Should You Quit Your Job? 6 Telltale Signs You Need a Career Change

There will be instances when you feel like you are starting to dislike your job. During these times, you might even start thinking about a career change.  This is normal, especially if you have been in the same position for a while. Rest assured, there is nothing wrong with occasionally not liking your job, but when the feeling becomes more profound, and dislike turns into disdain, then chances are it is time to quit your job.

It takes more than wishing you are doing something else to determine when to say goodbye. It takes even longer to get to a point where switching jobs becomes a viable option.

On that note, there are telltale signs it is time for you to go. It takes a certain level of awareness to understand what the signs mean and where it leads. So, when do you know that it is time to quit your job?

Here are some clues, along with suggestions on what to do before leaving.

1. You are distracted throughout the day.

It is perfectly normal to have those times during a shift when your mind is not on the job. But when you are distracted throughout the day, every day of the work week, then something is clearly wrong. When your mind wanders even if you have lots of work on your plate, then you might have a problem.

More importantly, if you are too distracted to work and know that you are losing the company’s money, yet you feel indifferent, it is perhaps time to quit. If you like what you are doing, you will feel guilty wasting your employer’s time and resources. Do yourself a favour and quit while you are ahead.

Try this before quitting:

Improve your focus while working. Consider the Pomodoro method for starters. This time management system breaks your workday into 25-minute chunks: basically, you work for 25 minutes then take a break for five minutes. After four “pomodoros,” you take a longer break of around 15 to 20 minutes.

2.  You dread Mondays and look forward to Fridays.

Mondays are always a drag. But do you feel like Fridays always take too long to arrive and that weekends pass in a blur? If so, it may be time to throw in the towel. If you can no longer enjoy your weekends because you are worrying too much about Monday, then it is seriously time to move on.

Weekends are supposed to be spent relaxing and doing things that you are unable to do during the workweek. So if you are beginning to take off one day a week to shorten what you perceive as a long work week, it would be modest to quit rather than be terminated due to excessive absences.

Try this before quitting:

On Sundays, make time to engage in activities that will help you clear your mind. Exercise, meditate, or simply take a walk to calm your nerves and prepare for the work week ahead. Reframing how you look at Mondays with calming activities may give you a better start to the week.

3. Your values no longer align with the company’s values.

This one is easy to tell and is perhaps the clearest sign for a career change. When your values no longer align with your employer, you begin to doubt everything they tell you. Professional lines start to blur, and you begin to drift away from the company, which in turn affects your work performance.

To be productive in the workplace, you must believe in the goal your employer is working hard to achieve. If you realise that your values no longer match your employers’, it is time to move on.

Try this before quitting:

After assessing your values, speak to your manager or supervisor about this mismatch with the company’s values. There may be projects or volunteer efforts in which you can take part. If you are involved in more company efforts, you may better understand and reconnect with the company’s values. However, if even these are not available, then perhaps you need to think about switching jobs.

4. You do not feel challenged by your work.

There may come a point where you are doing the same tasks repeatedly in a job. You could have developed and nurtured a specific skill set; however, you feel limited to your tasks. Recognition for being good at your job is great, but it can be a hindrance if you find yourself stuck.

Try this before quitting:

If you want a new challenge at work, bring it up with your manager. Ask if there are new opportunities or projects that you can take on. If that is not possible, you may want to look into switching jobs and finding that challenge elsewhere.

5. You talk about work negatively and relish talking to other people about it.

Surely, there are people in the office complaining about how unhappy they are at work. You have probably met them before and avoided them, so the negativity does not rub off on you. When you start becoming like them and enjoy hanging around them just so you can complain about work, then a career change is in order.

Negativity in the workplace has never been good.  It will drag you down and prevent you from getting things done. Before you even realise it, you will start bringing this negativity with you outside the office. You might start talking about it to family members, friends, and simply people who would care to listen. Expressing your emotions is healthy, but drowning in them can become toxic. You are better off spending your energy doing something else.

Try this before quitting:

Manage your anger and negativity in the workplace. While it is understandable that you need to let it out, you also need to be careful because your feelings may also affect those around you.

6. You forget about the company the moment you leave the office.

People who love what they do for work think about what else they can bring to the table even after office hours. They challenge themselves to think about what they want to do the next day and plan what to achieve in the future. If this is not you, then maybe you do not love your job as much as you did before.

Of course, there is no need to think about work outside office hours all the time. But when it never crosses your mind at all, that is when you need to look a little closer. If you see work as simply work, this is the effect.

Take a few minutes to explore what you want to achieve long-term in your job. If you have trouble seeing that and your passion for the work does not seem to appear, your talent and skills may be more useful in a different job.

Deciding to change your career path requires some serious thinking and is not something you jump into right away. You need to consider many factors, and the list above are signs you should take a deeper look at to help you decide.

Your attitude towards work will be your gauge if it is time for a career change. Look at your perception of work and try to change it. If it does not work, then it may be time to explore other opportunities.

Ready to quit? Here’s what you should do next

Make time each week to explore job opportunities. Even an hour or two on an effective job portal like JobStreet would help you as you seek changes in your career path. Use this time to search for job openings and a potential career change to give you a clearer idea of what you want in your next job. You could also set the goal of applying for a new job every two weeks.

If you think switching jobs is the right move for you and you are ready to change your career path, let the search for #JobsThatMatter begin. Update your profile at JobStreet and find work that will bring you passion and purpose.

Don’t forget to visit the Career Resources Hub for more expert tips and advice on well-being in the workplace and how to grow your career.