Understanding why people complain about their jobs

When it comes to our jobs, we all gripe about something -- whether it's the salary and benefits, obnoxious boss, nosy coworkers, or endless red tape.

In my case, I tend to grumble about things that are outside my control, such as:

Having to work late hours
Having to attend boring meetings or events
Not being able to use creativity on the job
Needing to get 3 sign-offs to do practically anything

Once we're at wits end, we resolve to find a different job -- one that offers the promise of a better tomorrow. And in our unbridled optimism we presume that the new job will entail working conditions and responsibilities that are more to our liking. That might very well be the case, but it's critical you do your homework and ask questions during the interview.

For example, if you are dead set against traveling for your job, be sure to ask if your job requires any travel. You don't want to get a rude awakening one month into the job and find out you'll have to be hitting the road regularly.

We must guard against "grass is greener" syndrome -- the tendency to assume that another job will most definitely have everything you're looking for and will be entirely devoid of the ugly stuff.

Let's face it -- every job comes with less-than-ideal circumstances. See if you can effect change on your own -- whether by transferring to a different department within your company or talking with your boss to see if your schedule or responsibilities can somehow be retooled -- before defecting somewhere else.

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