When do you know it's time for you to leave your job?

27 Comments

1. AnonymousDecember 1,2023 at 2:50PM UTC

   When you are asking this question.

2. AnonymousDecember 2,2023 at 1:43AM UTC

   Best answer! Short but true, thank you.

3. AnonymousDecember 2,2023 at 2:17AM UTC

   Yes!!

4. AnonymousDecember 2,2023 at 2:17AM UTC

   AMEN! When seeing your colleagues and the entire atmosphere is "done with "

5. Teresa SoleckiDecember 3,2023 at 1:46PM UTC

   This!

6. AnonymousDecember 1,2023 at 3:34PM UTC

   When you know, you know. If you doubt, then ask yourself why you doubt.

7. AnonymousDecember 1,2023 at 5:28PM UTC

   Any number of things from the extreme to the..."well, it's not really a deal break, but...":

   *When the Sunday night scaries are constant.

   *When you dread going in (or logging on) every day. *When you see your manager's name pop up on caller id and inwardly cringe, heart palpitations, whatever.

   *When you can't find a single good thing about your job, your company, etc.

   *When you want growth, say you want growth, and you don't get it.

   *When you are bored to tears on a daily basis.

   *When you don't like the direction you see that your company is going (I'm just about there, personally).

   Ultimately, unless you are not given a choice in the matter, it is a very personal decision and ultimately up to you when it's time to go. It's not a decision to be taken lightly, and overnight.

8. AnonymousDecember 1,2023 at 8:54PM UTC

   This is very well stated. Always trust your gut and be aware of your surroundings. Especially if it bleeds into your own personal self care. Make a list of things you currently like and are unhappy with in your position. That should help. Start looking before jump ship. Good luck and take care!!

9. Daniela PardoDecember 3,2023 at 3:43PM UTC

   This is very accurate!

10. AnonymousDecember 1,2023 at 5:29PM UTC

    When my manager didn't accept my request for a few days of unpaid leave, and that's after I covered for everyone else's covid absenses, after she'd known about a health issue I was dealing with, and after being undervalued for years.
    I was done-done. Zero regrets.

11. AnonymousDecember 2,2023 at 2:15AM UTC

    They stop giving assignments and ignoring you.

12. AnonymousDecember 2,2023 at 9:01AM UTC

    when you get bored with the same tasks and outgrow them or when your work is not valued by your team or even boss.

13. Heather (she/her)December 2,2023 at 12:29PM UTC

    When it's causing stress that bleeds into other parts of your life. When you know for sure that you have no other growth paths. When you find a better offer. It depends on who you are, what you're looking for, and how ready you are to handle whatever the job market looks like at the time.

14. TonabDecember 2,2023 at 1:19PM UTC

    When you’ve made up your mind to leave.

15. Cindy AllenDecember 2,2023 at 2:08PM UTC

    When you wake up on Monday morning and dread going to work. Not just don’t want to go because it’s Monday, I mean actually have a physical feeling of dread - it’s time.

16. AnonymousDecember 3,2023 at 5:19PM UTC

    I'm getting that Sat night now...Major anxiety and definitely looking

17. Kris WolframDecember 3,2023 at 1:57AM UTC

    I like to do a pro and con scenario. Look at the jobs out there and see if there is anything interesting.

18. AnonymousDecember 3,2023 at 1:34PM UTC

    When you'll leave to do anything else....lol

    For me, I know it's time to leave when I stop learning and everything is essentially on auto pilot.

19. AnonymousDecember 3,2023 at 3:01PM UTC

    When you hate the thought of going to work OR you are dealing with a toxic situation or person that seemingly isn't going to dealt with or go away.

20. AnonymousDecember 3,2023 at 3:07PM UTC

    It is time to leave a job when you no longer find any joy in going to work. SO many reasons for this from awful bosses, changed responsibilities, crummy pay, lack of annual raise, poor benefits, toxic or negative coworkers or environment, long commute, overload or abundance of work that you don't like doing day after day....

21. AnonymousDecember 3,2023 at 3:13PM UTC

    All good answers below- I’ll add to be cautious on leaving if you don’t have something else lined up.

22. Lizette LynchDecember 3,2023 at 5:55PM UTC

    To me, it is time leave when the thought of coming to work no longer excites me, when there is no opportunity to grow or when there is no longer challenges. I second others mentioned about abusive bosses, denigrating culture etc - overall when I don't feel myself anymore to at least an environment that does not support what I foresee myself being.

23. AnonymousDecember 3,2023 at 6:09PM UTC

    I once had a job in HR where my officemate/supervisor was having an affair with a married co-worker. She would put a Post-it over the phone so I wasn't able to see the extension that she was speaking to. She spent HOURS on the phone with this guy and contributed nothing to our projects. And took two-hour lunches. I hated it so much that I would sit in my car each morning and wait until a bad song came on the radio before I went in. She knew I knew what she was up to and made my life miserable. I couldn't complain to the director because she was his little pet. I finally had enough and found another position.

24. Tami CannizzaroDecember 3,2023 at 7:47PM UTC

    Great question! To me, it's important to be strategic with our career trajectory - taking long, hard looks at where we are today, where we want to be in the future and what steps it takes to achieve it. Does that mean staying at the current company or moving? Etc. I've found it's best to "leave the party while you're having a good time" - before you've reached a negative state of mind. Also it's a good idea to consider length of time at one company. Staying with one company for years used to be considered a positive; not any more. This may be especially difficult if your experience is in the same/similar position. For example: if I've spent 10-15 years at one company doing pretty much the same type of work and then I start interviewing for new jobs outside the organization, I could face a challenge as hiring managers may think I'm stuck in the ways of my current company. If a person has moved through the organization to different roles then they may be able to work around this.

    Just a few things to consider when making the decision to leave a job.

25. AnonymousDecember 3,2023 at 11:37PM UTC

    When you realize either your job or you yourself are not valued.

26. AnonymousDecember 4,2023 at 3:13PM UTC

    The moment you started considering leaving your job, knowing that something is missing.

27. AnonymousDecember 6,2023 at 2:22PM UTC

    For me, it was realizing that I no longer had the internal drive and excitement that I did for 10+ years. I found myself using words like "boring" and "apathetic" to describe work and my feelings about it, whereas I used to happily ramble on about project and colleagues. Once those motivators were gone, there was no getting them back, and I knew it was time.