Hate Your Job?

By Eric Tangumonkem, Ph.D.

Do you hate your job? Does the thought of getting up on Monday morning drive you crazy? Do you feel stuck in your and unhappy with your current job? Do you feel there is more to life than what you are experiencing right now?
This book is for you who hate your job. It is for you who are suffering in silence and afraid to speak out. It is for you who are ashamed to admit that your job sucks or you suck at your job. It is for you who bought the idea of going to school, working hard, earning good grades, graduating, getting a good-paying job, and life will be wonderful. After you did all these things, you still feel that things are not adding up. You earned good grades, and your job is paying you well, but you hate the job.
There is nothing wrong with you hating your job. But here is your opportunity to leverage that hate and open better doors for yourself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IEM Press
• Release date: Jan 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781636031309

Eric Tangumonkem, Ph.D.

I am excited about people, their stories, where they have been, where they are and where they are going. I love to inspire and motivate people to be ALL God created them to be. I know that with God all things are possible. For I was born in a Caldera on the Cameroon volcanic Line in a village with little resources and face a lot of challenges growing up.I have a Bachelor in Geology and Sociology from the University of Buea, a Masters in Earth Sciences from the University of Yaounde and a Doctorate in Geosciences from The University of Texas at Dallas. In addition to being a consultant geologist, I am a poet, an inspirational speaker and President of Equipping of the Saints International Ministries. I am married to Elizabeth and God has blessed us with four children; Afaamboma, Nstongmboma, Elotmboma and Abuetmboma.

Book preview

©2021 by Eric Tangumonkem. All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition

IEM PRESS (PO Box 831001, Richardson, TX 75080) functions only as a book publisher. As such, the ultimate design, content, editorial accuracy, and views expressed or implied in this work are those of the author. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without the copyright holder’s prior permission, except as provided by USA copyright law.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www. zondervan.com

The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.

Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB) Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International.

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

ISBN 13: 978-1-63603-128-6

ebook ISBN: 978-1-63603-130-9

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2021953217

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: ADMIT: You are not alone

Chapter 2: REFLECT: Your job is not your identity

Chapter 3: ASSESS: You and your job: is it the right fit?

Chapter 4: STRATEGIZE: You are not stuck

Chapter 5: DISMANTLE: Your fears are often illusions

Chapter 6: DISCOVER, DEVELOP AND DEPLOY: Your gifts are blessings

Chapter 7: There is more in store for you

Dedication

To my wife and children who stood by me during my transition from working a job to doing my life’s work.

To the 85% of employees who hate their jobs and feel rejected, underappreciated, and stuck. I see you, I hear you, I feel your pain.

Introduction

A perfect day at the beach for Roland. The sun is out. The gentle breeze is soothing to the skin. His feet in the calm, warm waters, cold drink in hand. Each sip melts his worries away. He is just relaxing in the pleasure surrounding him.

Without any warning, the clouds darkened. The gentle breeze became a raging wind, and the waves got bigger and angrier, threatening to sweep him into the ocean. Minutes later, it started pouring, ruining his drink.

The loud thunder cut through the noise of the storm and rocked him to the core. The clap got louder and louder... until he woke up to the buzzing sound of his alarm clock. Without opening his eyes, he stretches out his hand and violently slams the clock to shut it off.

This last scene has been repeated for quite a few Mondays now. It is obvious the last thing he wants to deal with when he gets up on a Monday morning is the thought of going to work.

When he started working for his present company, he enjoyed it because the pay and benefits were great. He completed his training, and as time marched on, the job became repetitive, predictable, and meaningless. Occasionally, he would try to rekindle his first thrill and excitement for his career. Something in him told him that there is more, and he could be doing better than what he is doing right now.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he got. The pay was excellent, and his boss and his colleagues were supportive. But something is not adding up. He could not bring himself to quit the job because he has a mortgage, a wife, and three children depending on him. Most important of all, he could not quit because he did not know what to do.

All he could do is dread Monday mornings and look forward to Fridays

This particular Monday, though, is different: he kept replaying the dream he had and focused mainly on the part when everything was so lovely, peaceful, and calm. He kept thinking, What if it is possible to be in that place of calm, peace, and serenity?

If there was a button that one could push to make Sunday last forever and prevent Monday from ever coming, many people would press that button. Many people dread going to work on Monday morning.

These are people who hate their jobs. As Henry Thoreau succinctly puts it, The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city, you go into the desperate country and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. Stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.¹

If you hate your job, this book is for you. It is for you who are suffering in silence and afraid to speak out. If you are ashamed to admit that your job sucks or that you suck at your job, this book is for you. If you bought into the idea that if you go to school, work hard, earn good grades, graduate, get a good-paying job, then life would be wonderful, this book is for you.

You earned good grades and got a high-paying job, but you hate it.

The other startling discovery since you started working and earning a lot of money is that money is not everything. Even though you are making a lot of money, there is an emptiness that you yearn to have filled.

If you don’t hate your job, maybe you know somebody who does, and what you learn from this book is going to help you help them.

The main goal is to take away the fear, shame, and stigma associated with hating your job. The message is clear: it is okay for you to hate your job. There is nothing wrong with hating your job. But how you channel that hatred is what truly matters.

This book will show you how to use your hatred and transform into something more productive. You will understand that you are not stuck in any job, no matter your circumstances. You will discover that ordinary people hate their jobs. Therefore, you are not abnormal in any way, even when you hate your job because you suck at it.

You will be given the tools to deal with this hatred once and for all.

Are you ready? Let’s put fear, shame, and stigma out of business. After all, it is your life. You owe it to yourself to make the most of it. Let’s dig in!

Chapter 1

ADMIT:

You are not alone

Maybe it is time to start a Job Haters Anonymous gathering where you can show up and say, I am so and so, and I hate my job. The first step in every recovery program is admission. You must admit that you have a problem before doing anything else.

Denial is the worst enemy to deliverance. If you insist that all is well, there is no point in looking for a solution. You must have heard that it is the sick who look for the doctor. If you deny being sick, will you look for a doctor to give you medicine for your ailment?

Therefore, if you hate your job, please admit it. This is an opportunity for you to come clean and stop hiding your feelings. Stop trying so hard to get along with everybody. Stop pretending that all is well when you know that you are uncomfortable.

You might have been told that you should suck it up and get on with the program. While this advice makes some sense, it will hurt you in the long run. It will be detrimental to you. There is no point in pretending that you like your job when the opposite is true.

Don’t be afraid or ashamed to