You Should Quit Your Job! 5 Signs That It Is Time To Move On
Posted by jefferson on Apr 30, 2012 in Career Advice | 27 comments
The writing is plastered all over the wall. This job is going nowhere fast, and you are starting to seriously question what kind of a future you will have your company. Believe it or not, this happens to everyone at some point, and you will soon after find yourself wondering if it is time to start looking to see what else it out there. Sometimes this happens because your position with a company is eliminated, but more often– people start looking because they are just wanting to address dissatisfaction with their current role.
According to research, the average person will have 7-10 jobs in their lifetime, and the median years that a person stays in a job is 4.1 years. With this amount of turnover going on, you shouldn’t be surprised or upset if you find yourself getting the itch. If you work in a large corporate environment like I do, you live in a world where there are constant re-shuffles and re-alignments. Managers and employees alike, are cycled from team to team, and job functionality and responsibilities can shift like the weather. This level of turnover can sometimes lead you to falling into a no-win situation. Staying in a bad situation can actually be very detrimental to your career, as you don’t want to stay on a sinking ship.
Luckily, there are some warning signs that you can look for to know when it is time to move on. If these sound familiar to you, you don’t necessarily need to leave your company– but you should probably at least consider trying to move to a different team:
1. You Are Not Getting Invited to Meetings
Being asked to participate in important discussions is an important indicator of how much your management values your opinion. If you find yourself on the outside looking in, don’t be afraid to reach out to the meeting organizers to see if you can get included. However, if this pattern continues and especially if your entire team seems to have this issue– I would be concerned. If you are slowly slipping into irrelevance, you need to be taking steps to reverse that trend.
2. You Don’t Have Anything to Do
If management refuses to give you any meaningful work, this can mean a variety of things. Perhaps there are company changes on the horizon or maybe they are waiting on a big project to start. However, if you find yourself doing more browsing than working, day after day, then I might start to get worried. The truth is that in most corporate environments, there aren’t enough people or hours in the day to do everything. I have often joked that I could work for 96 hours straight without stopping, and still not tackle everything “on my list”. Companies these days like to run it lean and mean, so if you find yourself on a team where there is no work available, it is a major warning flag. If the company does decide to make cuts, the teams that contribute little to nothing will be first to go.
3. Your Job Has Taken Over Your Entire Life
This is the opposite situation as the one just mentioned. If your work responsibilities have consumed you entirely, and you don’t have any time left for yourself or your family, please realize that this isn’t the norm– and you are being taken advantage of. All employers know that they are under some obligation to provide you with a work-life balance. You shouldn’t have to work every day and every night for long periods of time. There may be situations, as deadlines approach, where everyone has to hunker down and put in extra hours to make sure that projects get completed. But if this is the situation, week after week, month after month, then your employer is obviously understaffed and needs to being in some extra bodies to help alleviate the pressure. You will burn out quickly, if your job takes over your life entirely. You must tell yourself that other people, who probably make the same money as you at different companies, are not being put through the same ringer. Don’t be afraid to branch out and see what else you can find, if your employer insists on running things like a sweatshop.
4. You Don’t Get Along With Your Boss
It is normal to have some resentment towards your manager, it kind of comes with the territory. It is their job to tell you what to do, and you don’t like to be told what to do. But for you to be successful at work, you are going to need to have a positive working relationship with them. You can’t forget that when you work for a large multi-tiered company, one of your top responsibilities is to make that manager look good and to give them success stories to talk about in their meetings. If you have an unhealthy dislike for them– this is going to be difficult for you. Bad managers can come in all shapes and sizes, and you will surely come across a few in your day who are clearly out of their league. If your boss’s approach or decision making is causing you fits, you should be able to express your concerns to them. If they wont talk to you or won’t make changes to improve the situation, you have to be willing to walk away. I know people that have a very passionate hatred for their bosses, and it seems to totally consume them. Having that much hatred for anything is not healthy, and you shouldn’t subject yourself to that many negative emotions. Complaining to your manager’s boss may be an option for you if the problems are well documented, but it may also backfire on you and make you look like a whiner. The better approach may be to see if you can find a different team and thus a different manager.
5. You Don’t Get Along With Your Co-Workers
One of the most important factors in how satisfied people are with their jobs, is their relationship with their co-workers. You don’t have to be BFFs with the guy in the next cubicle, but you need to have a healthy respect for them. I have worked on many different teams over the years, and the dynamics can very wildly. The best kind of team is one where everyone can work together and contribute ideas to the complex problems of the day. However, if people on your team rarely talk to each other outside of meetings, and the dynamic is one of mistrust and suspicion, things can get dicey. If you find that you have a damaged relationship with one or more of your co-workers, you should see if you can take some steps to improve the situation, knowing that it may not work with everyone. I have been on teams where the fact that I was dedicated and hard-working seemed to cause some resentment from a few, but I didn’t dwell on them. The problem comes if you have a tense relationship with most or all of those around you. If this sounds like your situation, it is probably time to locate the exit sign.
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I have been at my job for a little over 5 years. I get along with everybody fine but I’ve just gotten to the point where I know this job is going nowhere and it was making me depressed. So, I applied for a new job recently and got it. Now I’m working both jobs part time until the new one turns into a full time position.
I was scared to make the change at first, but I am so glad I did because I feel so much happier now.
Taking charge of your career can be a major factor in self worth and happiness. Kudos to you on taking a chance. I hope the 2nd job turns into something special..
Quitting is easy. Finding another job is the hard part in this crap economy. It is a lot easier to change your attitude at your current job than find another job.
Very good point, James. I am the kind of guy that always covers my bases. While I am not afraid to take chances, I always do it in a smart way.
Thankfully none of it applies to me. I get invited to meetings too much! And my ob sometimes takes over my life. But I guess it is okay because I love it.
Hah.. Funny, Aloysa. Congrats to you on finding a job that you love. It seems to be more the exception to the rule these days. Lucky for me, I am quite happy with my job as well right now.
In this economy, the biggest worry for most of us is whether or not we’ll even have a job when we report to work the next day. Anyone can lose a job, and it doesn’t have to be for anything that they did wrong.
Even if you like your job and get along with everyone, you’re still at risk of becoming unemployed. I’m not suggesting that you quit your job out of the blue. However, I do believe that everyone should at least consider far more lucrative and secure ways of earning a living.
Anthony.. The reality of this economy does scare me at times, but I do think it is turning around. The market in my home town is looking the best that I have seen it in years..
But if things are not going well and you are seeing the warning signs that I talk about above.. You can’t just wait idly for the job to disappear. Be proactive and get out there and find something better.
I would definitely agree that all of these are warning signs, but it’s important not to quit if you don’t have anything else lined up.
My previous job, all I did was go to meetings!! Meeting after meeting after meeting…. I don’t miss that part at all!
Ugh.. I have been there. I have never expressed a major interest in moving full time into corporate management because of this.
These points are all true although I’d agree with everyone else – don’t quit a job unless you have something else lined up. I hear of being taking “breaks” from work and honestly, I’m worried for them when they try to find something again – but there’s nothing I can do about that.
I’d add to this list the most important reason for me to leave a job is when I feel like I’m not learning anything. I’ve heard that if you can’t put something new on your resume every quarter, it’s time to find something else.
That is a great one, YPF.
If you are not getting challenged from a job, then it will quickly get stale.
THe median time people stay in their positions is 4.1 years?! Yikes. Seems like the days of people staying with their company for their whoel life and get a pension when they retire are long gone.
Another addition to the list? You’re being asked to do unethical things and aren’t or are no longer comfy with it!
I have definitely been at jobs where these kinds of warning signs popped up. It sure makes for a depressing time at work. Too often I have put up with this kind of stuff for long stretches and it really wears on you. The sooner you can find something else, the better.
My wife and I have been known to bounce around jobs and we always feel like there is something wrong with us. I think as you’re getting started in your careers that it’s just natural to skip around for a bit until you find a job/setting that you’re comfortable with.
6. You aren’t happy.
7. You can make more money else where.
I’ve a closest friend of mine who is going through this as I write this. He has worked for over 10 years, and he is very hard working guy. Yet, after a new boss was hired last year, he has been ignored for most part. I have advised him to take this positively to start his own business.
Great advice – all the warning signs are flashing for me. I’ve been at my job about 9 years. Definitely have the itch to move on.
I was of the over-worked, dislike my co-workers mind-set for a while in my last job. I realized it was time for a change, and decided to make many life changes. So glad I did!
I’ve never had a really long tenure at an employer myself, with the exception of the first job I had out of undergrad, which I had for 6 years. I’ve always decided to move on when I had a better opportunity, so not the same situation as described above. One thing though, I wish I did have more tenure. The longer you’re able to stay at a single employer, the better the benefits usually get. I’m obviously assuming that you enjoy things and you work hard and are treated well, but even if not sometimes those golden handcuffs do hold you back.
I can honestly say that every person that has ever been fired (or I fired) from our company should have seen one of these five signs. That first stat about working 7 to 10 jobs makes me feel good about hitting the nine-year mark this year.
I love the first couple and how they’re warning signs. I’ve never been in a situation like that myself, but in this economy all I can do is knock on wood as I let those words cross my keyboard.
4 of the 5 signs are already on for me. I’m waiting for the 5th and then i’m living.
But what you do when you have about $50.000 mortgage loan? You stay and try to make it work? Or you leave the place?
Oh.. you certainly shouldn’t quit your job without making other preparations first.
Your debts and obligations aren’t going to go away.
But the point of this post was to say that if these signs sound familiar to you, perhaps you should start to look and see if you can find a better situation.
Not a lot of these relate to my situation, but I am ready to move on. My situation is close to Katie up above. My job has taught me a lot, but now that I am finally finishing school it’s time to move on. Nice article.
I agree to this list. his is one of the rarest career articles I liked in recent time. First attempt to fix should be from your side, bring passion in your job, analyse, amend and act. Give it some time. Nothing worked? move on.