A global study, published by consulting firm Randstad in 2022,  found that almost half of young people would rather be unemployed than be unhappy in a job. Let’s face it, unhappiness at work is not good for individuals and it is not good for organisations.

Dr GC, Chief Psychologist at The GC Index, believes creating an environment where people can make a positive impact plays a key role in making sure people are happy at work. He says, “It’s one thing to ‘be’, but confidence, self-esteem and good mental health comes from ‘doing’ and making a valued impact: no-one starts their working life with the ambition of feeling impotent.”

Ruth Bailey, Co-Founder of GC Partner, The Cause Effect* recently coached two young adults who worked in different organisations, both of whom she discovered were slightly unhappy. They had latent GC Index® profiles where all the impact numbers are five or below.

One of them, who had just started their first job after graduating in Organisational Psychology, said, “Sometimes, something feels like it isn’t right”.

This latency we talk about occurs in many circumstances, so far we know it appears in approximately 3% of the profiled population. Whilst these were graduates new to the world of work, experiencing latency as they grasped the skill of adaptability, latency can also be revealed in many other circumstances;

  • ‘I’m new into my role and don’t know what’s expected of me’
  • ‘I don’t feel stretched at the moment, I feel like I am coasting’
  • ‘I have so many options I don’t know where to focus my efforts’
  • ‘I’ve lost some confidence in my abilities and want to feel more assertive’
  • “I am feeling disillusioned, I hate my job and its draining me”

So, what should you do if you are unhappy at work? Well, Ruth helped the two individuals she coached to explore the skill of self-awareness, to observe and be curious to monitor what was driving the latency, identifying when they feel low energy, and where they feel it, committing to strategies to deploy in the moment. She also got them to look for what drives the energy up!

As Ranstaad reveal, staying unhappy in a job may well be increasingly unpopular, but working out what to do about it, working through the insights, building adaptability and self-awareness holds the key to igniting energy and positive impact. Adaptability in a fast paced ambiguous world is in fact is by far the most powerful strength for us all to cultivate.

Ruth Baily, Co-Founder of The Cause Effect, says, “If a member of your team is unhappy or indeed you yourself working through insights from a tool like The GC Index® can help build adaptability and self-awareness, which holds the key to igniting energy and positive impact.”

To find out more about how Ruth used insight from The GC Index® to support the two young people please take a look at the Impact Story: The Way I’m Working Isn’t Working.

*The Cause Effect offer leadership development, team and individual coaching through the lens of emotional intelligence. To find out more about The Cause Effect please click here.