How To Know When It’s Time To Quit Your Job

To quit your job will never happen for the majority of people due to lacking belief in the chances to find a better one

Let’s face it: quitting your job sounds like a significant decision in life. Just the uncertainty of breaking the labor relationship with a corporation that has become your second home is a too scary step to take.

With the dramatic changes and rapid evolution in almost all industries, quitting your job will soon be a regular activity in people’s lives. With steadily increasing unemployment figures, we can no longer ignore the changes in the labor market.

And we all know the keyword that is causing all these changes:

Automation!

A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research comes up with some eye-catching figures.

According to their study, every new robot eliminated 3 to 5.6 jobs. As robot implementation is also more cost-effective, it will negatively affect the wages of the remaining workers.

All actors need to cut costs to be competitive, and automation is the only sustainable way to do this.

Will The Robots Force You To Quit Your Job?

But what has this to do with whether you need to quit your job or not? Well, directly, it hasn’t. But if you don’t wake up and recognize the reality, your employer might fire you sooner than you think.

When reading the article “What jobs are being taken over by robots and computers?” published by Computer Hope, you’ll recognize two things:

It seems that almost everything will be automated in the future
Many of the automation predictions are already realities in your daily life

To put some icing on the cake, according to CNN Tech, 38% of jobs in the U.S. are at high risk of being replaced by automation over the next 15 years. In the U.K., the figure is 30%, and in Japan, it is 21%.

With this little introduction, we’ll get today’s situation framed into a new perspective.

The market is overloaded with people searching for jobs, and the number of job opportunities is decreasing daily.

There are two different categories of people leaving their jobs:

People who are laid off, or to use the more well-known word, they are fired
People who find a better job and are moving forward in their career

Logically, the first category of people has to find something new to do, but what about the second group?

Some of the following five signs to know that it’s time to quit your job could be a surprise. Personally, I like No.5 the best. In a moment, you’ll understand why.

#1. When you’re unhappy most of the time, you better quit your job

The legendary Monday blues is sometimes a standard joke to justify the laziness you feel about starting work again after a too short weekend. But in many cases, it’s a serious issue. Many people can enter into a sort of depression mode already on Sunday, just because of the upcoming Monday.

If you consistently have that feeling, do not suffer anymore!

The advice in this article by Amy Rees Anderson might help you take the necessary steps toward something new.

Search for something that you feel more passionate about. The day you quit your job, you will feel released. Hopefully, the next job will be the right one for you.

#2. Time to quit your job if there is no company vision-mission-value statement

Believe me, but there still exist companies where earnings and profit are the only goals to go after. Do not only quit your job but run away from it as soon as you ever can.

It’s true that all private companies must have a crystal clear budget and clear goals regarding revenues and profit. However, the company’s success, which ultimately generates profit, must be based on a clear vision and mission.

If no one in the company, including your boss and the top management team, can articulate the company’s vision, mission, and values, something is wrong that will prevent the organization from having a promising future.

A vision, mission, and value statement answers the question of what, why, and who. Without having that clear, the organization you’re working for is running around like a headless hen.

You can’t do three important things without a vision, mission, and value statement, and these three are fundamental to any organization.

It could even be enough that you find yourself questioning the future of the company and the way you are involved. If you have that feeling, it’s probably time to quit your job.

#3. Quit your job for more freedom

No matter if employed or not. If you feel terrified trading your working week for something unknown, or worse, something you don’t believe in behind a desk within four walls, you should instead start moving to something else.

Maybe you dream of an office that overlooks the ocean. Perhaps you are jealous of your friends who spend their days in a neighborhood coffee shop and are much more productive than you are.

We all want more freedom in life. The thing to identify, though, is what freedom means to you. Freedom is very personal and can vary greatly from person to person.

You frequently daydream about the freedom to plan your work on your terms. Well, if all these things continuously pop up in your head, then do you know what?

It might be the right time to quit your job!

#4. Quit your job if there is no remunerative progress for you

It’s true that money isn’t all in life. But in a traditional corporate position, it means a lot. You shouldn’t forget that, after all, you’re trading your work for money. The monetary compensation is in some way a sort of qualification your boss is doing for your job.

If you notice that your salary isn’t increasing as it should, you may be thinking about changing careers.

A definite sign to quit your job as soon as you can is if a colleague is doing the same type of work as you are doing and is paid more than you.

There is not much power you can come up with if your boss sidesteps you in the salary race.

Often, the fear of not finding something similar to what you’re working with today holds you back, and you continue suffering every single day. And I´ll tell you something: It’s not going to be better.

The fact that somebody else is doing the same work as you but with a higher salary is a soft and diplomatic signal from your boss, screaming out: Search for a new job!

If you don’t do anything, the next step most probably will be that you get fired.

#5. Consider seriously to quit your job if there are structural changes in your company

This is my favorite point for two reasons:

No one knows for sure what will happen to the payroll in the company, as employees only represent one single piece of the company’s total number of variables to use when restructuring the organization
Personally, I was involved in a substantial and quite dramatic structural change. The company I was working for was sold, my position disappeared, and consequently, I lost my job

When a company is being reorganized or reconstructed in any way, in most cases, the payroll will be affected. The reason why is straightforward: 1)People do the work 2)The salaries mostly represent the most significant cost piece to take into account.

When my unemployment became a reality, the good thing was that I had to actively search for something else to do. The process was a wake-up call.

Stop trading your knowledge and skills for money in a corporation!

The false package of a secure job, with a fixed monthly salary, kills your ambitions or at least fades out your willingness to try something less “secure.”

In a very short period of time, being employed isn’t the self-nominated alternative for personal growth. In fact, it’s all the opposite.

Quit Your Job And Then What?

Nowadays, everyone is talking about the gig economy. Recent research shows that between 20% and 30% of people in Europe and the U.S. are now self-employed.

With the fast-developing online market, there are plenty of opportunities for people who have the courage and mindset to be accountable for their own future and wellness.

Try an online business in your spare time gives you an excellent opportunity to stand on more than one leg for your personal development.

In today’s uncertain market, you’ll be well prepared for any eventuality if you start developing your own business. In many cases, it doesn’t take a long time until the “spare-time” business becomes the main occupation. It delivers more revenue than your monthly “secure” salary, and it gives you total freedom.

The freedom to work on your terms and to be your own boss.

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