Top 7 Causes of Career Dissatisfaction

A recent study found that 55% of workers are dissatisfied at work. That’s a crazy number! Over half of people who are working right now are unhappy in their jobs. 😱

. We spend over 90,000 hours in our careers over our adult lifetimes; it makes zero sense to be miserable for that much time. But before you can change your situation, you have first to understand why exactly you’re unhappy at work. In this blog post, I share the top seven causes of career dissatisfaction so you can figure out where you fall and then take action to do something about it.

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Top 7 Causes of Career Dissatisfaction

For over five years, I’ve been helping people from all walks of life discover a career that they love and can thrive in. And it all started with my career journey.

I know what it’s like to be in a career that doesn’t align with who you are, makes you question your value, and the kind that chips away at your confidence slowly. It makes you feel like there’s something wrong with you while everyone else around you seem to be thriving.

However, it’s impossible to transition into a fulfilling career, if you don’t know WHY you’re currently dissatisfied. So, let’s get into the seven most common causes of career dissatisfaction!

Cause #1: You Don’t Feel Challenged at Work

When you are doing work that isn’t mentally stimulating, feels repetitive, and doesn’t stretch, you will quickly lead to you feeling unhappy at work.

Unchallenging work will have you thinking thoughts like, “Is this all there is? Is this why I got a degree? I’m better than this”. These thoughts will quickly lead to bitterness and dissatisfaction at work.

Something is definitely wrong if you are having those kinds of thoughts. Work should make you feel alive and energized.

Doing unchallenging and unenjoyable that makes you doubt your skills and expertise is one of the causes of career dissatisfaction. When you experience this, it’s time to reflect and act.

Cause #2: You Don’t Have Opportunities to Grow

Another reason why you might be dissatisfied at work is that you don’t have access to higher positions that will help your skillset grow and develop.

Let’s say you’ve been working in your current role for a while: you’re stretching your mental, intellectual, and physical muscles, depending on the kind of work you do. You see people getting access to growth opportunities, other people or colleagues at work are zooming past you. People who started working after you are growing faster than you.

And it has you wondering: “Why am I not given a chance like they are? Why haven’t I moved up in my career?” and so you’ll start to feel unappreciated, stuck, stagnant, and unhappy in your career.

You pretty much feel like there’s a ceiling on your growth capacity in your career and this is one of the discouraging causes of career dissatisfaction.

Cause #3: You’re Not Engaged at Work

Lack of engagement in your job happens when you don’t like the tasks or the content of the work that you’re doing.

I can think of a few reasons why you might initially choose a job that you’re not engaged in. You might have selected the role out of confidence, maybe sort of fell into it, or the job is all that was available and you needed to pay the bills. So you went with it.

Career dissatisfaction occurs when the zest or passion for your work disappears or wasn’t really there in the first place.

If you’re in a job that you’re not excited about, you’re going to be dreading every moment of your work because you know that you don’t have any genuine interest, investment, or motivation in what you’re doing.

Take some time to clarify what you want in your career, so you don’t stay keep feeling stuck in a career you’re dissatisfied with. You deserve a career that you genuinely enjoy and can be productive in.

Cause #4: You’re Not Being Paid Enough

I feel like this one is a little bit self-explanatory!

When your pay does not align with what you think your perceived value-add, or when the compensation doesn’t match the amount of effort that you’re putting into the work are you’re doing, you will definitely be dissatisfied at work.

The feeling of not receiving a value-aligned salary, especially when you are well aware of your value and the quality of the contribution you bring to the table, will lead you to have bitter thoughts about your work.

Because ultimately, we all want to be compensated for the work we do. If you’re a woman or a woman of color, this can be even further exacerbated. As you know, women are perpetually paid less than men for doing the same work as them.

Staying in a career where your value-add is consistently undervalued (monetarily) is one of the major causes of career dissatisfaction.

Cause #5: Your Work Environment Is Toxic

A healthy workplace is important because even if you might actually enjoy the work you are doing, toxic surroundings can negatively impact your physical and mental health.

How do you determine if a workplace is getting toxic?

• The work stops feeling fulfilling or healthy
• Your coworkers or supervisors behave inappropriately
• A lot of gossiping and backbiting is happening
• Your manager is unsupportive
• The hours are terrible
• There’s a lack of healthy communication
• You feel like people are out to get you

If you can check off almost everything on that list, then you’re likely experiencing one of the causes of career dissatisfaction. It’s time to start creating your exit plan and transition into a healthier work environment.

Cause #6: You’re Being Over or Under-Managed

This one has two ends of the spectrum.

When you’re under-managed, you don’t know what the work expectations are for you.

• You don’t know what targets you’re meant to be meeting
• You don’t have clear expectations from your manager
• You’re not getting feedback from your manager
• You don’t know what to change about your performance
• You don’t know how to grow in your role

When you’re left feeling clueless about the job that you’re doing, it will become discouraging and can lead to dissatisfaction.

On the other end of the spectrum is when you’re being over-managed.

In this situation, you don’t have any autonomy at work.

Being over-managed occurs when you have no say in when or how your work gets done, it can feel like your boss doesn’t trust you when they’re hovering over you like a helicopter parent.

Consequently, that kind of situation can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction at work. Being over or under-managed are both causes of career dissatisfaction and can have negative effects on you.

Cause #7: You Don’t Feel Like You’re Doing Meaningful Work

Helping and serving other people through work is a core need that many of us have.

Doing unmeaningful tasks will result in you not actively seeing how you’re contributing towards making other people’s lives better—whatever that might look like for you.

For example, some people need to work directly with people to see how they’re making a difference. Other people build software that makes people’s lives better. It doesn’t really matter how you define it, all that matters is that you feel like you’re actively contributing to the world.

If you can’t see how your work is changing people’s lives or how you’re making a difference through your work, you will be dissatisfied at work.

Doing unmeaningful work will have you feeling like you’re living out of your purpose. As a result, you’re likely to feel useless and unproductive.

There you have it! The top seven causes of career dissatisfaction. Did any of those resonate with you? I want you to take some time and think about it.