How To Stop Hating On Your Job

POP QUIZ:IS YOUR JOB

A boring,

B going nowhere,

C filled with awful people, or

D any combination of the above?

Most people have at least one of these gripes and almost no-one can just up and quit. What you can do is change the way you think about yournine-to five, says Daniel M Cable, author of Alive At Work. Switching your mind-set will help make your time on the clock more fun and fulfilling. Heres how to retool your workplace attitude.

- Caitlin Carlson

1 Reward yourself.

Dogs get treats when they’re good; little kids get gold stars. Now it’s your turn. Set small, specific workplace-attitude goals that you can measure, suggests Amy Cooper Hakim, coauthor of Working With Difficult People. Challenge yourself not to complain out loud for a week or not to roll your eyes when your boss asks you to do something you find pointless. Then, when you hit those marks, indulge in a fancy midday latte, a manicure or an evening bubble bath. ‘We’re more likely to complete tasks if we know that there’s a reward at the end,’ says Hakim. And removing complaints and drama from your mind can make you feel better about your job.

2 Grab a new task.