The Signs You’re Stagnating At Work (And What To Do About It)

What’s the difference between a job and a career? The long and the short of it is, a career is when you actually want to be there. Yet, in a competitive job market where every available position has dozens or even hundreds of hungry candidates scrambling over each other to get to it, we tend to cling to our jobs like the survivors of the Titanic clung to floating doors. Any port in a storm, right? But while a career may start out looking rosy, it can easily devolve into a job.

If you’re being constantly supported and developed while getting opportunities for professional growth and promotion then congratulations, you have a career. But if you’re performing the same old tasks, day in and day out, if your employer is happy to let your skills atrophy and go to waste and if one working day is increasingly indistinguishable from the rest. Moreover, if you haven’t seen a pay rise in the better part of a decade… It looks like your career has metamorphosed into a job.  

What happens if you do nothing. At present this may not seem so bad. You’ve become competent at your job and while it doesn’t excite or stimulate you like it used to you can see yourself treading water for a while until the next big thing comes along. The trouble, however, is that you’re in severe danger of falling asleep at the wheel of your career. The longer you wait, the more chance you’ll dig yourself deeper and deeper into your rut. Other employers will think twice before taking you on and your existing employer will treat you more and more like part of the furniture. It’s imperative that you shake yourself out of this funk and take your career back into your own hands…

Empower yourself with learning. Many people stagnate in their careers because they don’t have goals. Studying for a degree in your free time through online learning is a great way to develop new skills, gain new knowledge and forge a path to a new career. Whether you want to study FNP online to become a specialist nurse or study a Masters in social work you can gain the qualifications and skills to take your career in a whole new direction. All with the flexibility to fit your learning around your existing commitments.

Talk to your boss. If you like where you work but simply want to shake things up a little, the best thing to do is be honest with your boss. Tell them how you feel. Explain that you feel under stimulated and that you yearn for new challenges and responsibilities… And, of course, proper remuneration for your efforts.

Create your own opportunities with a side hustle. If you feel like you’re stagnating at work, the good news is that you’re not alone. There are literally thousands of people just like you all over the world. Deprived of progression at work, they’ve used their free time to tip the odds back in their favor with a side hustle. There are dozens of ways in which you can earn extra money and even develop your own business to create your own opportunities.

Take steps to keep yourself awake and you won’t fall asleep at the wheel of your career. Instead, you’ll steer it into a brighter, greener future.