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Work dissatisfaction affects all areas of life: it can lead not only to endless stress and sleepless nights, but also to broken relationships. Fortunately, therapy is a great way to deal with issues related to professional activities. We’ll tell you which ones.
1. Disappointment in the “dream job”
“Many of my clients cannot formulate for themselves what exactly is wrong: it seems that the work is generally good, they chose their specialty themselves, but there is no pleasure … This happens when our ideas about the profession diverge from reality.
Or if our interests and values have changed since we sat on the university bench. Or because it was not a genuine interest that made us choose this specialty, but, for example, the pursuit of status, the desire to please parents, or good school marks in specific subjects, ”explains clinical psychologist Ryan Howes.
And so, unfortunately, it happens quite often: we are forced to choose a profession even before we really know ourselves, and rely in this choice on such external criteria as status or income potential.
The task of the therapist in this case is to help the client figure out who he is, what he wants and how his needs are met in the current job. Perhaps you should try yourself in a different role in the same company? Agree on a partial change of responsibilities? Or is it still worth thinking about building a career in another field from scratch? In the latter case, the specialist helps to work out fears and doubts.
2. Conflicts with colleagues and superiors
“Confrontations are inevitable, given how much time we spend at work, interacting closely with other employees and management,” says psychologist Cecily Horsham-Brathwaite. – In this communication, we bring our own patterns of relationships, and each of them brings his own, so it is not surprising that sooner or later clashes arise.
How to set boundaries? How to convey your point of view to the interlocutor and defend it? How to resolve the conflict? Can they be avoided in principle, or is this particular work environment too toxic in itself? With these questions, many people come to the therapist.
Ryan Howes says that he is most often approached with complaints about management: people are afraid of losing their jobs and therefore do not voice their complaints and dissatisfaction. The therapist helps to understand whether these fears are really justified, whether it is possible to enlist someone’s support. And most importantly, where does this fear come from and how a person behaves (and always behaved) with other power figures: parents, school teachers. Usually, this is where the answer lies.
3. Return to “pre-pandemic” levels of productivity
It’s no secret that returning to the office after several months (and in some cases, almost a couple of years) of remote work is not easy: both physically and even more so psychologically.
Experts note a sharp increase in anxiety and stress and the emergence of new fears. Many of us worry about whether they will be able to work as productively as before again. And, in the end, working from home, many were closer to their families and began to find time to take care of themselves. You don’t want to give up on this.
Psychologists and psychotherapists help clients with such requests find strength and ways of self-help in dealing with stress, learn to identify their needs and talk about them. “Sometimes we even resort to role-playing: for example, I play the role of a boss, and the client learns to voice their requirements and wishes to me,” says family therapist Katherine Perez.
4. Imbalance between work and personal life
“Long working remotely has led to a complete blurring of the lines between personal and professional, with some of my clients feeling compelled to be in touch 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” explains Perez. “At the same time, many have lost any normal breaks: they stopped taking lunch breaks, eating normally and going outside. The unstable situation in the world and the fear of unemployment forced people to give all their best, not sparing themselves.
5. Feeling unappreciated at work
“Work occupies a huge part of our lives, so it is not surprising that we want to get satisfaction from it, to understand that we are really respected and appreciated as professionals, that they are interested in our development. If we are not satisfied with the work, stress, anxiety and depression are not far off, ”says psychotherapist Nancy Paloma Collins.
By working with these requests, the therapist can help the client return to their goals and values, find a passion outside of work that gives them a sense of fulfillment, allows them to be creative and grow.
6. Burnout
“Complete loss of interest in what you are doing, feelings of emptiness, lack of motivation, persistent fatigue – these are all symptoms of burnout, which many of us are experiencing today. And here it is important to figure out what exactly caused it, ”comments psychologist Lisa Orbe-Austin.
Perhaps it was provoked by the work environment itself? Or the fact that you are not doing your own thing – something that does not have a soul? Or the fact that you do not give yourself the opportunity to rest? The good news is that you don’t always have to change jobs to fight burnout, but you definitely need to change how you feel about it. And to ourselves.