Going mental and don't know what to do

elvislives1

i dont even know where to start - just need some advice. Maybe this is the wrong forum.

Im currently working in a job that I hate and its so bad that I cant sleep at night worrying about it, eating virtually nothing and just constant pain in my head (not a headache).

Im a sales rep working for a very large company in the FMCG area. In the beginning the job was good, liked going to work, didnt think about it when i was at home and just generally happy with it.

The company is making a profit and no sign of jobs going.

The problem Im having is my targets. I just cannot reach them at all anymore. Not even near. I have spoke to my boss about this and he says keep trying, tell them about promotions, they need this promotion etc. I do all this but it just doesnt happen.

I have lost all confidence in my job. I feel like I cant sell and that I shouldnt be a rep. I have done this job for years with another company and was good at it - now id say i have the worst sales, in the company.

Shops are saying footfall is low, people arent impulse buying, money is tight - and too be honest I see their point and I actually feel sorry for them. But my job is just to sell sell sell. Another problem is the north prices (which I wont even go into)

We are in a recession and people are watching their money. Builders have vanished and they would have bought a large amount of our product. Yet the company increases the target versus last year. To them there is no excuse and "if others can do it why cant I".

Now im at the stage where I go home and think about work all night. Cant sleep until about 2 tossing and turning. Im like a time bomb about to explode. Im off sat and sunday and spend all day sunday worrying about work the next day. I was away in Jan on holiday and spent 3 days thinking about work and worrying.

My girlfriend is very supportive and tells me to leave that my health is more important etc. But I feel WAY to guilty to leave.

I feel that thousands of people would kill for my job and that if i leave im being selfish. There is no jobs out there and my confidence is so low I dont even know if I would want to continue this type of work. (even though I used to love it) So my option is to stick with it and hope it picks up, or leave my job and its perks and go on the dole (which Iv never been on).

I know some people are going to be sitting there thinking cop on and just stick it out - but its im going to go mental.

I should be happy - good money, good car etc. but im not. This job is just taking over my life. I think about it 24/7. I cant relax, cant think straight, snap, feel like crap, and dont know what to do.

I was settled in the job until all this pressure. now im daydreaming of running away to canada, london, anywhere - which is totally out of character for me and doesnt even make sense to do.

Anyone have any advice? Or want to swap jobs?

conbon

Your girlfriend is right it not worth your health.
What about asking your boss for a position further down the chain?
As you said someone will be happy with your job/stress and maybe this is an easy way to do a swap.
This might be easier for management also, means they do not have to hire or fire anyone. I was in a company a few years ago and this exact situation came about. I was happy (for a while ) to take the management position and the person who stepped down to my old position also helped train me in.
He was happier still paying the mortgage just without the stress
I was happier taking on that role
and there was no funnyness at all.
It was not even a large company, maybe 6/7 sales and office staff.

Best of luck:)
C

elvislives1

thanks for your reply.

I dont think there is anything lower down the chain to be honest. There are merchandisers but they are agency workers. I wouldn't mind do that if it was the same company, but Id have to leave this one and join up with them. The other problem there is that the agency has got rid of a lot of its workers and the ones that got kept on now have a larger area to do.

I know others reps on the road and their companies have adjusted their targets for the recession and although there still finding it hard, at least their getting near their numbers.

But thanks for the advice.

buckieburd

I would leave if I was you. I was in the same position in my last job, I was dreading going in every moring, spent the weekend worrying about going in Monday, lost loads of weight, was being snappy with everyone. In the end I just handed in my notice and it was the best thing I ever did, it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders, I dont know how I stuck it out for 3 years looking back. I was out of work for a few months after, but eventually got something else. you spend most of your time in work so if your not happy it kinda takes over your life. Best of luck to you ( :

Ironé

Reading your post it seems like you did really well in sales during the boom times. The fact that you seem to sympathize with the customer sounds like you are averse to the 'hard cold sell on all counts' approach that might be required in the current climate. This doesn't say something bad about you - imo it says something really good about your character. So maybe this isn't something to be ashamed of or too feel guilty about. You are not a failure.

I was in a similar position to you: in a job that took over my whole life, impacted my health and my relationships. I was constantly 'ON' and couldn't sleep at night or unwind. I quit. Best decision I ever made.

I still don't have a job but I'm taking this time to reflect on what I want from my life and what I want to do next. Write down a list of things you can do, who you are - not just work related stuff everything about you. Have a look through it and think about the stuff on that list that you really enjoy. Is there any job you've always wanted to do? Have you considered starting your own business or doing a course? It's all possible, if you want it. These maybe aren't questions you can answer now if your mind is all stressed.

Think of it this way - we have one life - why spend a minute of it being unhappy and miserable when you don't need to be? There is nothing wrong with walking away from a job, in fact it's a very brave thing to do.

bambera

Why should you feel guilty about leavig? They are setting higher targets in the middle of a recession and expecting you to sell more when people are spending less! This is their fault that you are feeling this way!

If I was in your position I wouldn't want to go on the dole either but I would do my best to find a new job.

Perks are not worth much when you have a massive breakdown and loose out on living your life.

Your girlfriend is 100% right and your very lucky to have her support on this.

Best of luck.

rondog

Your job should never be the be all and end all,just because you dont succeed or excel in one field doesnt mean youre not very talented in another.I started in sales too and it wasnt for me,trying to be an agressive pushy sales person wasnt my personality.Im now in a totally different field and love it.I am really excelling in this field and like you my confidence took a hammering in the sales job as I assumed I wasnt confident,agressive,ambitious but now i realised that was bull,im just geared towards a different career.

just a memory about the best sales person in my former company-had the gift of the gab,'seemed' very confident but i later found out that all his 'stories' of nights out and sucesses were largely bullsh1t,he could talk but thats not hard when youre fabricating stories,he was found out and is now a laughing stock of the company.I wont even go into the opinions people had of him as a c0cky so and so.yes he was a great sales person,but he had no friends or respect outside of sales,is that the person you'd like to be?!!!

antoinolachtnai

Just because you're selling less doesn't mean that you are a less good salesman.

Have a hard think about why it is that others can do this and you can't.

For a start, are they really doing this, as your boss says?

Are they in better areas? Do they have a smaller increase in targets? Were they just crap last year, and hence it is easier to increase sales this year?

What's going on with the competitors on the shelf? Are they cutting in on you?

The purpose of this is for you to find out for yourself that the problem isn't you, it's the market, or maybe the product and pricing.

You sound very diligent (for a salesman :-) )

Just because you can't sell as much doesn't mean they are going to fire you.

You should certainly check out Arthur Miller's play.