4 Ways to Enhance Careers for the Chronically Miserable Worker: How to Help the 75 Million U.S. Workers who are Unhappy in Their Careers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 12, 2010 -- ATLANTA — While most news reports focus on today’s 10 percent unemployment rate, a recent Conference Board study reports that more than half of working Americans are miserable in their careers.

“We’re misemployed, overworked, financially strained and dissatisfied with the lack of balance in our lives,” says career expert Peter Bourke, author of A Better Way to Make a Living…and a Life (http://www.betterwaytomakealiving.com, Xulon Press, 2009). “And, many are worried about being the next worker laid off.” Today’s workers struggle with questions such as:

“Why does work dominate my life?”
“Why can’t I do work that I feel better suited to do?”
“Am I the next layoff victim?”


Career Tips
Bourke suggests four ways you can enhance your career today and prepare for tomorrow, whether you love your job or are in a tenuous environment:

• Exceed employers’ expectations.
Maximize your value for both your current employer and potential future employers. Performing with excellence will serve you well, no exceptions.

• Develop your credibility and relationship with your manager.
Managers are often the critical relationship for your advancement and success within your current company—and they can also make your life miserable if they choose.

• Learn as much as you can in your current role about your company, its customers, its products and even its competitors.
This knowledge will make you a more effective employee where you are and a more valuable asset in the market.

• Have a great and infectious attitude.

There are few things you can do to make real career progress than having a genuinely positive attitude (not just a happy face). It dramatically and positively impacts your current employer’s perception.

“You’ll be best-served in your career to excel in your current role, but in today’s work environment, we have both the right and responsibility to keep our eyes open for new and better opportunities as we find them,” says Bourke.

There’s a tendency for today’s workers to “stick it out and stay put” in light of the current economy and the prevalence of layoffs. These and related recommendations are the focus of this recently released book.

About Peter Bourke

Bourke has nearly 30 years of experience with companies large and small, most recently as President of a $350 million outsourcing and human capital consulting organization. He has been featured in USA Today, on Crown Financial Network and on numerous radio programs. Bourke is based in the Atlanta area. More information can be found at: http://www.betterwaytomakealiving.com or you can email Bourke directly at pbourke@betterwaystrategies.com.

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