Why You Are More Likely to Procrastinate if You Have a Job You Hate

Procrastination can be a problem in the workplace, as it means workers are not doing as much work as they should be. When you're working alongside other people who are not doing their share of the work, it can be extremely frustrating, especially if you end up doing more than your fair share just to ensure a job gets done. However, most people have an inclination to procrastinate now and again, so that you could quite easily be the person guilty of this 'crime', particularly when you hate your job. If you hate your job, it is almost understandable why you would choose not to make any effort.

If you despise the people you work alongside, you may see no reason to go to trouble of completing the tasks that have been assigned to you on time and to a reasonable standard. As far as you're concerned, it isn't your problem if other people have to pick up the slack, because you'd rather be doing your own thing. The only problem with such an attitude is that you could soon found yourself without a job at all and you could struggle to get another one when you have to explain that you were fired from your previous job and are unable to provide a reference.

Even if you don't hate the people you work with and actually worry about not doing as much work as you should, sometimes it is just more fun to mess about. Indeed, there may be occasions when it is your workmates that actually instigate such procrastination. Instead of working, you may find yourself sitting around gossiping or sending each other silly messages, so that your mind is distracted from the work you should be doing. You don't necessarily need other people to help you procrastinate, though, when there are plenty of opportunities for procrastination that you can do all by yourself.

The Internet has a lot to answer for, because there are so many ways to waste your time without getting caught. When you're sat in front of a computer it probably looks to everyone else as though you're doing what you should be doing – working – which is why you can get away with procrastinating so easily. You can play games online, chat with friends on social networking sites, go shopping, read news headlines and generally search for useless information that you're never going to need to know. When the alternative is to get your head down and work, however, using your time in such a way might just seem preferable.

You can't procrastinate forever, though, because when you fail to turn in an assignment on time or you do not achieve what was expected of you, questions will be asked of your commitment to the job as well as of your competency. You may hate your job, but so do many people, and when there aren't many jobs around you don't always have the luxury of being able to choose. It is therefore important to learn to control any inclination you may have to procrastinate, so that you can actually get enough work done not to draw attention to yourself.