Have you ever caught yourself saying these four words, “I hate my job”…?

I know I have. When that feeling bubbles up, it doesn’t take long to identify the root of that toxic thinking. Most Americans who hate their jobs do so for the same reason.

Care to take a guess at the number one reason why people hate their jobs? Their direct manager!

That’s probably not very shocking when we stop and think about it. When we have an inspiring, compassionate, interested and engaged manager, we tend to reflect those traits. The same is true if we have a dull, insensitive, uninterested and disengaged manager. We tend to lose our desire to give extra.

In general, employees are in one of these four categories:

• Engaged
• Satisfied
• Disengaged
• Actively Disengaged

Engaged employees go above and beyond, striving to make themselves and the company successful. They feel commitment to and from the company. Their focus is “We win”.

Satisfied employees tend to just do their job, focused only on their own personal success and not the company’s. Most times they feel committed to the work but no commitment from their company. Their focus is “I win.”

Disengaged employees are those that have lost drive and ambition. They tend to complain some and can be found unproductive and inefficient. They believe the company is non-supportive and disinterested in their well-being. Their focus is “I lose.”

Actively disengaged employees have not only lost drive and ambition, they feel angry at work. They have grievances at many levels and are certain their company is out to make life difficult to them. They take steps to undermine the success of the company by sabotaging customer relationships, internal relationships or outright stealing from the company (be it time or materials). Their focus is “You lose.”

As followers of Christ, which of these four states of mind are acceptable?

To answer the question, re-read each definition, but this time, replace “company” with “God.”

Engaged employees go above and beyond, striving to make themselves and God successful. They feel commitment to and from the God.

Satisfied employees tend to just do their job, focused only on their own personal success and not God’s. Most times they feel committed to the work, but they have no commitment from God.

Disengaged employees believe God is non-supportive and disinterested in their well-being.

Actively disengaged have grievances and are certain God is out to make life difficult for them. They take steps to undermine the success of God by sabotaging relationships.

Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for man."

We probably realized quickly that being disengaged or actively disengaged at work is not acceptable as a Christian. Did you think being a satisfied employee was? After reading the above passage, how do you feel now?

In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, God says we are to work as though we are working for Him and not man. That means working very hard to be engaged all the time. This includes those times when you have a manager/boss that is mean or unappreciated or uncaring or harsh or __fill in the blank.

So how do we change our perspective in such a way as to get engaged reporting to a bad boss? Jesus has the answer:

Matthew 5:44 "But I say love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

I am taking this verse only slightly out of context. I say slightly because the word persecute means “to drive away”. Although, your boss is probably not actively trying to make you quit, we sometimes feel he or she just doesn’t want us around.

So what do we do?

We pray! Pray for your manager. Pray for their well-being. Pray that you will find favor in their eyes. Pray that your work will be a blessing to them. Pray you will have compassion for them.

This will not only make a difference in that relationship, it will also help you draw closer to God. After all, He placed us right where we are for a reason.

To His name be the glory through our career.

Shawn Sommerkamp is a motivational speaker and Executive Coach with 20+ years of Fortune 100 leadership experience. He founded Motivationeer™ to coach Christian professionals how to use their career to glorify God and support local church growth.