Find Your Quitting Point - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Find Your Quitting Point - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Check out this comment from a reader in Hong Kong: I?ve been visiting your site on and off for quite a while now. I?ve been miserable at work and, although it took me almost a year, I eventually built up the courage, and I?ve finally quit my job!! I think it?s one of the best decisions I?ve ever made! I?m now working out my one-month notification period?then hopefully go on a vacation to Europe with my family?then travel to Beijing to visit my love?. And most of all, I?ve found a new job too! No one knows how it?ll go, but a change is definitely due and I?m looking forward to a fresh start. Your site has definitely pushed me on. :) One happy Office Lady in Hong Kong First of all: Wooo-hooooo! Good for you, Office Lady, and good luck in the new job! This of course raises an interesting question: How do you know its time to quit a bad job? Should you quit at the first sign of trouble? As in The cafeteria doesnt have Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee and besides the boss gave me a funny look at the last staff meeting Im outta here! Or do you only quit when all hope is gone. Yes, I know my boss is a total jerk, my salary is lousy and my co-workers just covered my cubicle in mayonnaise-smeared saran wrap for the third time this week. But you never know things might get better tomorrow! When is it time to quit? Its a question I keep getting and no wonder. Leaving a job has become one of lifes biggest decisions. Its something that may affect every aspect of your life including your finances, your work life, your identity, your family and possibly even your social status and friendships. Ive quit three different jobs in my career and in every single case my only regret is that I didnt do it sooner. In two of those cases I quit without having the next job lined up it was simply time for me to move on NOW! It seems most of us tend to stay in bad jobs waaaaay too long. I have talked to any number of people who have told me some variation of I quit my job last year and my only regret is that I didnt do it sooner. However, not a single person has ever told me that I quit my job last year and it was a huge mistake. I should definitely have stayed on. This does not mean that its always the right decision to quit, but it does show that when in doubt, most of us stay on in bad jobs. Perhaps longer than is good for us. Weve been told that quitting your job is bad because: It makes you look less dependable to your next employer. It costs you money. It reduces your status. Quitting means giving up and thats bad. You should stay and slog it out. And this may all be true or not, but heres a question you must also ask yourself: What will staying in a bad job cost you? Because make no mistake: A bad work situation can cost you your energy, motivation, self-worth and even your health. Worst case, it can kill you. Worst of all, staying in a bad job where you repeatedly feel demeaned or useless robs you of precisely those things you need to move on and find a new job. To actually get up and go out and find new work or finding the courage to quit without having the next job lined up takes energy, motivation, passion and confidence. How do you know..? Which brings us back to the original question: How do you know? First of all: You will never know for sure. Its not like you can calculate the exact optimal moment to quit your job. It will always be a judgment call, and like any other major decision in life, its not so much about making the right decision its more about making a decision and then making it the right decision. Secondly: You probably do know. Call it intuition, gut feeling, inner wisdom if its time to quit, then somewhere inside of you a voice is probably going I hate my job. Its time to quit. The trick is to listen to that voice. That voice is often very quiet and very easy to quell. Youre maybe at work, in the middle of a meeting or an important task when suddenly you get the feeling that you really, really need to find a new job. Thats certainly not productive in the moment right then you need to focus on whatever it is youre doing. Also, as mentioned above, having to quit is a scary proposition. So you ignore that feeling and focus on work. I firmly believe that youre doing no one a favor by staying if youre not happy at work. Not yourself, not your family and certainly not the company. The rare exception is the case where your or your families survival or fundamental welfare is at stake. If quitting a bad job means your family becomes homeless, the choice is clear you stay until you have a better job lined up. Barring this, its simple: If your job does not make you happy you should first try to fix it. If theres no realistic hope that you ever will, its time to get out of Dodge. The upshot So here are my top six tips for finding your quitting point: Give up the idea that you can know for sure whether or not its time to quit. Its always going to be a leap. Listen to your intuition. Your gut may know before your mind. Remember what quitting can cost you but also remember what staying in a bad job can cost you! Remember that the longer you stay in a bad job, the harder it gets to leave. Most people stay too long in bad jobs mostly because they fear the uncertainty that comes with quitting. Most people, once theyve quit, find that their situation improves. Maybe not immediately, but certainly after a few months. What about you? Have you tried quitting a job? What was your quitting point? What happened did you end up regretting it or being happy that you finally quit? Write a comment Id really like to know! Related: How to lose your fear of losing your job Some killer questions to ask in your next job interview How to find a job youll love Never stay in a bad job. Fix it or leave. How to turn around a bad day Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related