The Right Time to Quit

When do you decide to quit?? Happiness officer shares his interesting experience-

When is it time to quit? It’s a question I keep getting - and no wonder. Leaving a job has become one of life’s biggest decisions. It’s something that may affect every aspect of your life including your finances, your work life, your identity, your family and possibly even your social status and friendships.

It seems most of us tend to stay in bad jobs waaaaay too long. I have talked to any number of people who have told me some variation of “I quit my job last year and my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.” However, not a single person has ever told me that “I quit my job last year and it was a huge mistake. I should definitely have stayed on.”this does not mean that it’s always the right decision to quit, but it does show that when in doubt, most of us stay on in bad jobs. Perhaps longer than is good for us.

He gives his top six tips for finding your quitting point:

1. Give up the idea that you can know for sure whether or not it’s time to quit. It’s always going to be a leap.
2. Listen to your intuition. Your gut may know before your mind.
3. Remember what quitting can cost you - but also remember what staying in a bad job can cost you!
4. Remember that the longer you stay in a bad job, the harder it gets to leave.
5. Most people stay too long in bad jobs - mostly because they fear the uncertainty that comes with quitting.
6. Most people, once they’ve quit, find that their situation improves. Maybe not immediately, but certainly after a few months.

This reflects one side of the story; however many times employees realize the virtues of the previous job only after they exit. Many employees may quit for frivolous reasons as well and regret later. Deciding when is the right time to quit needs careful self analysis and planning as well. There’s a dilemma faced by many employees when they have been with the one employee for a considerable period of their career. At times it very difficult for them to decide if they need to quit just for the sake of change or to avoid getting in a comfort zone which may make them vulnerable to change.

Perhaps the catch lies in knowing what you want out of your role and the challenges you seek in your career. It may just be a reality that jobs may not offer you the kind of challenge and enriching experience which you may be looking for in different organizations. In the days to come more and more employees are likely to face this dilemma and question the learning and growth opportunities, careers path, cross functional learning and even working location (from home or flexi timing) which the employers have to offer. One good example could be the high number of graduates who opt for higher studies in management and technical degrees courses after 1-3 years of job experience. Number of initiatives have been taken in this direction by academia and organizations to ensure that employees need not quit in order to pursue higher education but somehow the desired impact of these initiatives are yet to be felt. I think organizations need to find the right mix of these aspects as various career levels and roles to engage employees and tackle attrition.

My Previous Posts on the same topic.

Looking for a change

Why employees Quit