If you are having problems at work, you may be tempted to quit your job. There are certainly good reasons to leave. Some problems, though, can be resolved without quitting. If you would rather stay at your current place of employment, it may be worth trying these solutions. Here are some common workplace problems and possible fixes you should consider before you resort to quitting your job:
Your Job is Interfering With Your Family Responsibilities
If you are having trouble achieving balance between your career and your family, you may find yourself stressed out. You may have even considered taking a hiatus from your career altogether but don't know if that is the best thing to do. Here are some alternative work options that can help make your work schedule more bearable. For example, you can see if your boss is amenable to letting you work a flexible schedule. This may mean working four 10-hour days each week or working non-typical hours, like 8 to 4 or 10 to 6. Other alternative arrangements include telecommuting or working part time. Some employers even allow their workers to job share, which involves sharing a full-time job with another worker.
Your Commute is Getting to You
Many of the alternative options mentioned above can help you if your commute has gotten to be too much. Working a flexible schedule may give you a break from traveling to work one day a week or may at least take you off the road during rush hour. Telecommuting can keep you from having to commute at all or may cut down on the days you have to travel to the office.
Your Work Place Relationships Are Bad
If you don't get along with your boss or one of your coworkers (or any of your coworkers) your work life can be extremely difficult. Given the amount of time you spend at work, it can be as hard as a bad marriage. Before you get a divorce ... um ... quit your job, see if you can improve your relationships with your boss and coworkers. That sometimes means looking inward and doing things to change your own behavior. Also, consider asking the human resources department to intervene.
You Received an Unsatisfactory Performance Review
A poor performance review may leave you staggered and wondering if your best bet is to quit your job. Unless your boss has something else in mind, you don't necessarily need to leave. The first thing you should do is look at the review with an open mind. If you conclude that it is fairly accurate, find out what you can do to improve your performance. This probably requires a serious talk with your boss. If you think the performance review was unfair, then you should also talk to your boss but wait until you can do it calmly.
You Are Unhappy About Some New Policies at Work
We all get stuck in our ways and the familiarity of consistent work policies can be very comforting. When your boss decides to change things it can be disconcerting. Often it isn't that the changes are bad, it's simply the fact that they were made at all. When your boss makes changes to policies at work, the best thing you can do is give yourself some time to get used to them. Take a few weeks to figure out whether your unhappiness stems from your resistance to change or if you truly feel the new policies are bad for the company. If after a while you come to the conclusion that the changes are truly not working well, turn your negativity into something positive. Set up a meeting with your boss. Be prepared to present a clear rationale along with suggestions for improvement.