The real impact job dissatisfaction can have on YOUR mental health

It's Monday, it's cold and very few of us relished the idea of going to work this morning.

But struggling with Monday Morning Blues has nothing on the feeling of despair which descends upon many when their alarm goes off to signal another day in a job they hate.

And while we've all been trained to appreciate a regular income, a recent study has suggested that a lack of job satisfaction has a more negative impact on your mental health than being unemployed.

Reflecting on trends seen since the recession, the study, which was published in the journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, explores the correlation between psychosocial factors and the job in which an individual is employed.

The study, which analysed the experience of more than 7,000 respondents, sought to prove that psychosocial characteristics –  such as unfair pay, control levels and job complexity – can have as detrimental an effect on an individual's psyche as a period of unemployment.

Commenting on the study, lead author, Peter Butterworth, explained: "Those who moved into optimal jobs showed significant improvement in mental health compared to those who remained unemployed."

"Those respondents who moved into poor-quality jobs showed a significant worsening in their mental health compared to those who remained unemployed."

"The health benefits of becoming employed were dependent on the quality of the job," the study explained.

"Moving from unemployment into a high quality job led to improved mental health however the transition from unemployment to a poor quality job was more detrimental to mental health than remaining unemployed."

We know there's rent to make, bills to pay and loans to cover, but it's something worth keeping in mind, right?