The Best and Worst Reasons for Leaving a Job
People decide to leave their job for any number of reasons. Some of these reasons for leaving a job are smart, while others might not be the best. Before you rage-quit out of frustration, weigh the pros and cons of leaving your job. To get you started, here are the best and worst reasons for leaving a job.
5 Good Reasons for Leaving a Job
1. You’re Stuck in Place
If you’ve been at your current job for a while now, have proven your worth, and are a generally good employee, you should be able to move up the ladder at your job. If that hasn’t happened, it may be time to move on.
But before quitting your current job, be sure your boss knows you’re interested in a promotion (no matter how obvious you think it might be). If nothing changes after talking with your boss, and you’ve taken on extra duties or sought out additional certifications, then it may be time to leave your job.
2. It’s No Longer a Fit
When you first started your job, you couldn’t imagine a day when you wouldn’t love everything about it. But things change. If perhaps now you’re more interested in coding or making a go of your burgeoning photography skills, then it could be time to leave your current job for a career change, or at least see if you can scale back a bit so you have time for your passion projects.
3. Your Dream Shot
Perhaps a former colleague is starting a new venture that you’d love to help with, or a position you’ve been eyeing for a while has just become available. Whatever the reason, if there’s a job that you know you would love and be great at, it’s probably worth giving it a try. These kinds of opportunities don’t come about very often, which is why when it does, you owe it to yourself to take the leap.
4. You Need More Flexibility
Whether it’s having kids, needing to assist a sick family member, or wanting a bit more work-life balance, there are times when we need more flexibility at work. If that flexibility isn’t offered or you’ve asked your boss about it (and been told the company can’t accommodate you), it may be time to leave your job.
5. You’re Burned Out
Being stressed at work isn’t uncommon. But being stressed isn’t the same thing as being burned out by your job.
Workplace stress comes and goes, even if it feels constant. Workplace burnout, however, results in you always feeling physically exhausted, disengaged from the job, and not as productive as you once were.
There are many causes of burnout, some of which you can control and some you can’t. If you’ve tried mitigating the burnout and nothing seems to help, you should consider leaving your job for something new.
5 Bad Reasons for Leaving Your Job
1. You Don’t Get Along With One Coworker
If you’re considering leaving your current job because of a rift with one coworker, consider this: what makes you so sure you won’t have the same problem at another job?
Working with people we don’t get along with is sometimes unavoidable, and a new job won’t change that fact. While it may be easier said than done, don’t take their behavior personally. Continue to act professionally, and try to build a solid working relationship with them as best as you can. If you really can’t make it work with this person, ask to move desks or be reassigned from certain projects.
2. You Made Some Mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes at their job, and while it’s certainly not a good feeling to mess up, it’s also not a reason to pack it in and leave. Instead, face up to your mistakes and admit when something went wrong. Try to learn from the experience so that it won’t happen again, and prove that you can be a good employee in good times and bad.
3. You Didn’t Get That Raise
There can be a lot of reasons why your employer didn’t give you a raise this year. Maybe your company had it rough, and no one got a raise. Or some unexpected expenses came up that ate into the budget. If that’s the case (because management told you or because you asked), it’s probably worth it to stick it out for a while to see if things improve. Who knows? You might get a mid-year salary boost when things get better.
But if this is a pattern, that’s a different story. If you’ve been working at the company for a few years without a raise or bonus, then it may be time to move on, especially if you’ve asked about a salary bump and been denied or every time you bring the topic up, your boss won’t discuss it.
4. Your Boss Is Giving You Feedback
No matter your role, you will likely receive feedback from your boss and possibly your colleagues. Feedback is an integral part of any job. It helps you learn more about the role and grow professionally.
However, not everyone takes feedback well. One study found that the top reason new hires fail in their job is that they aren’t “coachable,” meaning they cannot accept and implement feedback no matter who it comes from.
Just because your boss is critical of your performance and offering you advice on how to improve doesn’t mean you should quit your job. Use that feedback to grow and improve.
That said, feedback should be positive, constructive, and relevant to your performance. If the feedback is personal or attacks you, then you may have a valid reason to leave your job.
5. You Hope the Grass is Greener
The truth is the grass may be greener somewhere else. But it’s never a good idea to leave your job without a backup plan because you hope things are better somewhere else.
Everyone gets frustrated with their gig from time to time, and if that frustration is lingering, then it might be worth doing some digging for a new job. But make sure you take the time to research the company’s culture and understand the role before you move on. Otherwise, you may find yourself just as frustrated as ever.
To Stay or Go
Figuring out whether to stay in a job or leave it is not always a simple decision. But using the above points can help you arrive at a well-reasoned decision that helps you exit your current job professionally.
When you’ve decided it’s time to leave your job, FlexJobs has your back. From our extensive database of legitimate, remote and flexible jobs to personalized career coaching, a FlexJobs membership can help your job search in more ways than you ever imagined. Take the tour and learn more.
