I like to think that I am a hard working individual. It doesn’t matter if I am washing dishes or if I am retouching photos because if it’s something I can enjoy (or tolerate) then I give it my all. What I do notice is that I tend to get tired of a job when I feel like no further progress can be made or if the overall work morale is low. My behavior and performance is affected by my disinterest and I start to think about looking for another job. (It didn’t help that most of this occurred when I was a teenager.)
This has happened to me a few times already and if you start to notice these behaviors maybe it’s time to start a new job or spice up your current one before it is too late. I left some and others I was able to salvage by either fixing my work relationships or find ways to motivate myself again.
I’m not saying these are the only five indicators that let you know it’s time to move on to better career opportunities but these were the more common ones that came to mind. The decision to quit is ultimately a decision to be made by oneself.
1. Your work performance is suffering.
When you’re getting tired of your job, you’ll find ways to not work as hard. In other words, you’re slacking off. You might look for ways to cut corners, show up late to work, or even not work while at work (Hey, I showed up, right?). There are countless factors that could drive people to do this but whatever the underlying issue is, it needs to be addressed.
2. You have poor relationships with your coworkers (managers included).
Human beings are naturally social creatures. Since the beginning of time, people banded together and hunted or gathered after realizing what they were good at doing, and they probably had a better chance at survival when they functioned as one unit.
If you’re in a work environment that is either hostile, demotivating, or repressing, you end up feeling alone and unsupported.
It is important to build great work relationships because it is emotionally straining when your coworkers either don’t care or if they don’t like you.
3. You frequently call out of work (or are thinking about it).
When you are tired of your job/workplace, you don’t want to be there anymore. You’ll naturally find reasons to not be there and if action is taken, you call out or in more extreme cases, you simply do not show up (a huge sign that something is very wrong because missing work without letting anyone know could land you in a lot of trouble).
4. You constantly compare the progress of your career with someone else’s.
In my opinion, it’s generally not healthy to constantly pit ourselves up against other people. Doing so causes people to generally feel negative emotions such as anxiety, envy, depression, etc. Sometimes, it can be motivating when you aspire to do well and have some friendly competition. When done excessively, you can easily make yourself miserable especially if you fall short accomplishing what others have accomplished.
5. You feel like you’re heading towards a dead end.
A dead end job is one that may exhibit some or all of the following characteristics: offers no further opportunities to advance in the company, doesn’t teach you anything about yourself, forces you to live paycheck to paycheck, doesn’t offer enough networking opportunities, and makes you feel like you’re wasting your life/time.
There is no point in staying in a job that physically and emotionally leads you nowhere because you’re only going to be worn down until you reach your breaking point. Sometimes we’re in situations where we don’t have the liberty to just leave a job but we don’t have to be unhappy either. I hope this article helps you decide whether it is time to move on or not.
Napalm Kitty 