Is Your Job a Loveless Marriage?

(This post is the latest article that I've written on LinkedIn.)

"My girl, my girl, don't lie to me. Tell me where did you sleep last night." -Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Where Did You Sleep Last Night.
Is your job a fiery passion or a loveless marriage? Do you wake up every morning excited to start your work day, or do you dread the very thought of going into the office? Do you brag about what you do or constantly gripe about what you endure? The biggest question you should ask yourself is: Why am I working here?
Believe it or not, there's a large majority of professionals who wake up every morning ecstatic for where they work and what they do. They found, not only their passion, but the perfect company that fits their chosen niche. From the barista who serves you coffee every morning to the CEO who runs your company, they fall into two categories: people who love their job and people who hate it. Which category do you fall in?
You can always tell who is there for the company and who is there for the paycheck. As someone who has worked many years in the customer service and sales field, I can personally attest that my work performance is a direct result to what I am doing and who I am working for. The very first company that I worked for out of high school I stayed with for six and a half years (respectively) until the company folded and I was laid off. To this day, when asked, I tell people that it was the best job that I had and the one I succeeded at the most. I was promoted not once, but twice, to the assistant manager position and I would have even been willing to move further up the ladder if the opportunity had presented itself. Since then, I have had successes and failures with other companies based on only a few factors: is it worth my time, is there an actual chance of moving up, and is this going to be a challenge or just challenging. I'm a hard worker, regardless of where I work; but there's little incentive to pursue success when there really isn't the opportunity to succeed in the first place.
The next two questions are also worth deep consideration: How faithful am I to the company and how faithful is the company to me? A good portion of working Americans spend more time with their coworkers than their spouses. A significant portion of their day is at the workplace, so is it a home away from home or a self-imposed prison? The vast majority of companies have mission statements, which, in the business world, are basically marriage vows that they are supposed to uphold. How faithful is your company to its vows? Are you secretly cheating, as well? Is it time for marriage counseling or is it finally time for a divorce?
I have asked many questions within this post and each one is equally important. We only have so many days in our lives, so why spend them in fruitless endeavors that we were not meant to be in in the first place.  Why stay with one company and wilt when you can be with another company and flourish. The choice is yours what to do from here.