Millions of people around the world use a treadmill for exercise every day. Treadmills can be a key component to a physical fitness routine but nobody likes to describe their professional career as “being on a treadmill.” People who feel as if this is their career feel like they work hard and do the right things but they never seem to get anywhere. Companies should care if their employees feel like their career is on a treadmill because surveys show such employees just “go through the motions” at work and have no desire to increase productivity or improve anything. Read on to determine if your career is on a treadmill and learn what you can do about it.
 
Are you constantly looking out for a new role with a level of pay that can finally help you achieve your financial dreams? While this is normal for most employees at most organizations the key word in the question is “constantly.” If, for example, you just got a promotion last month and your pay was bumped up 40%-60% but you are already are looking to do it again, odds are you are on the career treadmill. You actually have progressed professionally but HR experts say you won’t recognize it if you don’t stop to breathe and appreciate your surroundings. When it comes to money, if you were keeping under budget with 40%-60% less of your salary and now you can’t stay under budget, the problem is most likely not lack of income but too many unnecessary expenses, which helps drive many employees to keep running on that treadmill.
 
Do you always count the minutes until you can log off or go home? Do you dread waking up in the morning even on days when you don’t have to work? These are some more signs that you are on the career treadmill. Most people enjoy time with their family and friends more than time at work but counting down minutes shows that levels of boredom, apathy, and disengagement have hit critical levels, at least when it comes to your current position. People on a career treadmill find themselves not even happy to wake up on the weekends because they feel like it’s a countdown to the inevitable process of getting themselves back into their workplace/office.
 
If you find yourself on the career treadmill, surveys show that the surefire way to get off is to change things up: whether it means getting a new job at the same company, the same job with a different company, or a different kind of job at a different company. People are hesitant to do so for the sake of job security or money but HR and health experts agree it is important because the effects of being on a career treadmill absolutely bleed over into peoples’ personal lives. Many people make the prospect of making a career change easier by enlisting the aid of a recruiting/staffing agency that specializes in helping match candidates with the jobs that suit them.