Article 28: Psychological Adjustment to Poor Initial Work Adaptation and Job Dissatisfaction
Methods to eliminate maladjustment in the early stages of work
Whether it's a young student just leaving school and starting their career, or a professional transferring from their previous job to a new one, almost everyone will encounter the challenge of adjusting to a new job. Some people experience significant maladjustment, such as feeling that the work is too stressful, the interpersonal relationships too complex, or that their skills and knowledge are insufficient and they are unable to perform their duties immediately. Over time, this can even lead to various psychological problems.
(1) View setbacks correctly
It's natural and difficult to completely avoid initial maladjustment when starting a new job due to changes in environment and role, as well as other factors. If this is considered a setback, it's only a minor one. Of course, a good start is certainly a good thing, but in a sense, setbacks are normal; they motivate people to continuously correct, improve, enrich, and enhance their skills. A poor start doesn't preclude a good middle and end. Don't become discouraged, impatient, impulsive, or lose patience and confidence because of initial difficulties or temporary maladjustment.
(2) Enhance self-understanding and the profession you are engaged in.
After experiencing initial adjustment difficulties at work, it's necessary to re-examine oneself and one's profession, correcting past misconceptions and addressing any shortcomings. This allows for a more accurate understanding of one's strengths and weaknesses, a better grasp of the nature and changing patterns of one's profession, and the ability to continuously adjust oneself according to the characteristics of the profession and the evolving environment. By maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses, one can strive to maintain the greatest possible balance between oneself and one's profession.
(3) Strive to improve personal qualities
Insufficient personal qualities are one of the reasons for poor adaptation in the early stages of work. Therefore, to overcome the difficulties of adapting in the early stages of work, it is essential to strive to improve one's own qualities. This involves learning new knowledge and mastering new skills in a timely manner according to the needs of the job, strengthening physical exercise, and optimizing one's personality and psychological qualities. Only in this way can one continuously narrow the gap between one's personal qualities and the requirements of the job, thereby improving one's adaptability to that profession.
(4) Take the initiative to interact with others and establish good interpersonal relationships.
Because human beings have extremely limited ability to cope with environmental changes, experienced people will consciously or unconsciously make many friends. The role of friends in life is to care for each other, alleviate inner troubles and worries, help each other overcome life's difficulties, share each other's successes and joys, and encourage one another. Generally speaking, people who enjoy and are good at making friends are more adaptable to changes in work and living environments and can more easily restore psychological balance in the face of setbacks. Therefore, after experiencing initial maladjustment at work, do not isolate yourself; instead, actively interact with others, confide your problems, seek help from others, and use this as an opportunity to strive to build good interpersonal relationships and establish new "personal support."
How to overcome the psychological distress of job dissatisfaction?
Job dissatisfaction refers to feeling aversion, boredom, and aversion to one's profession. This psychological phenomenon not only reduces work efficiency but also affects one's overall mood, leading to mental fatigue. Therefore, effective adjustment methods should be adopted as soon as possible to overcome the psychological distress caused by job dissatisfaction.
(1) Change cognition
There are many ways to change one's perception, such as considering one's career dissatisfaction from the perspective of others and society. This approach helps break down egocentrism and closed-minded thinking, facilitates objective and accurate self-awareness, helps to fully understand the value of one's work, prompts continuous adjustment of one's career ideals, removes unrealistic elements, and stimulates strong motivation and interest in one's job, transforming "dissatisfaction" into "satisfaction."
(2) Focus on your job, explore new ideas, and elevate your career motivation.
Generally speaking, every job has its monotonous aspects because every profession has its fixed form and content. However, every job also has endless novelty. In our work, we should continuously learn, think, and explore, skillfully discovering the special aspects in ordinary tasks and finding novelty in the commonplace. We should elevate the simple, low-level motivation of working merely to make a living to a higher level of motivation: one that benefits both our present and future, as well as society and others; one that has both lofty aspirations and concrete, realistic goals. Only in this way can we bring satisfaction and enjoyment, maintaining a lasting and unwavering enthusiasm for our work.
(3) Re-choose a career
If the above two psychological adjustment methods fail to alleviate or eliminate the psychological distress caused by job dissatisfaction, then changing jobs may be considered. This method can be applied in two ways:
If both objective and subjective conditions are met, one can choose to transfer to another job or resign and change jobs to find a career that suits their needs.
If the objective and subjective conditions are not yet met, one should calmly work hard to create the necessary conditions. For example, one can work while pursuing further education to continuously improve their job-seeking and career-selection abilities, and then change careers when the conditions are ripe.
Psychological adjustment when not being valued at work
Not being valued at work is a common frustration for many professionals. Here are some ways to cope with this situation:
(1) To vent and release suppressed emotions.
Confide your sadness, grievances, frustration, and resentment to your spouse, parents, or close friends to release pent-up emotions. The sympathy, comfort, and advice from family and friends can also alleviate inner pressure. Engaging in recreational activities (such as punching a punching bag or listening to music) can also help release pent-up frustration and resentment, thus easing inner imbalance. If you experience extreme sadness and pain, you can choose a secluded place to cry your heart out, without excessive restraint. This helps release harmful substances and energy, dispel negative emotions, and restore mental and physical balance.
(2) Self-comfort
One can appropriately employ some self-defense mechanisms to offer a new, comforting explanation for being undervalued at work, thereby alleviating inner distress. Specific methods are as follows:
The function of excusing oneself. According to this method, those who are not valued at work can find a respectable explanation for their current situation that is acceptable to themselves and others. For example, they might attribute their lack of recognition to a leader's jealousy, obstruction and exclusion by colleagues, or bad luck.
The "sour grapes and sweet lemons mechanism" has two aspects: The "sour grapes mechanism" involves minimizing or denying the benefits of unattainable goals (such as being promoted or given important responsibilities at work). For example, one might think that once promoted, they wouldn't be as carefree as they are now, their work would be much more arduous and demanding, and they might even be unable to do housework. Furthermore, if they were to abuse their power for personal gain, accept bribes, or engage in power-money-sex transactions, they would live in constant fear at the slightest sign of trouble; if exposed, they could face dismissal or even imprisonment, thus offering little benefit. The "sweet lemons mechanism," on the other hand, involves exaggerating or affirming the benefits of their current situation (such as not being promoted or given important responsibilities at work). For example, one might think they have the rare ease, freedom, and leisure they enjoy now, unlike officials who are constantly burdened with official duties, allowing them more free time to care for their families, do housework, pursue personal hobbies, and enjoy life.
Rationalization. This method requires the individual to rationally and comprehensively analyze the reasons why they are not valued at work and the various impacts and consequences that may have on them. They must be willing to accept setbacks, learn from them, and firmly believe that they have the ability to navigate their future life path successfully.
(3) Appropriately adjust psychological needs and ways of satisfying them.
Adjust the content and level of your psychological needs appropriately. If you confirm that you are not valued at work due to relatively stable internal reasons such as insufficient personal ability or personality defects, then you should adjust the content and level of your psychological needs appropriately, reduce unrealistic achievement motivations, and learn to be content with what you have.
(4) Seek new opportunities in your current workplace or position.
If you confirm that the reason you are not valued at work is not due to deliberate suppression by your superiors or exclusion and obstruction by other colleagues, but rather due to your own factors, especially your work style and social skills, then you can work hard to change your current situation as soon as possible in your current workplace or position and achieve new development.