There are a growing number of reasons why individuals can experience frustration at work. If you’re experiencing budget cuts, longer work hours, unclear organizational direction, or a cranky boss, you might find it difficult to stay positive. A lot of the situations you are facing have nothing to do with you, but you still are the recipient of the stress the situations are causing.
The most important lesson when dealing with frustration at work is learning how to control your attitude. Not just controlling your emotions, but controlling your attitude. Here’s how.
Identify How You Fit with the Organization
Determining how you align with the organization’s values and mission will help your have a clear understanding if you can support the organization’s vision moving forward.
If you are in sync with the organization’s values and if you believe that the mission is worthy, then it will be easier for you to weather the storm during difficult times. If you do not agree with the company’s core values, you may become frustrated because you will have little influence in the way business is handled. It may be time to move on and find a company more aligned with your value system.
Maintain Your Quality of Work Standards
You may experience frustration at work because there seems to be too much work to complete in too little time. Unfair workloads can tempt you to lower the quality standards in completing tasks, but you know what you expect of yourself.
Work with your leadership team to clarify goals and expectations so there is a shared understanding of how to be expedient in work output but also maintain quality so there is pride in the completed work.
When Swimming Against the Tide, Find an Alternative Path
I used to love swimming in the ocean when I was a child. But on occasion, there would be a narrow rip current that if not handled correctly could move swimmers away from the shore line and in considerable danger. Instead of swimming directly against the current toward the shoreline, a swimmer needs to swim at an angle and swim out of the current.
At work you may find yourself swimming against the tide, but attacking the situation head-on will only end in exhaustion. Consider alternative ways of handing these situations so you can avoid any negative consequences.
Change the Narrative
This suggestion references back to understanding how you fit with the organization. You may experience frustration at work because you feel like you are wasting your time, rules are always changing, or you may not feel like you are being appreciated for your efforts.
If you can change your attitude about how this job fits in with the rest of your life and determine why you are working, then you have a better chance of accepting situations you can’t change and making efforts to improve situations you can change.
Everything can be taken from a man but the last of human freedoms – the ability to choose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way.”
– Viktor Frankl, “Man’s Search for Meaning”
Ann Gatty
Dr. Ann Gatty is a business development strategist with 30 years’ experience, who believes that everyone has the capabilities to get where they want to go if they are enabled with the right strategies and tools. As a business consultant she builds businesses to work brilliantly. She is the co-founder of StrategicPeopleSolutions.com, an organization that helps businesses develop strong leaders while creating a culture where self-improvement is an intrinsic part of the organization’s value system. Ann works with clients to develop a strategic path towards the life they’ve always imagined. Ann can be reached at 855-284-4448 or [email protected].
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