12 Telltale Signs You Should Move On From Your Current Job

Being employed is a lot like being in a relationship: There are ups and downs, but at the end of the day, the two of you stay together because you need one another.

Unfortunately, like many relationships, sometimes, after a while the love light just fades. When that happens, it’s time to take a good hard look at why you are staying.

Quit Job

If you’re not willing to stay in a loveless relationship, why are you doing it with your current job? Below are 12 telltale signs that things are no longer working out. It’s time to call it quits and walk away.

Look beyond the pantry gossip and stress breakdowns after meetings and maybe you’ll realize you’ve overstayed your welcome.

1. You lack the motivation to get up for work

This is an obvious giveaway, but we’re just repeating it because it’s the most important sign.

Although we all have mornings where we just want to curl up in a ball and ignore the emails from our boss, it’s an entirely different thing when you are forever waking up without any excitement for the day ahead.

If you dread going to work every morning, maybe it’s time to reassess your stay in the company.

2. You develop resentments toward your coworkers

Liking your workmates is optional; after all, you’re there to punch in, perform, and punch out. However, harboring negative feelings toward everyone at work is a telltale sign that you have to vacate your cubicle.

If you don’t leave soon, the animosity you feel for your peers will turn into something you’ll regret in the future.

(Read: If Your Officemates Were ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Characters)

3. You’re stuck in the same place

Whether we’re talking about skills development or pay, hitting the roadblock in your company is a bad thing.

In an ideal setup, the powers that be at your office should be open to giving your opportunities to grow because, at the end of the day, your success is the company’s as well.

Lack of growth opportunities only means the company doesn’t care or cannot care—we honestly don’t know which is worse.

4. Your health begins to suffer

Massive hair loss? Flaking scalp? Insomnia? Low energy? These are the ways your body is telling you that you’re burning the candle at both ends.

Even if your company provides you with health insurance, the long-term drawback isn’t worth the stay.

5. You no longer believe in the company

Highly likely, you are wide-eyed and eager when you first got your position in the company. You lived and breathed the company values and mission.

Fast forward to a few years later, the once steadfast believer is now just another cog in the machine. When you finally feel your personal values clash with the organization’s, walk away before your morals get compromised.

6. Your work output starts to suffer

No matter how gifted you are, having a constant nagging feeling that you have to leave your job will start to negatively affect your performance.

When you’re distracted, you won’t be able to fully commit yourself to work. Once this begins to happen to you, you’re doing both you and your current employers a disservice by staying on.

7. Work-life balance is nonexistent

It doesn’t matter where the scales are tipped when it comes to your work-life balance. Whether you’re encumbered with work or wasting your life away with nights-out, any sign of imbalance is unhealthy. If you try to restore it but to no avail, you need a hard reset.

8. Nothing challenges you anymore

Employment is like a boss rush game: You slay one boss monster after another with increasing difficulty. When you’re constantly being challenged at work, your skills develop, and you become readier to take on bigger roles. But maybe it’s time to look for another job when you no longer feel the rush at work.

9. You consistently browse job portals

Taking a peek at websites like Kalibrr and JobStreet every now and then is okay. However, two sure-fire signs that you’re more than just casually browsing are updating your employment details there and spending time on those portals even during office hours.

(Read: Three (Positive) Reasons To Look For A New Job)

10. Your workplace reeks of toxicity

We’re not talking about biohazard materials here. But when your boss threatens to send people to the chopping block or everyone’s just so obsessed with the hierarchy and bureaucracy—or worse, there is a culture of fear where you can’t speak your mind without thinking of potential repercussions—you’re in a company that’s unhealthy.

11. You have THAT boss

Albeit debatable, the old human resources adage “people leave bosses not companies” holds water most of the time.

We all have different definitions of what a good boss is. However, bad bosses are consistently the following: autocrats, micromanagers, poor communicators, and executioners. Fortunately, there is no Berlin Wall or Parallel 38 to keep you from abandoning your tyrant boss.

12. You are OOTL

In the parlance of younger people, OOTL means “out of the loop.”

No matter the scale of your company is, constant updates from the top dogs means that something is happening and you’re included.

If there are things happening in your office and you only hear about them in pantry room gossip, then you’re being treated as merely a body there instead of a valuable contributor to the organization’s growth.

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2017/02/14/5-undeniable-signs-its-time-to-leave-your-job/#6c79d6191539

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/09/04/14-signs-its-time-to-leave-your-job/#6269f5351da8

https://www.goalcast.com/2018/03/12/signs-you-should-quit-your-job/

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/3-signs-you-need-to-quit-your-it-job-right-now/

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/292508