If you think about how much of your life is spent at your job, it’s somewhat shocking. Let’s break it down just a bit here for you. You’re awake for roughly 16 hours everyday, sometimes more and sometimes less. Of those 16 hours, you are working eight or nine of them if you are a full-time employee. In fact, some full-time employees will work close to 10 or more hours, depending on the job. When you factor in travel time to and from work, that leaves you with about eight hours of free time for yourself, give or take an hour or two. Out of 24 hours, only about eight can be set aside for your own personal use.
When you look at it from this angle and realize how much time your job takes out of your life, you figure you had better love the job you are working. Unfortunately, so many people today are working in jobs they despise and have to drag themselves to work each and every day. This doesn’t sound like a great way to live, but when the bills have to be paid and there aren’t many other opportunities for you, you don’t have much of a choice. However, there are some job issues that cannot be pushed to the side and sometimes being unhappy with your job can take a large toll on your personal life and health.
Too often you see people staying at a job they absolutely hate. No matter how rough the job market is, you have to do what’s best for you and if your job is negatively affecting your life, you have to decide if it’s time to quit your job or not. The decision can be hard and tricky, but with a couple tips from Spark News hopefully we can help you decipher if it’s time to quit or not. The following job issues are ones that usually cannot be resolved and their prevalence may mean that it is time to quit your job.
The Company is Failing
This is probably one of the better reasons to quit your job. It’s a sweeter pill to swallow because the issue isn’t any fault of yours. If your company is spiraling out of control, members of upper management are leaving or lay-offs are running rampant then it may be time for you to jump ship as well. It may have been a great job while it lasted, but chances are the company is going down the drain and you don’t want to go down with it.
Issue of Morality
This is a strong reason to leave and if you’ve stayed there for a long time wrestling with this issue, then kudos to you. If you have a hard time dealing with the way your company handles its business, then it may be time to quit your job. Maybe your company deceives its customers or business partners. Perhaps they lie about the quality of the service they are providing and its your job to make these customers feel secure and sure in their purchase or decision. Staying at a job that messes with your morals or ethics can take a toll on your personal life and how you start to view yourself. If this is the kind of situation you are in at work, it’s probably time to quit.
You Messed Up Too Many Times
This particular reason is all on you. If you have messed up at your job too many times that it is beyond repair, then it is probably time to quit your job and find another one. For example, maybe you called off too many times and people now believe you are unreliable. Perhaps you goofed up a huge deal and everyone in the office won’t let it go. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, but when you make multiple large mistakes at the same job, you develop a bad reputation that is nearly impossible to fix. In this case, it’s probably a good idea to quit your job and find another one before you are fired.
Stress
Some people can deal with tight deadlines, holding all the weight of an important deal, managers breathing down their neck and loads upon loads of work. Others simply cannot. If the stress of your job is taking a toll on your body, your personal life and your overall mental health then it’s probably time to sit back, take a moment and ask yourself if this is all really worth it? Your health and well-being needs to come before your job and if your job is negatively effecting this, then it’s probably time to quit.
You’ve Hit a Dead End
Most people want to work a job that is personally fulfilling. You want to be challenged in your work and you want to constantly learn new things from your job. If your current job has become stagnant or has seemed to hit a dead end, then it may be time to quit your job. You can tell if this is your issue if you are constantly bored at work, you aren’t being challenged, you’ve asked for more responsibility and were turned down or the opportunities you want just aren’t possible at your current company.
Unmotivated
When you start to hate your job and start thinking of ways to avoid going to it, then you are probably unhappy and unsatisfied with where you are in your career right now. Also, if you have stopped having any kind of fun or take no joy out of your work anymore, then there’s no real point in working this job anymore. When you have to drag yourself to work everyday and count down the minutes until you can leave, then it’s probably time to quit.
Manager Relationships
This could be the fault of your manager or your own, but if you have a sour relationship with your manager or boss then it will take a large toll on your happiness at work. Perhaps you messed up a large project or deal, said something that offended your boss or your boss is just a rude, ignorant tyrant. Either way, your relationship with your boss is ruined and any attempt you have made to mend the relationship has yielded no response. If you have truly tried to mend the relationship and it has failed, then it’s probably time to quit your job and find a new one.
No matter what the reason may be, when it’s time to quit your job, it’s time to quit. You may feel a sense of empowerment or happiness wash over you and you may want to run into your boss’s office screaming “I QUIT!” However, even if you are completely unhappy with your job, you should try and leave in the best way possible. Telling your boss how ignorant and stupid they are may feel great, but burning bridges is never a good idea. If it really is time to quit your job, then do it calmly and maturely.
Are you in a job that you despise and think it’s time to quit? Have you been in this situation before and benefited greatly from quitting your job? Share your story with us here in the comments area!
IMAGE: Courtesy of Fast Company
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