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How do I know when it is time to leave my job

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Dave’s Answer

I agree with Jessica's advice and I'd like to add a few more things:
- How do you feel when you wake in the morning to go to work? Are you energized and at least optimistic about the day ahead, or do you dread the day ahead?
- How do you feel on Sunday night as you wrap up the weekend? Are you feeling rested and ready to head into work the next day or do you look forward to Monday with a sense of dread and anxiety?
- How do you feel about your daily work? Do you feel anxious and stressed most of the time or do you feel empowered, competent and relaxed about your work?
- Do you feel that you fit in the company culture?
- Are you respected for your work and opinions?
- Do you have good working relationships with your manager and colleagues?
These questions are about assessing your role in the organization and your emotional state regarding your work. Don't underestimate how you feel about your job, there is plenty of research that points to the harmful effects of stress and anxiety on the job. Happy employees are more productive and engaged.
What if you did a SWOT analysis of your situation, SWOT is a tool that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a scenario. It might help you do a somewhat objective assessment of your situation. Take a clean sheet of paper and draw 4 columns, and label each column Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats and list the items of your job that apply to each category. Then assess- are there more weaknesses than strengths? More opportunities? Are there threats of a layoff?
Finally, I recommend a great book entitled "Decisive", by Chip and Dan Heath. It provides some useful decision making tools that could help you think beyond "Should I stay or should I go?"


I hope that helps- good luck in your decision making. Leaving a job is a huge decision.
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Andrew’s Answer

Reason to consider moving jobs:
- Your company is disreputable
- Your management is very deficient in the way it looks after its people
- Your company has very limited opportunities but you could find a job with a company with better prospects
- You have found yourself in a role that doesn't match your skills and your appetite for challenging work

But remember:
- All jobs have difficult aspects. The grass may not be greener on the other side. All companies are rewarding you for the value you contribute.
- Leaving because your boss is jerk may seem like a good idea, but there may be opportunities to move to a better team at the same company
- Other companies in the same field are under the same pressures, so be certain that you are looking at a better company

Do compare companies fairly. A company with much better benefits may expect another hour a day from you. You might be happy with the trade off, but you should know what you are getting into.
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Shawn’s Answer

Evaluate What It Would Cost You To Stay In Your Comfort Zone/ Research If A New Job Is Worth The Move/ Get Real About What Really Matters To You/ Figure Out If You’re Staying Simply for the Sake of Staying
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Karen’s Answer

There's a lot of good questions for you to thaink about and answer. When you are not having fun or enjoying what you are doing and just making an appearance and doing the work, it may be time for a change.
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Vic’s Answer

I think this all ties to what you value. Make a list of what you value in your professional life and what your future goals are and compare if your current job is hitting the mark.
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Alex’s Answer

I would leave when you are not happy. This would be the most important aspect.
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Carlotta’s Answer

Hi Abinaya,

One of the best pieces of advice I have been giving is to "make sure you are running TOWARD something and not AWAY from something". One has a tendency to make poor choices if they are just running from something, versus running toward something that is inspiring. So though this may not directly answer your question, it is good food for thought to review as to the why you are thinking about leaving your particular job. Good Luck!
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Kevin P’s Answer

Abinaya, I think it’s time when you ask yourself that question. Just truly understand why you actually want to leave that job. Usually it’s not the job we are leaving. Normally it’s our boss or a coworker we are leaving. It’s different.

I recently left my boss. Still with the firm just doing something different. My boss at the time made the job I once loved so much miserable. The worst part, I was a people manager. I remember distinctly when a pretty good employee asked me a question about career progression and I gave a subpar answer. My employee deserved better. Shortly after I told my boss I was ready for another role.

It’s important to be honest with yourself! And truly understand why you’re wanting a switch. Otherwise you’re in a circle of work, unhappiness, contemplation and asking this same question again. You deserve better. We all do!
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Nicholas’s Answer

Hi Abinaya! There are a lot of factors that can tie into if you need to get away from your current position. My advice is to think about this when you're interviewing for where you want to work. You need to analyze a company's culture in order to ensure that you can be happy at said establishment. A job is not all about the money, it's about learning where you fit most. My father once said, "if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life." This is what made me passionate of focusing on company culture when deciding on the company I want to work for. However, in answer to your question, really take a step back and ensure that you're truly happy in your current position, if you ultimately decide that you're unhappy... it may be time to move on
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Jessica’s Answer

Deciding when it's time to leave your job is a tough decision. Here are some guiding questions to help you make your decision:
- Have I done everything I can in my role?
- Is there room for me to grow personally and professionally?
- Have I spoken to my boss about taking on more _ (responsibility, work that excites me, fill in the blank for what you're looking for)?
- What are the benefits of leaving?
- What are the benefits of staying?
- How does my decision effect my short and long term goals?
- What do I want to do when I leave this job? Will I be able to do that with the experience and knowledge I currently have? If not, how do I get that experience and/or knowledge?


These are just a few of the questions I have asked myself in the past. Good luck, I'm sure you'll make the decision that's right for you.
Thank you comment icon Hi Jessica: I appreciate your insightful advice. I too have asked similar types of questions in the past when I left a job. Thank you for sharing. Sheila Jordan
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Sabrena’s Answer

I agree with the answers given so far. I would ask you to think about why you are asking the question. The answers will be different based on why you are thinking of leaving. If you are thinking of leaving due to pressure or circumstances that could have adverse health issues if you stay then you need to do what is best for you physically. If it's not that, then consider what was the purpose for taking this job in the beginning and does it still fit with your future plans. If you took the job based on financial needs, then the first question to ask yourself is do you have enough money saved or another job lined up to go to where leaving the job won't put you in a bind. You may need to plan your exit if you feel that it is time to leave. Start saving some money targeted for job search time so if the new job doesn't come right away or isn't what you expected you can take some time to find the right one. Secondly, take an introspective look before you leave and ask yourself, is it them or could it be me. If there are things that you need to address in your skills, attitude or habits then the problems will follow you wherever you go unless you address them. Then after that, think about what is it exactly that you don't like about the job and define what your ideal job would be. Now start your job search and look for a job that has at least some of the key elements of what your ideal job would be. Keep in mind, you may not find everything you're looking for but make sure you identify your must haves and go for those before your savings runs out or before you give your notice. If your savings runs out, you may be back at taking just any job and not being happy. If you start your search before you leave, finding the ideal job would be your trigger that it's time to leave.
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Zach’s Answer

Is your supervisor/manager misleading or manipulative? Have you brought the topic to upper management? If nothing changes leave.
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Janelle’s Answer

I think the best time to know it is time to leave a job is when you are feelign very unhappy. Unhappy when you walk in everyday and dont have the motivation to do any of the work anymore to the best of your ability. I think people stay stuck in their job sometimes because of fear of income and not paying the bills. We ALL HAVE ONE LIFE TO LIVE AND YES MONEY IS THE MAJOR KEY TO LIVING BUT ALSO HAPPINESS IS IMPORTANT. There are always other jobs out there find what you like to do and try to get into that but you can always stick out the job you are in but make a plan to get out. change could.
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Bharathi’s Answer

Hello Abinaya,

If you are in comfort zone with your current work, you may have to think about it. Because comfort level will never allow you to learn more.
If you are not learning atleast one new thing per week / month , then you may have to think about change.
If you are taking more leaves without reason, obviously you are loosing your interest on your job . So thats the perfect time to change .

I hope it helps , Please ignore which you don't like.
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