Identifying the root causes of job dissatisfaction
Before you resign and pack your bags, take the time to identify the causes of your discontent thoroughly. Job blues might stem from factors unrelated to work.
Job dissatisfaction doesn't necessarily mean you no longer like your job. A challenging expat experience can make daily life more difficult. These challenges can seep into your professional life and demotivate you. Work-related discomfort might stem from loneliness: missing family and friends back home, struggling to form strong friendships in your host country, or finding it hard to settle into your new city, for example.
Sometimes, life's upheavals make work less appealing, like experiencing a tough breakup or losing interest in your job.
Of course, your international career itself could be a source of discomfort. Dissatisfaction might arise from various sources: feeling stagnant at work, unfulfilling or demotivating tasks, disagreements with management, work organization, or the foreign company's culture, and conflictual relationships with colleagues.
Questions to ask yourself
To properly identify the causes of dissatisfaction, ask yourself the following questions:
- Why did you move abroad? Was it for professional reasons (for your current job) or other reasons (following your spouse, learning a language, challenging yourself, etc.)?
- What were your initial professional and personal plans?
- How long have you been dissatisfied with work? Has this been a long-standing situation?
- Where does the dissatisfaction stem from? Is it your tasks, your profession, or the work environment?
- What are your relationships with your colleagues and superiors like?
- How were your first months in your host country? And now?
- Are you passionate about your career abroad? Did you take this job "by default" to boost your income while pursuing your professional project?
- Is your host country far from your home country?
- Is it easy for you to visit your relatives?
- Could your job dissatisfaction at work be a sign of burnout?
Answering these questions provides good insights to guide your reflection. Was the job you took abroad right for you? Might you need to change vocations, professional sectors, or your city?
Discussing with your foreign employer
Before making a potentially impactful decision, consider discussing it with your employer. If the problem originates from work, you might find a solution together. How does your employer view your work? Do they sense a decrease in your motivation or involvement? Are adjustments possible, like changing positions or tasks? Naturally, this solution is more challenging if your employer is the source of your job dissatisfaction.
Career assessment
Lost in your routine in a foreign country? To identify the most suitable solution for your case (changing professions, sectors, starting a business, getting trained), consider a career assessment. Learn about the laws in your host country. Does the company finance career assessments? What's the process to initiate one?
Changing positions
If the issue is mainly with your tasks, consider changing positions. You might stay in the same professional sector or even the same company but undertake different functions. This change could breathe new life into your international career.
Changing companies
Are the problems work-related or more about the company? Stressful relationships with management or colleagues can be a source of stress. It's hard to stay motivated when each day brings new conflicts. The same holds true if you no longer agree with the work organization, pace, or culture.
Changing your city
Could your job blues stem from your host city? Maybe you never wanted to live in this city but tolerated it because of your job. But the job hasn't reconciled you with the city. Love may also fade after several months or years of living there. Moving to a different city could be a way to rejuvenate your expat experience. But if you move to a city far away, you might also ask whether 100% remote work is an option.
Changing professions
Changing positions, tasks, offices, etc. If you've tried all possibilities to regain motivation at work in vain, it may be time to reconsider your vocation. Whether you practice your new profession in your host country or elsewhere (back home or in another country), the change will mark a new beginning and a new source of motivation.
Considering professional training
Whether you decide to change professions or not, consider professional training. It could relate to your activity sector or an entirely different field. Take this opportunity to revisit your expatriation project: What was your dream job? Are you currently doing it? Do you dream of another job or a different way to practice your profession? Like the career assessment, check if your company covers all or part of the training costs.
Returning temporarily to your home country
Recharging your batteries, seeing your loved ones, and reflecting on your career can help you gain clarity. How do your relatives see your situation? Do they notice your morale dipping? Besides the joy of seeing your loved ones, does coming home give you a sense of well-being? Use this break at home to envision another turn in your professional career. It might be time to return home, change professions, and/or move to another country.
Moving to another country
When your job blues is linked to the host country, changing countries might be a solution. Relocating elsewhere can be a good way to regain momentum. You embark on potentially lengthy and complex administrative procedures but feel your motivation returning as you dive into this new project.
Is job dissatisfaction a sign of burnout?
Beware of burnout. It's one of the first things to investigate as soon as you notice the first signs of job blues. Of course, occasional boredom is natural. There are always ups and downs. However, these phases are different from persistent discomfort. Don't hesitate to consult a doctor when work dissatisfaction becomes part of your daily routine. Connect with trusted individuals in your host country. "Expat blues" is a real yet rarely discussed phenomenon. It's essentially depression (with similar symptoms) linked to moving to a foreign country. Symptoms may appear before the move or emerge as you try to adapt to your host country.
Burnout, bore-out, or brown-out?
Burnout is a depression linked to the work environment, also known as "professional exhaustion" or "work-related stress." Burnout can arise from overcommitment at work, excessive workloads, increased workplace pressures, poor working conditions, etc.
Bore-out is characterized by chronic boredom at work. Exhaustion comes because the expatriate no longer feels any motivation to be bored. They are not overburdened with work; on the contrary, they may feel neglected by the company, sidelined, or underemployed and have lost the heart to engage at work.
Brown-out questions the very meaning of work. Individuals lose their bearings and wonder about their role in the company. They lose interest in their work because they feel the employer has lost interest in them. This makes them question themselves negatively, doubting their abilities and legitimacy in the company. They may even question their expatriation project.
How do you overcome it?
Although brown-out and bore-out are not forms of depression, they can still lead to depression. Foreign workers sidelined by their company lose their bearings. They may feel even more vulnerable due to their status: foreign, potentially tied to their employer by their work permit, etc. Is there an occupational physician in the company? What measures has the employer taken to ensure employee well-being? Is mental health a priority for the company?
It would be risky to make a radical decision (resigning, changing cities, countries, etc.) without understanding the causes of your discomfort. If your job dissatisfaction masks burnout, changing professional direction without medical intervention may not solve the problem. First, the illness should be treated, hence the importance of consulting a doctor. The same advice applies if you're experiencing a brown-out or bore-out phase. Changing the professional environment can indeed be part of the treatment, but only after getting medical advice.
Considerations for expats dealing with the job blues
Are you quitting everything impulsively to start a new expatriation project? The idea is tempting but too risky. Before you drop everything, secure your fallback options, and above all, give yourself time to reflect.
Check the host country's legislation regarding unemployment benefits
Are you thinking about changing jobs? First, check the terms of your employment contract and the legislation of your host country. Is there an unemployment insurance scheme for expats? What are the conditions for accessing it? What are the consequences of resigning? Many countries offer no compensation in case of resignation. Be sure of your choice before making a decision.
What happens to the visa/work permit in case of resignation?
It depends on your visa/work permit. Some work visas are linked to the right of residence. In this case, resigning leads to the cancellation of the residence permit. If your visa sponsored your family members, they would also lose their right of residence. Even if your work visa is not linked to your residence permit, inquire about the consequences of resigning. Many countries provide unemployment benefits for involuntary job loss (dismissal, end of contract), but not for resigning. To avoid resigning, try to consider another way to leave the company in agreement with the employer (mutual termination).
Find the right timing
Try to calculate the best time to consider your international career plans. If it involves moving to a foreign country, check how long the administrative procedures might take. Also, get a feel for the future host country: has an immigration reform been voted on or is it underway? It's not about cutting corners on your dreams but rather stacking all the odds in your favor for them to succeed.
Test and progress gradually
"Quitting" doesn't obligate you to resign, leave your apartment, and head to a new country within 24 hours. Before making a radical decision, test different options (career assessment, training, changing positions, etc.) depending on your situation. This is one of the best ways to identify the root of the problem and consider the best solution. Don't see this approach as a waste of time but as a safety measure instead. Of course, if you realize that the profession you are practicing abroad isn't for you, there's no point in trying to adjust the position.
