7 Signs It’s Time to Quit Your Job
Publié le 23 October 2020
Thinking about leaving your current employer? There are 7 signs it’s time to quit your job and get a fresh start somewhere new.
Do you dread Monday morning more than the average person? Do you feel stressed and anxious all the time regarding work? Are you feeling increasingly unhappy with your job? If these feelings sound familiar, it may be time to seriously consider leaving your job for the sake of your own well-being and moving on to new career opportunities.
Here are 7 signs it’s time to quit your job:
- You want to take a new career step
- You are bored at work
- Your tasks don’t correspond to your professional skills
- Your salary no longer meets your expectations
- You want to relocate
- You no longer get along with your manager
- You are feeling burnt out
You Want To Take A New Career Step
Everybody has career goals that they want to meet, and a path down which they imagine their professional life is headed. Unfortunately, our job roles don’t always follow the path that we would hope. It is entirely possible to find yourself in a job role with little room for growth or advancement, despite how important these opportunities are for employees. If you have found yourself performing the same job for a prolonged period of time, it’s completely normal to feel a desire for a new challenge.
The first step you take should be to speak to your managers and company leaders, to let them know of your desire for growth and learn if they envision any such opportunity in the near future. If this isn’t the case, it is a sign it’s time to quit your job. This can be a difficult decision, because you may not be extremely unhappy in your current role. However, if advancement and growth is important to your professional goals, you owe it to yourself to pursue new opportunities.
You Are Bored At Work
Most jobs are exciting at the beginning, with new duties to learn and new colleagues to meet. As you continue to adjust to your job role, you will of course feel more familiar and complacent, which can eventually lead to boredom. Boredom at work is a real problem, with employees reporting that they feel bored at work for 10.5 hours a week, which is more than an entire day for most workers. Boredom can make time feel more slow, lead to mental fatigue, and cause you to resent performing tasks that you do not find stimulating or challenging.
If you are chronically bored at work, it very likely means you are ready for a new challenge in your professional life. Leaving your job to find a new position that stimulates you mentally and creatively is a valid career choice, and could even be just the thing you need to reinvigorate your professional life.
Your Tasks Don’t Correspond To Your Professional Skills
Jobs can evolve and change over time in order to meet the demands of the market and consumers. This can actually be a positive thing, providing that your job evolves in a way that matches your career goals. It is entirely possible that your job evolves so much that it no longer matches the skills and abilities you were hired to utilize.
If the tasks you are expected to perform on a daily basis do not correspond with the skills you have invested time into building, and that bring you joy and fulfillment to utilize, it is one of the signs that it’s time to quit your job. This will allow you to find a new job role where you can put your hard-earned skills to good use as you envisioned.
Your Salary No Longer Meets Your Expectations
Despite the fact that younger workers often value increased benefits and flexible working options, salary and financial compensation obviously remain very important to employees. Raises and bonuses in response to strong performance and exceeding goals is an effective form of motivation, and a way to fairly reward employees for their hard work and dedication. With the cost of living increasing every year, employers should expect that the salary they pay to employees will increase as well.
Everybody has larger life goals, such as buying a home, having a family, travelling around the world, all of which cost money. It’s important that employees know their worth, and make every effort to be fairly compensated. If your salary no longer matches the work you put into your job, and is not at the level where you will be able to support yourself and meet your financial goals, it’s time to consider your options. Asking for a raise during your next contract negotiation is a perfectly valid thing to do, and if your company is not willing or is unable to meet your financial expectations, it’s a one of the major signs it’s time to quit your job and pursue opportunities that will pay you the salary that you’re worth.
You Want To Relocate
Relocating to a new region, city or even country is very exciting, and a goal of many people. Mobility and flexibility are increasingly important to new generations of employees, especially given the dramatic increase of remote work and virtual office as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you wish to relocate and your job is not willing to offer these remote working arrangements, it’s a definite sign it’s time to quit your job.
There are plenty of valid reasons you’d want to relocate. You may want to be closer to family, have always dreamed of living in a specific area, are offered a new opportunity in a different city or you simply want a fresh start. Whatever the reason, relocation can be a positive change in your professional and personal life, and if your current job does not support that it is time to think about finding a different one.
You No Longer Get Along With Your Manager
Personality conflicts are an unfortunate reality of professional and personal life. You simply are not going to get along with everyone, nor is everyone going to get along with you. With as many as 49% of employees reporting that they have left their job because of bad managers, and 57% have little or no trust in management, it’s clear that many workplaces have been compromised by personality issues. Company leaders and managers need to make every effort to create a strong company culture where employees on all levels support one another and get along, but there are some cases where this simply will not work.
If you no longer get along with your manager or no longer feel supported by them, it’s a major sign it’s time to quit your job. Poor relationships between colleagues can lead to a seriously toxic atmosphere, negatively affect work performance and, most importantly, your own well-being. You deserve to have a manager that gives you the tools, resources and support to grow and succeed in your role, and if you don’t have that in your current workplace it is ok to start looking elsewhere.
You Are Feeling Burnt Out
Employee burnout is very real and far too common. The cultural conversion regarding mental well-being and the workplace has improved over the past few years, but this does not mean that burnout is not still affecting employees in virtually every profession and industry. More than 6 out of 10 employees report feeling burnt out at least some of time while 23%, nearly a quarter of the workforce, experience chronic burnout.
Balancing career goals and your personal life can be a challenge, and this struggle can have serious repercussions on your mental and emotional well-being. Workplaces have been acknowledging the need for mental and emotional health support for their workers, including providing access to resources that support well-being such as counselling and therapy. Do not hesitate to use these resources, and to make it known that you need additional support.
If you are experiencing serious burnout due to pressure in the workplace, getting away from them may be an effective solution. You do not have to stay in a job that is detrimental to your mental, emotional and physical health. Chronic burnout is a strong reason to leave your job, seek professional help and, when you are ready, to look for any job position that offers the work/life balance you deserve.
If any of the 7 signs that it’s time to quit your job sound familiar to you, it may mean that you should take a step back and reevaluate your professional life. Leaving your job can be difficult, but if it is no longer helping you reach your professional goals and is actively interfering with your own growth, development and well-being, it’s time to move on. Prepare your letter of resignation, while avoiding common mistakes, and start your search for new career opportunities.
