This Feeling Doesn’t Always Mean the Same Thing
On Monday morning, that feeling sets in: “I don’t want to go there.” This sentiment can stem from three different sources, and each requires a different response.
First: the job is truly the wrong fit. There’s a fundamental mismatch with your values, strengths, or life priorities.
Second: it’s not the job—it’s the context. The manager, team, culture, or a specific area of responsibility is causing the problem. It’s not the job itself, but the environment it’s in.
Third: temporary burnout. A difficult period, a personal crisis, or simply not having taken a vacation in a long time. This state is temporary.
Decisions to change jobs made without distinguishing between these three often reproduce the same feeling in the new place.
Job Crafting: What to Try Before Quitting
Amy Wrzesniewski conducted research on work and meaning at Yale. She developed the concept of “job crafting”: increasing satisfaction through small adjustments in three dimensions without completely changing one’s current role (Job Crafting, 2001).
Task dimension: Allocating more time to the tasks that energize you the most, and reducing or delegating draining tasks.
Relationship dimension: Spending more time with people with whom you have meaningful connections at work, and distancing yourself from draining relationships.
Meaning dimension: reframing how the work contributes to a larger purpose.
When these three adjustments work together, the problem is often resolved without changing jobs. And sometimes the opposite happens: when job crafting is attempted, the things that cannot be changed become clear, and the decision to actually change jobs is strengthened.
The Focus Illusion
Daniel Kahneman’s concept of the “focus illusion” serves as a critical warning in this process (Thinking, Fast and Slow, 2011): when we focus on something, we tend to think it has a greater impact than it actually does.
When the thought “I’m in the wrong job” enters our minds, the job begins to seem like the source of all our problems. But this could be the effect of the focus illusion. When we change jobs, the same dissatisfaction gets attached to a different label: a new manager, a new city, new conditions.
Is the source of the problem the job, or is it somewhere else? Asking this question requires first looking at life outside of work.
Clarifying Questions
Three questions help unravel this feeling:
“What do I love most about my current job?” This answer reveals what needs to be preserved.
“What drains me the most in this job?” This answer raises the question of whether it can be changed or not.
“What do I need most at this stage of my life?” This answer aligns the framework for evaluation with personal priorities.
“People experience the same objective job in very different ways. The difference isn’t in the job itself; it’s in the context of meaning.” > Adapted from Amy Wrzesniewski, Job Crafting, 2001
Cevvela’s Perspective
- The feeling of “I’m in the wrong job” can stem from three different sources: deep-seated mismatch, a contextual issue, or temporary burnout. The response varies depending on the source.
- Job crafting is a tool worth trying before changing jobs; sometimes it reveals that the problem isn’t deep-rooted (Wrzesniewski, 2001).
- The “focus illusion” creates the impression that all problems stem from the job when one focuses solely on it (Kahneman, 2011).
- When values, strengths, and current life priorities are clearly aligned, the decision to change jobs is grounded on a more solid foundation.
- Coaching can be used in this process to identify the source of the feeling, explore job crafting opportunities, and clarify the basis for the decision.
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