The collateral damage looks like:
· Disillusionment
· Burnout
· Negativity
· Fatigue
· Mental health concerns
· Feeling like a failure
· Hitting a compensation ceiling
· Professional stagnation
To make matters worse, the longer you stay, the more you’ll feel stuck, so the vicious cycle continues, like the hamster wheel that goes on into infinity with no end or destination.
Our culture teaches us the sturdy belief that we shouldn’t quit something we’ve committed to, be it a sports team, a role we were assigned or voluntarily took on, a gymnastics competition at the Olympics, or a job.
It conditions us to think that strength equals persistence and “taking one for the team” is a sign of success. It teaches us that opting out, saying no, or quitting is a sign of weakness.
Essentially the message is that others are more important than you, so put others first.
And while I’m not condoning haphazardly quitting or disregarding your commitments and responsibilities, I am encouraging you to put yourself first and consider whether it’s time to move on so you can reach your highest potential and have career purpose, satisfaction and success.
But how do we know things have gone far enough to require a change in our external condition or environment?
Here are 7 tell-tale signs that it’s time to consider quitting and finding something new.
-
You consistently get headaches, stomachaches or other physical ailments during work.
-
Your work makes you consistently grumpy, depressed, anxious and is impacting your overall mental health – in other words, you dread going to work.
-
Your strengths are being underutilized and your values are out of alignment.
-
You feel like you’re a fish swimming against the current – all the time.
-
The environment you’re in is toxic.
-
You’re grossly undercompensated for your experience and know-how.
-
You’re sacrificing your family and/or home life for your work life.
Let’s break each one of these down a little more.
You consistently get headaches, stomachaches or other physical ailments during work.
This is a sign from your body that something isn’t working for you, be it consistent and unproductive stress or anxiety.
I used to get tension headaches at least 3x a week when I was in a specific job, which significantly decreased my quality of life, not to mention it likely had a negative impact on the quality of my work.
I put up with these migraines for years and years, not realizing they were 100% related to my job. But once I figured out they were, I was motived to 1) figure out why my job was giving me such tension, and 2) find something that I could do more of what made me feel good, and less of what was giving me such stress and tension.
And voilà, the minute I moved on to a different job where I wasn’t doing the tasks I identified that were giving me the headaches, they went away completely. I’m headache free to this day.
Your work makes you consistently grumpy, depressed, anxious and overall is impacting your mental health; you dread going to work.
Another sign from your body that something is out of tune.
This can be caused by consistently doing things that you aren’t motivated to do, having to adapt too far outside your natural motivations and strengths, and/or your work environment is unhealthy.
Letting this go on too long can cause long-term negative impacts on your health and often bleeds out into other aspects of your life.
"An unhappy employee inside of work equals an unhappy human outside of work."
Your strengths and talents are being underutilized, and your values are misaligned.
When you aren’t able to use your unique strengths and talents, you’re wasting the precious gifts that only you have.
This might mean being challenged in ways that are exciting to you, being recognized as having talents in certain areas, and doing work that leverages these special abilities.
When utilizing our strengths, we are in our zone of genius, and are much more effective. If your managers or leaders are unwilling to consider your strengths and build in some opportunities to leverage those in your role, it’s probably time to move on.
Unclear on your strengths? Take CliftonStrengths to see what you’re zones of genius are.
Similarly, when your values are too misaligned with the company’s values or the values of the job function, this is likely a sign to find a company and role or opportunity that aligns with your values.
Not sure what your values are? Read this post on how to identify your values.
You feel like you’re a fish swimming against the current – all the time.
I hear this from so many of my clients (and I’ve have felt it firsthand, too); they feel like everyone they work with is swimming with the current and they’re constantly going against it.
At first, this can be potentially exciting, but then, as the honeymoon phase wears off, it can get really exhausting, demoralizing, and disorienting.
You may start to question your beliefs and ideas, and/or disengage and hold back from offering your ideas and thoughts because you know they’ll be unwelcome and underappreciated by everyone else.
Of course, if there’s healthy leadership and culture present, the org can work towards valuing different ways of thinking, lived experience, talents, and perceptions.
And if there isn’t, then it’s probably time to leave.
Your work environment is toxic and unhealthy.
Examples of toxic and unhealthy work environments include distrust and dishonestly among senior leaders, harassment or unproductive communication, avoidance of personnel issues, and people’s behaviors different than their words and messaging.
Key indicators of an unhealthy culture look like consistent employee gossip, not speaking up when people have issues in fear of retaliation, low employee morale, and high turnover.
You’re grossly under-compensated for your experience and know-how.
This is a real issue for many – especially women and BIPOC folks.
The only way companies will start paying more, though, is for the market to demand it … meaning if they don’t pay, they don’t get good talent.
And if you don’t negotiate for what your skills and experience are worth based on market bench marks, then you’re continuing to feed the beast.
This is ever so relevant in this moment, as we’re currently seeing with industries increasing their wages by unprecedented levels because they simply aren’t able to fill positions.
Additionally, there are lots of companies out there that actually will pay you what you deserve, so get clear on how much you need to be making and then go find those jobs/companies.
You’re sacrificing family and/or home life because of your work life.
If you find yourself consistently working all the time, and you resent it, it’s probably time to find something new.
Of course, some jobs require 24/7 work, and some people at various times in their life are okay with it; that’s their prerogative.
The point is, if it’s starting to significantly decrease your quality of life, then it’s not worth it and it’s time to move on.
This is an area the pandemic has highlighted for many: that there is more to life than just work, and in fact, the happier you are outside of work is correlated to the happier you’ll be inside of work.
So, if you’re one of these folks, you might consider the other aspects of your life that are lacking and make a plan to resource those parts more while looking for a new job that accommodates this.
What’s next?
If you fall into one or more of these camps, before deciding to quit, first make sure you’ve done everything in your power to remedy the situation.
Think about what you have control over and what you don’t, and just focus on the former.
Should this still not work, then move on to make a strategic plan about your next steps. Include a timeline, actions required, and clarity about what’s most important to you so you don’t end up in the same spot you’re in now.
Ready for your next steps?
Schedule a free strategy session with me and I’ll help you develop a roadmap to find your next move. https://www.careerupgradecoaching.com/book-schedule-with-erin