Dear Richard Madeley: ‘I feel bored and undervalued at work. Should I quit my job?’

Dear Richard,

I’m back at work after the holidays and I just feel desperate – bored, disengaged, undervalued. I took leave in December so I was out of the office for nearly three weeks and it was such a relief. We have a ‘performance review’ process at the end of January and I ought to raise how I feel but I wouldn’t know where to start.

From a material point of view my job is good – high status, reasonable money, easy commute, nice people – and until recently I’ve been able to focus on those positives. It would be crazy of me to leave my job in the current climate. But I honestly don’t know how I am going to get through the next 12 months.

I don’t feel like I’m being singled out in any way – lots of people at my level are feeling like they have no agency any more, thanks to structural changes and an insidious top-down management culture. Even six months ago I felt like a reasonably successful, functioning professional – now I just feel lost. Help!

— Susan, via email

Dear Susan,

I’ve been working in corporate office environments since I was 16. Local papers, local radio, regional television, network television. And boy, has it been a lumpy, bumpy, up-and-down, two-steps-forward-one-backward experience!

So I totally identify with your letter. You’re in one of those dispiriting periods where nothing seems to have much point or purpose, and the future doesn’t look bright – it looks beige. Been there, done that, Susan. So let me tell you this.

Quitting your job would, as you yourself say, be crazy (well, actually I wouldn’t go as far as that, but it would certainly be unwise). Why? Chiefly because (again, as you recognise) these are deeply uncertain times.

You have a reliable income and a safe job. You may be bored and feel undervalued, but financial security in 2023 will be worth rubies. Don’t undervalue it. Don’t jump overboard into the choppy waters of an uncertain future.

I’m not just talking about financial insecurity. How do you know that a new job wouldn’t swiftly become as dissatisfying as your present one? The answer is you don’t. You could be swapping one grumblefest for another.

So here’s my advice. Regard your employment as a safe platform from which to properly plan a launch into something else. Don’t do anything hasty. Thoroughly research your options. You’re not facing any deadlines here; you can take all the time you need.

Frankly, Susan, you’re lucky. You have choices. Try to be grateful – and dial back those feelings of resentment as much as you can.

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