Disgruntled?

Workplace Whisperer intro + mission statement. (for everyone)

Welcome to the “Workplace Whisperer”, a blog meant to inspire, advise, entertain and inform those in the business world. This “virtual watercooler” was created by the team at C&S Business Solutions to be a consistent voice in the digital business arena, and to be an advocate for anyone working on improving their life in the “workplace”. Whether you are a founder/owner/boss, a seasonal worker/new hire, or somewhere in between, we hope you can find some commonalities within, and we hope to offer something positive for you to take away each week. While we aren’t about “whispering sweet nothings”; we would like to borrow your ear for a little bit. Here we go…

Disgruntled? (to the hard workers)

Are you disgruntled? Oxford dictionary defines this word as an adjective meaning angry or dissatisfied. So, while that definition is quite specific, it can also be very vague in business. Technically, to the individual who is always striving to do better, or do more, being dissatisfied with your current situation is a key to your future success. This isn’t a bad thing. Always moving forward, and never being stagnant is basically the mentality of a shark. If your shark-like way of thinking has served you well, then this lesson may be disregarded. 

However, if you spend more of your time at work being angry or dissatisfied, than being happy; you have to ask yourself, have you ever been “gruntled”? Though seldom spoken, “gruntled” is the antonym (opposite) of disgruntled, and can be used to convey an emotion of pleased, satisfied or contented. So, if you step back and ask yourself; “Am I angry and dissatisfied, or am I pleased, satisfied, and content?”, are you happy with your answer? Can you live with it for 1 year, or 5 years, or until you retire? Are you happy with just living with your answer, or do you want your answer to be something known to all, that you wish to shout giddily from the mountains and rooftops? 

In reality, most of us spend 5 of our 7 days each week in our place of employment. Of those 5 days, on average we spend 8 to 10 hours a day at our workplaces. This all adds up to roughly 2500 hours a year (given a 50 week work year)! That is a lot of time to spend somewhere if you are feeling truly disgruntled. So, if you are unhappy with your answers, what are you going to do about it? Truthfully, you can only rely on yourself to remedy this feeling. Your boss and peers can’t fix it. Your spouse can’t give you the answer. You need to look within yourself personally and professionally and find that thing that will make you happy. You need to self investigate the gears of your machine, and find that wrench that is jamming the works, and remove it. I can’t give you the answer here, because it is different for us all. For some, doing a task that is suited to their skills and passion, rather than tasks they are unfamiliar with, is enough to be happy at work. For others, a fresh perspective from taking a new path is the answer. For few, life is great and no major changes need to be made. These are the sharks, learn from them as they have figured out how to move through their “disgruntle” and continue forward to their happy place. Now, not everyone can be a shark, and constantly moving, but we can all find our “gruntled” place, and leave that “disgruntled” place you came from in the rear view.

Some food for thought…