you’re unhappy at work

Hating on your job but not sure how to express it? Here’s how to speak up (without getting fired)

You can’t be happy at work all the time. But if you’re really beginning to dread it, are regularly crying on the job, or find yourself bitching non-stop with your colleagues, then it’s time to schedule a tricky conversation. Try these (uber-mature) approaches…

Be specific

Make a list of every factor that frustrates you, even the silly ones – it will help get them off your chest. Then, narrow it down to the most critical issues, like the ones you rant about to your friends in WhatsApp chats (erm, hello, working overtime without extra pay). That’s the stuff you want to get into with your boss.

Watch your words

Saying you’re miserable and demanding a fix is going to do you precisely zero favours. Instead of calling out your supervisor’s micromanaging, career coach Andrea Goeglein, PhD, advises trying something like: ‘I need your help with a challenge I’m having.’ The point is to make your boss want to help you solve these problems, not get defensive.

Bring ideas

Come with solutions, says consultant Steve McClatchy. If you wish ‘travelling for work’ meant getting on a plane instead of the number seven bus, find industry-relevant events to attend. Then tell your boss how this would help your team. ‘I can make connections that might bring in business’ sounds far more mature than ‘I want a change of scene’.

Diarise it

The very idea of sending a ‘Hey, can we chat?’ email is enough to make you want to keep quiet altogether. The solution? Ask if you can set up a monthly 20-minute check-in with your boss. Use the first one to bring up whatever’s bothering you, and the rest can be productive follow-up conversations about your work.