Career dissatisfaction leads to lowered job performance, which leads to more work stress and even less satisfaction with their careers. In other words, a vicious cycle is created as a result of job dissatisfaction. The unfortunate reality is that if you aren’t enjoying the majority of your day-to-day life, or your career, it can take a toll on your wellness. It’s sad how often we feel we have no control over our jobs and have to settle for things that are unsatisfying or aggravating. Chronic stress and depression often go hand in hand. High stress and low self-esteem can lead to lower self-confidence, feelings of unhappiness, and chronic depression. Coping with chronic stress in healthy ways helps us to pursue our career purpose.

Everyone doing the nine-to five grind has to deal with similar issues at work, the office politics, the great or not so great boss, hierarchical challenges, conflicts of interests, and miscommunication. Expectations, deadlines, achievements, and goals can all add up to a bucket full of stress, more than you’d like to be carrying. There are several types of stress which you can encounter in your life. Work stress is a form of pressure that you feel after going through a stressful situation at office. The stress often occurs when you feel underappreciated at the workplace or you feel that your bosses don’t appreciate your efforts. Sometimes a hostile environment at work can do a lot of harm to your mental and physical health. Choosing ways to reduce the load is a great way to work smarter rather than harder. Here are five ways you can reduce the pressures at work to lower your stress levels.

When do you start to feel stagnant? When do you stop growing professionally and feel out of touch with your career? When do you realize it is time to make some serious adjustments in your professional life? Everyone's development is different and our lives are seldom linear. Whether we face a profession or a career crisis, many of us feel as though our lives have stagnated. Many of us have been doing the same job for years, with no new challenges or the prospect of moving up and we feel (and maybe are) being taken for granted. We want to reinvent ourselves and change things up, but there can be a laundry list of reasons for us to resist. We do not want to leave our comfort zone. It takes personal growth to know longer be stagnated in your career.

The number one reason why most people are not happy at their jobs is that they made the mistake of failing to link their life purpose to their career choice when choosing a profession. You may have taken up the job offer because you are well paid or because you wanted something to help put food on the table, pay the bills, or send the kids to school. While there is nothing wrong with being concerned about any of those things or accepting a job offer as a way of addressing such concerns, you have to consider your calling or life purpose when choosing a career, if you are to remain happy in life or if you are to live a satisfying life.

To really get a look into someone's character, the job interview process can be a tool to find this. But what is Integrity and how can it help someone’s career? Integrity means honesty and following one’s own ethical conventions without thinking about the circumstances and the end result. A person with this quality has to adhere strictly to the moral code and that must be reflected in its actions. Integrity relates to the transparency in the decisions and describes one’s level of honesty and moral commitments.

It can be so easy to go off in different directions trying to find purpose in life. Maybe you are living a life where you are trying to please others. You may be making comparisons to others. Or you are pursuing goals that are not realistic. Stop wasting your energy and find focus to what is important.   

One of the interview questions that is popular is what is your motivation. This is important to consider. After all what is your motivation for seeking another job.  Motivation can be as diverse as people themselves. Causes and effects of motivation are also multi-faceted. What motivates you may be totally opposite to what motivates others.

What are your weaknesses? This is a standard question in any job interview. It is one that many may find hard to answer. But the fact is we should embrace our weaknesses. We need to be aware of our imperfections. This provides the foundation for making positive change and personal growth.