by Gail Gromaski

Created on: June 20, 2009

Studies show that you don't have to enjoy your job to be good at it, but enjoying what you do for a living is obviously more preferable. If you're consistently employed throughout your working life, the majority of your life will be spent at work, so an unhappy job situation can lead to long-term feelings of stress, resentment, and even sadness. The following questions are good to consider when deciding to find something new.

1. Is there room for advancement?

Opportunities to improve your skills and eventually move up in the organization's hierarchy are essential for any employee who strives for continuous professional and financial success. If you've gone as far as you can go in terms of your position within the company, and/or your wages have reached their top limit except for cost of living increases (if any), there is much reason to find something a bit more advanced, both in skill and pay. Unless you are happy with your current earnings and can see yourself doing this job at this company until you retire, it may be time to move on to something more advantageous.

2. Is there an "I" in "team?"

Working with people who resist constant collaboration to achieve organizational goals can be detrimental to its success, especially if you work at a small company. Attitudes of employees who are egoistic toward their work rub off on fellow coworkers, often causing morale to suffer throughout the company. For this reason, "team player" is often a quality companies look for in potential employees. When all employees are "team players," everyone can enjoy the satisfaction and occasional rewards attained as a result of their shared efforts.

3. Does your professional life invade your personal life?

When the clock strikes five, some people have no problem hitting the "off" switch on their computer, but have trouble hitting the "off" switch on their mind in regards to work. You may have the ability to switch off the computer, but are you bringing your work home with you in a figurative sense? Is your job so stressful or demanding that you're constantly mulling over things you should have gotten done or over heated conversations you had with your coworkers? Working overtime on paperwork or something similar is often a necessary and sometimes-justified evil, but being unable to stop thinking about work during your free time is usually superfluous and can put a damper on the valuable time you spend with your friends and family. A few people find this

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