People who hate their jobs often get negative labels on them, namely “Unproductive”, “Lazy”, “Non Self-Starter”, and many similar others. If you’ve worked in a traditional workplace, you know these kind of people immediately. Perhaps you’ve even been one yourself.
You can see it in the glazed over expression with which they complete their tasks, a thousand-yard-stare that doesn’t leave no matter how many mugs of coffee are inhaled. Their robotic-like, lifeless expression is just the tip of the iceberg; deep down, working 9-to-5 is all about doing a rat race: You just can’t see the end to what you’re doing – perhaps because you don’t care anymore.
It’s easy to judge people like that, or to judge yourself if you find those characteristics relevant to your own life. But it turns out that hating your job may not be a sign of laziness; it might just mean it’s time to go work for yourself or start your very own business.
Are you really an entrepreneur?
In research conducted by Reed Commercial, an interested commonality was found among young entrepreneurs. Across industries, levels of economic success, and cultural factors, most entrepreneurs (almost three-quarter of them, in fact) don’t like working for other people. Respondents got pretty animated when asked to describe their previous bosses in just a few words.
“Didn’t listen to others’ ideas”, “he was a bully, your hardest was never good enough”, “HEAVILY INTO MICRO-MANAGEMENT”, “My last boss liked the sound of his own voice and found it difficult to listen to others”. So go many of these responses. And these descriptors are likely familiar to anyone who has had the pleasure of working for a boss of any kind.
The difference for these entrepreneurs, between themselves and the everyday worker, is that this disdain for working within such an employer/employee dynamic is simply intolerable for them, but merely unpleasant for those who do not go on to seek out self-employment opportunities. Maybe it’s possible that this single factor is what drives a significant impetus for entire economies. Surely it’s at the heart of the so-called Uber Economy, in all its many forms.
Self-employment is on the rise
More people are becoming self employed today than at any other point in American history. Analysts have long suggested that this is due to technological innovation, and surely this is not an insignificant factor. But let’s consider the nature of these technological advancements.
Firstly, they did not, obviously, design themselves. The existence of both the uptake and creation of apps like Lyft and AirBNB indicates that:
- The people who design these apps understand that MANY people don’t want to work in traditional employment settings.
- MANY people think the self-employment thing is a great idea, enough so that these apps have millions of users.
Secondly, there are plenty of people in the American economy who are starting businesses of their own, not beneath the employment umbrella of a macro-employer like Uber. They want freedom – even if it means that they make less money or work harder than ever. For a self-employed person, freedom is king.
Regardless, both confirms the symptom of the same phenomenon: They just want to do their own thing.
Takeaway
So many of the worker characteristics that manifest themselves as disengagement or laziness in traditional workplace settings, can manifest themselves as entrepreneurship and innovative spirit when the same person is given the chance or decide to work for himself or herself.
Both characteristics are two sides of the same coin. So if you hate your job (or, more specifically, your boss) it might be time to start working for yourself or start a business to see the real change you are looking for.
So, what action are you going to take? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.