Some options for when you lose your desire for work
Dear J.T. & Dale: I’ve lost my desire to work. I’m 51 years old and have been laid off twice in the past five years. There is nothing that excites me about my field of work. And, I can’t think of anything else I’d want
to do instead. Except mountain biking. I love being outdoors and just wish I could do that each day. But, it won’t pay the bills. Got any advice on how to find my passion for something that will? — Eugene
J.T.: I’ve worked with many professionals who go through the career “blues.” It’s because they mistakenly thought that building a career would ensure success and satisfaction. They put years of effort in, only to learn that they really didn’t have control over the outcome. That’s depressing! The solution is to focus on the reality that every job is temporary. More importantly, you have to start thinking about what will excite you. You mention mountain biking. Could you find companies that supply all the things needed to mountain bike and see if there’s a job where you fit? Working in the industry would start to align you with some sort of interest. Finally, I will tell you the longer you sit in limbo, the harder it will be to get out of it. Action will give your brain some new experiences and distract you from your negative thinking. It’s like exercise: In the beginning, you hate it, but you feel great when it’s over.
DALE: Please do all of that, plus there’s an additional way into the networking process that I think you might find agreeable. Let me back up and tell you a story, a true one. There was an impressive young woman who worked with my wife. She decided it was time to meet a terrific guy and settle down, and she turned her back on all the usual means of connecting with dates. Instead, she joined a cycling club. She figured the members would be fit, both physically and financially, and therefore a good pool of candidates. Sure enough, she met a guy and they fell in love and married. No, I’m not suggesting that you seek out a wealthy spouse and retire; rather, I want you to use cycling groups as a new base of business/job connections. Start asking around about careers, and I’m betting you’ll find riders with jobs they are so passionate about that you start to feel some of that passion too.
Dear J.T. & Dale: We recently got rid of our receptionist. We have a small office and not much call volume. However, my boss refuses to pick up the phone and has basically put it on me. I didn’t sign up to be the receptionist. I feel like it’s beneath me. What can I do to voice my objections to this? — Ava
DALE: My first thought was, “Nothing is beneath you if it helps the team.” But, that thought was replaced by this reality: There are politics involved and you’re right to think that the person answering the phone is going to be stereotyped as “the receptionist.” While that can be an important job, I see how it feels like you drew the “Go to Jail! Do Not Pass Go!” card. So, let’s
make sure that while you take one for the team, it’s only temporary.
J.T.: First, saying it’s beneath you will backfire. As an at-will employee, your employer is within their rights to have you do any reasonable task. So, unless you can argue it’s hurting your performance in other ways, it likely won’t hold water. You’ll need to make the case as to why answering the phone is holding you back from doing your job. Once you make the case, you can point out that there are very inexpensive virtual answering services. For less than $100 a month, a professional can field these calls. Perhaps you can tally up the hours you spend taking the calls and see if you can make the case to outsource the function.
Jeanine “J.T.” Tanner O’Donnell is a professional development specialist and the founder of the consulting firm jtodonnell. Dale Dauten resolves employment and other business disputes as a mediator with AgreementHouse.com. Please visit them at jtanddale. com, where you can send questions via email, or write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019.