Seven Signs It's Time to Quit Your Job
Deciding to quit your job can be quite a complex situation so it deserves some reflection. However, you should try and approach it from a neutral emotional state, even though it’s often a pretty emotive process.
It’s important to learn how to read the signs that it’s time to quit your job. If you really think the time has come to quit, you shouldn’t postpone it. While you may feel a sense of fear due to uncertainty, if there are good reasons behind your decision, you should go ahead and quit. On the other hand, you may feel like quitting but recognize it’s not really the right time to do so, as the costs would be too high.
To clarify, let’s see what the signs are that tell you it’s time to quit your job.
“There is a difference between giving up and knowing when you have had enough.”
-Anonymous-
1. You feel bored
It’s natural that your work activities include several tasks that you don’t like. This often makes you feel bored or demotivated.
However, if you constantly feel like this with regard to virtually all your tasks, it may be time to think about quitting your job. Your feelings may well translate into demotivation and, if this is the case, you need to change course.
2. You’re worried about your salary
The compensation you receive for your work rarely meets your aspirations. It’s a curious fact, but you tend to adapt really quickly to positive changes. For example, motivation or happiness when you receive a raise is usually pretty short-lived. On the other hand, the discomfort you feel for not receiving adequate compensation has a tendency to last much longer.
If your salary is a frequent concern and causes you discomfort, you may need a change. In principle, the appropriate thing would be to ask for a raise. If you aren’t given one, it’s probably time to look for other work alternatives.
3. There’s tension between you and your boss
There’s often a margin of tension between bosses and employees, especially in conflict situations. In fact, some disagreements could even be healthy within the organizational dynamics. This can lead to positive changes for both parties.
However, if the tension becomes extremely high, to the point where it becomes personal, that’s another matter. If there’s abusive behavior, persecution, or disrespect, it’s important to find another job. Circumstances like this certainly warrant quitting.
4. You feel like there’s no future
Your motivation and sense of belonging in your job depend on the conviction that your good performance will sow seeds for the future. Indeed, all healthy organizations have incentives or promotion plans.
If you feel that your efforts aren’t valued or that there’s no chance to evolve in what you do, it may be time to quit. Otherwise, you may only be moving toward conformity and stagnation.
5. Your work creates personal problems
Deterioration in your personal life due to work is a sign that things aren’t going well at all. It might be evident in physical aspects, such as your health or appearance. That’s because continuous work stress makes physical discomfort more frequent which is often reflected in a lack of self-care.
Furthermore, an inadequate job can make you an emotional wreck. You feel constant anger, isolation, and feelings of hopelessness. If this is the case, it’s time to move on.
6. Your options have been exhausted
It’s extremely important that, before making the decision to quit your job, you’ve exhausted all the possible alternatives. This means not only identifying the existing problems but also trying to solve them.
If you’ve done this and things still haven’t changed, it’s clearly time to take another path. Failure to do so would be an act against your own well-being and create a dismal future for you.
7. You have a plan B
Ideally, before quitting your job, you should make sure you have a plan B. In other words, a concrete option to generate new income. It might be a new business or another job but, at the very least, you must have some financial support so as not to fall into a vacuum.
If all the signs indicate that it’s time to quit, you should always try and do it in the most cordial way possible. Plan how and when you’ll quit. Although it might be a decision with no guarantee of success, it’ll be better than staying and fueling a destructive situation.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- García, J. I. U. (2008). La remuneración del trabajo. Universidad Catolica Andres.
- Rivas, A. M. (2006). El empleo o la vida: Perder el empleo para conservar la vida o renunciar a la vida para conservar el empleo ¿de qué conciliación hablamos? AIBR. Revista de Antropología Iberoamericana, 1(3), 361-368.