Filed under: notes
Dear Ms. Theologian:
I hate my job. I just really, really, really hate it. I can barely get out of bed in the morning and I count the minutes of every hour. I can’t quit because I need the money. I’ve been looking for a job, but haven’t had any luck. Sometimes I just hope to be laid off or even fired. What should I do?
-Loathing the workday
Dear Loathing,
Consider why you hate your job for a moment.
Do you feel alienated from your coworkers? I certainly have and it’s led me to hate my job.
Do you need more of a community than you are getting in the workplace? I’ve worked at places where it’s every (wo)man for himself and that made me feel awful.
Do you feel judged as inferior? We won’t get into my inferiority issues here. 
Do you loathe all of what you do or some of what you do during the workday? Often I’ve found that I enjoy interactions with people, but anything resembling data entry will have me plotting ways to escape.
Identify what exactly you hate (I’m not letting you say, “Everything!”) and you will be able to find a place to start.
Have you ever felt this way before? Think hard, think back to your last job. Did you feel like this too?
Often we get into a rut. Perhaps we’re in a career that doesn’t suit us. Perhaps we keep taking the first job that comes along without any sense of higher purpose. Perhaps we didn’t get the education we need to pursue the job we dream of. For whatever reason, you need to address the deeper issue. Without that addressed, you may be in the same situation, just with a different boss, different commute, and different coworkers. Identify what isn’t working here.
I see you as having three options:
a. quit your job immediately;
b. quit your job soon;
c. completely change your attitude so you don’t hate your job.
For short-term coping, try prayer, meditation, and exercise. For long-term coping, make a life-change for the better.
–Ms. Theologian