Is It Time To Quit Your Job?
Whoever said quitters never win must not have worked a job they hated.* If getting up and going to work feels like fighting for your life, it might be time to move on to something better, or at least something different. It can be a privilege to have the stability, experience, or capacity to switch jobs, or even entire career paths, and if you have it, don’t be afraid to use it. Is it time to quit? Read the signs and you tell me…
You’re Dreading Going to Work
It’s normal to not want to go to work every day, but there’s a difference between morning grumbles and something deeper. Does your dread for the impending workday keep you up at night? Do you snooze your alarm one too many times… every day of the week? Have you maxed out your sick days, your vacation days, your call-outs, long before you should have? If you’re avoiding work to the extreme, it’s probably time to ask yourself why.
You Don’t Like What You Do…
No brainer but worth repeating! Do you enjoy the material responsibilities of your job? Are you at a desk or on your feet? Are you answering calls or writing emails or waiting on customers or leading meetings? Do you actually like what you’re doing? Not every job has to be a labor of love. But if you do not enjoy (even at a minimum) the work you are physically, mentally, and emotionally doing every day, it will wear on you over time.
…and It Shows!
Perhaps just as bad, if not worse, than not liking your job is not liking your job and doing a really, really bad job of it. This is not to say that you must live for your work. (This is, after all, an article about quitting your job!) But if you’re phoning it in day in and day out, chances are it shows and the risks are many: Opportunities. References. Reputation. And it’s not just you. You becoming the workplace-walking-dead isn’t fun for your coworkers, either.
You Don’t Get Along With Your Coworkers
Speaking of coworkers, if you don’t like them, it might be time to bid them adieu. There’s a reason they call bars, gyms, cafes, and community centers “third spaces.” It’s because you spend most of the rest of your time at home or at work. Even if you like your job itself, spending 40+ hours a week in a social environment that makes you feel anything from isolated or annoyed to deeply unhappy, unsupported, or unsafe is not sustainable in the long term.
Work is Following You Home
A heavy workload might not be reason enough to quit, but if all the above things are true and you’re constantly working after-hours and swimming in stress about everything you have to get done, then I think you know what I’m going to say…
Going to Work is Making You Sick
Not worth it! If you can help it. (See also: You’re Dreading Going to Work)
And the Verdict is…
…it might be time to quit! If these things are true, of course. If you have the privilege to prioritize the physical, mental, and emotional well being impacted by your job, then it’s time to seek out new horizons. And if you want to leave your job for happy, soul-searching reasons, that’s even better! Happy hunting!!
*The answer is Vince Lombardi, who seems, upon examination, to have very much loved his job. My point stands.