Disgruntled workers have a tendency to slack off in their jobs.
After all, if you’re under appreciated, unfulfilled, and overworked, then naturally, you’re underpaid, right?
What’s your motivation to cheerfully bounce into work early, voluntarily increase your workload, and quickly finish your assignments?
Your meager salary isn’t reflective of your great contributions to the company. So, it only makes sense that you scale down your productivity to match your compensation.
Am I wrong? I am.
And you are too if you feel this way.
Of course, you shouldn’t emotionally waste away in a job you despise. I urge you to get out of a poisonous environment as soon as you can—but while plotting your escape . . .
Ask for the work you want.
The receptionist at my dentist’s office greets patients, schedules appointments, and processes payments. In other words, the woman does her job–but that’s not all.
While chatting with the receptionist about my misadventures as a personal finance writer, I learned that she creates relevant, researched articles for her employer’s blog–that she took the initiative to start.
At the end of my last visit, the receptionist encouraged me to follow the company’s Twitter account–that she took the initiative to register.
And if that’s not enough, this individual, whose job one might think entails nothing more than menial administrative tasks, worked on her company’s Facebook page.
While doing the tasks required of her, the receptionist positions herself to move into a different, and perhaps more lucrative and rewarding, field altogether.
Pursue company sponsored training and education.
It’s free.
Okay, maybe it’s not actually free, but you don’t have to pay for it.
By improving your skills, on your employer’s dime, you might be able to skip work while gaining knowledge you can brag about during your next job interview.
Cultivate relationships with your colleagues.
Hopefully, you want to leave a good impression on your coworkers.
Invite them to lunch.
Engage them in conversation at company holiday parties.
Applaud them for exceptional performance.
Volunteer to help them complete their job faster.
Whether you’re dealing with superiors or subordinates, try to refrain from pissing people off in the workplace.
Even if your colleagues find your angry, unprofessional antics entertaining, should you encounter them at a future, prospective employer, they’ll be less inclined to recommend you for the position. So, exit your current job gracefully.
It’s tough to pump yourself up to over deliver at work when you’re so mentally defeated by your wretched job you can barely peel yourself out of bed in the morning. But commitment to excellence, despite your circumstances, pays off. And here’s how . . .
Career Progression. At one job, I held off submitting my resignation letter until after I received the promotion I wanted. Like it or not, employers use your past experience, accolades, and compensation to determine not only whether to offer you a job, but also what that offer will include. Upward mobility in your current position shows others that you take your job seriously.
Higher Pay. Assuming your organization doesn’t hand you a substantial raise after you show them the amazing value you offer the company, your work ethic creates a moving back story for why you deserve a raise. You asked for extra work; you can ask for a raise.
Stronger Job Security. Say what you want about your unethical employer and your idiot boss, but there’s at least one positive thing you can say about your job. . . it provides a paycheck. Until you land your next gig, you’ll continue to experience the joys of getting paid.
You may not like your current job, but you can use it to compel you into your dream career.
Shawanda Greene is a free thinking, frugal gal whose only vices are boxed wine, lip balm and money grubbing. You can find more of Shawanda's musings at 
I agree with most of your article, except the part about working for an unethical employer. Sure a job provides a paycheck, but turning a blind eye to illegal behavior could put future employment opportunities at risk. Think of an Enron accountant’s job opportunities.
If you’re an intrinsically motivated person, it just feels so much better to know that even though you dislike your job, you’re doing a killer job and giving it your best. Hold yourself above contempt and allow yourself to feel a little smug about being exceptional in your work despite not being personally invested.
It’s definitely not all about pay either. I don’t like my job because I think my company is dishonest and can do shoddy work sometimes. I do a good job every day and never cut corners because I think that’s important; but it’s hard when your boss insists that you do cut corners and most others (not all) are complying!