems together. Most of the time, mere listening helps, and to listen, leaders need to spend that time with the employees.

Managers Supervise But Not Coach

The other fundamental issue for why most people hate their jobs is because their managers supervise but not coach. This brings us to coaching and not supervising. Because what we need today is coaches and not supervisors or managers. Leaders do coach, but most managers don’t. So what is coaching? Coaching also entails engaging with employees, listening and helping them come up with solutions to their problems or challenges. It is all about bringing out the best of the employees so that they can find answers to their own questions and be successful.

Managers Don’t Let Go

Because managers don’t let go, that also fuels into why most people hate their jobs. Like in any relationship, we need to let go. And the employee-manager is also a relationship. Managers should not be cringing on to historic data points either in terms of experiences or memories. We all need to let go. Many times forget and forgive.

The other way of letting go is also foregoing control. No one likes to be controlled. Then why should managers control their people? Can’t we just let go our employees so that they can flourish in the way they want to? Not everyone is alike, that’s why we value diversity at workplace. Then why do managers expect employees to be like any stereotype or rather like themselves? No one is a clone of a stereotype. Then why should we expect employees to be one?

Managers Don’t Have Empathy

Well, do managers need to have empathy? So what do we mean by empathy at workplace? Do we expect managers or leaders always put themselves in the shoes of the employees? Then what if managers are not compassionate or empathized with the employees? Would employees own the company’s objectives as their own objectives? For most employees, their manager epitomizes their company. Then if the manager doesn’t empathize with them, then would they be able to empathize for their manager or the company? To make this work, the first step needs to be from the manager to empathize with the employee. You get what you give. Isn’t it?

Managers Don’t Build Relationships

We spend one third of our lives at work. If our life is driven by relationships, then how come we can work at our workplace without relationships with our coworkers or managers? There is a fine line between professionalism and building relationships at work. Although we need to be professional at all times, professionalism without a personal touch might be like working for a robot. Would you agree? Compassion, empathy and working relationship with a personal touch are key. If a manager can realize that both the employee and themself are colleagues with a common aim of realizing the company’s strategic visions, then the manager is no more a boss. Just a colleague who is available at all times to support both for work and personally, if needed.

What Should Managers Do When Employees Hate Their Jobs?

This brings us to what should managers do then? Should not try to become as leaders and coaches instead of being supervisors? Employees are the biggest asset of any company. No wonder we call them human capital. Then how much time as managers we spend with our employees to listen to them and coach them? Explain the why and how versus only the what?

What Should Employees Do When They Hate Their Jobs?

Then the question comes: what should employees do? Do employees also have a role in stop hating their jobs? Employees can also work with their managers to make sure their supervisors hear them. And engage in dialogues that are open about what they feel and how they can work together to improve. But this requires an open culture, wherein employees can share without the fear of reprisal or retaliation. Then what if employees cannot make a change? Leaving the boss and working for someone else in the same company is an option for sure. But what if there is a cultural problem in the company and most managers behave alike? Is leaving the company because of the boss the only option left?

Conclusion on Why Most People Hate Their Jobs

Again, we spend one third of our lives at work. Then should we be doing a job that we hate? And that too because of the managers or supervisors we work with? Even if we love our work, how can we also love our workplace? There is a lot for leaderships of companies to ponder over. How can they stop people from hating their jobs even if they love their work?

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