He claims that most jobs are meaningless and unnecessary. JobsĪnthropologist David Graeber wrote a best-selling book, entitled Bullshit Jobs, theorizing that the vast majority of people, ranging from office workers, administrators, management consultants, telemarketers and corporate attorneys to public relations professionals, are squandering their lives. In reality, humans were not built to work in an office building for the vast majority of their lives. There is a real fear that they’ll outlive their savings. With record levels of inflation, a potential recession on the horizon, stock market plunges and real estate unaffordable, some Americans don't have the financial wherewithal to retire. Instead, many Americans have become zombie employees, dragging through the day to get paid just enough to pay down some tuition debt and put away money for purchasing a home and starting a family. Nice cars, vacations to exotic locations, summer beach homes and luxury await you. The money earned would catapult you into the middle class or higher. Parents and society tell you that a solid education is the path toward a well-paying job and fulfilling career. People work hard from grade school through college. Both professionals will feel good that they can use their knowledge and skills to improve the lives of others. The lessons learned at a young age may help them build their net worth over the subsequent years. A stock broker can collaborate with schools to teach young people about finances, investing and the pitfalls of credit card debt and high-interest-rate loans. A hard-nosed Wall Street mergers and acquisitions lawyer may use their legal skills to do pro-bono work for Ukrainian refugees. If your best efforts don’t change how you think about your job, start exploring other opportunities.They need to find ways to do their job that offers meaning and fulfillment. If you find that too many weeks and months are passing by where you feel stuck in your role, it might be time for you to move on. It’s crucial that your work is of a type where you feel fairly compensated, adequately challenged and fully engaged. We spend almost half of our waking hours at work on most days. When your skills advance, opportunities for contribution and impact at work increase dramatically. What would it look like to take your skill level up a notch (or two, or three!). Whatever you do, be it computer programming or woodworking, has a range of capability within which practitioners can operate. In coaching parlance, this is called “managing up,” where an employee coaches their management in helping them! 4. Then, have the courage to discuss your interests for more significant challenges and opportunities with your boss. If you feel stagnated in your job, first – take the time to get clear on what you would like out of your career. Your boss can be a crucial and powerful lever in turning around your work situation. What do you want in your career? What skills do you want to use (and learn)? Where can you make the most significant impact? How do you want to spend the 80,000 hours of your life that you spend working? 3.

People get stuck in a job when they aren’t clear on what they want out of their work. Identify what you want out of your career When you are fully engaged, it makes it easier to navigate situations, even if that means finding a new (and more challenging role).

For example, pick a few specific tasks or a particular project, and act as if this task/project is the most important thing you could ever do.

The first step is to find some way to get engaged in your work at a high level. Given that roughly 70% of employees are disengaged at work, there is a lot of room for improvement. However, the danger is in becoming detached and aloof, which will make it harder to improve your situation. One might think that a dead-end job is one where you should apply less effort.

Dead end job