When to Quit Your Job

Today, a friend of mine asked me the following: “How do you know when you should quit your job?”

My answer was simple: When you just don’t care anymore.

There are any number signs that are pretty clear indications that you should quit your job. Here are just a few.

• You don’t have influence. If your ideas are always ignored, and you’re being patronized by the powers that be, it’s probably time to move on. Unless there’s a power change, you probably won’t be able to move forward.
• You have a terrible boss. A boss can make or break a job – they can make a terrible working environment bearable, and can make an otherwise awesome position a nightmare. If you have one of the latter, and there’s no way to escape it internally, you’re better off looking elsewhere.
• Your skill set isn’t being utilized. If you have knowledge and experience that is relevant to your job and your boss refuses to take advantage of them, maybe it’s time to go find a new boss that will.
• The stress is making you sick. Stress is nothing to joke about – it can impact your physical health. If your job is literally making you sick, it’s time to leave.

But the truth is, you know when it’s time to go. 
If you find yourself in any of the above scenarios, and haven’t been able to dig your way out, you’ll eventually reach the point where you just don’t care anymore. You’ll make a conscious decision to come in every day and do the bare minimum to get by. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that – if your organization treats you poorly and does nothing to encourage a higher set of expectations, then they are getting exactly what they’re paying for.
But here’s the thing: You’re not hurting your organization by doing the minimum – you’re only hurting yourself.
You have so much potential that you’ll never realize if you make the decision to stay in a place you hate. Passions that you won’t be able to pursue. Dreams you won’t be able to fulfill. When you lose your desire to go after any of it for the sake of collecting a paycheck, you set yourself up to be miserable. You can collect paychecks any number of ways, but not all of those ways will be a fulfilling way to spend a day.
Now, I’m not suggesting you up and quit your job with no savings and no plan! Be smart about it and come up with an exit strategy. Just don’t give in and give up – go find an environment and an opportunity that you can be psyched about. Life is too short to do anything else.

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