When to change jobs: Dread it? shed it!

Inertia is a powerful force. But when it’s the only thing keeping you in your job, it’s time to start looking for your next opportunity.

Of course, that’s easy to say, right?

You begin to imagine the possibilities of a new position with a new company—but then you think: you like the paycheck, you’ve made a few friends, your last performance review was pretty positive.

And driving in, you hear that Clash lyric on the radio: “Should I stay or should I go?” OMG, now what?!

So how do you know when it’s really time to leave? How do you cut through the emotions, and make a rational decision?

Well …there are signs.

No longer learning

Even a bad job can have benefits, as long as you’re picking up knowledge and practical experience. Toughing it out makes sense, if you’re developing skills that improve your marketability, and you should always be on the lookout for beneficial challenges. But sometimes the well runs dry—opportunities for growth fewer, new pathways unavailable. When you’ve exhausted the options for personal development, it may be time to start updating your resumé.

You’re feeling stale

Winston Churchill had a remedy for those times when his “black dog” of depression led to lethargy, which he summed up in a characteristically taut English phrase: “A change is as good as a rest.” When his paperwork became too much to bear, he’d break out the oils and paint a picture. We don’t suggest that you start painting on the job—you may not have the job very long if you do that—but the logic remains applicable: even if you’re doing a job you love, performing tasks that you’ve trained for and mastered, and with people you like, sometimes the same old four walls, the same old colleagues, the same old clients, and the same old tasks become…well, the same old same old! A stale mood is an indication that’s something’s wrong—just make sure it’s the job and not some other aspect of your life.

The workplace is toxic

Shoes that don’t fit give you blisters—a workplace that doesn’t “fit” gives you fits! A toxic workplace—one characterized by overwhelming negative factors that affect the well-being of those within it. Avoid it at all costs. If you find yourself stressed out from a negative workplace culture, or worse…you begin to see yourself picking up similar negative behavioral habits as a means of countering the abuse of others, it’s time to move on. There are greener pastures elsewhere. You and your mental health are the most important.

Burnout

You’re driving to work, and the closer you get, the worse you feel. You park, and you wish you could just stay in the car, or better yet, turn around and drive home. You tell yourself you’re being unfair, because deep down you like the work, you like this workplace, but somehow you’re not convincing yourself. Burnout is a strange beast —sometimes it’s a function of personality, sometimes a reflection of a stressful workplace, sometimes a combination of the two—but whatever the cause, it must be addressed, because an exhausted employee is rarely an effective employee. And when the exhaustion doesn’t seem to respond to “more sleep” or a “long weekend” or “vigorous exercise,” maybe it’s time to look deeper. A new challenge in a different environment may be just the thing to restore that old burst of energy you once felt.

So to sum up: if you’re dreading the workplace, or find yourself avoiding even those tasks you once loved, it may be time for a change. Telltales, like procrastinating or experiencing frustration, are generally signs, perhaps from your unconscious, that something is wrong.  Changing jobs, fighting that inertia, is always a bit scary—but sometimes very necessary. It’s true that the decision should never be taken lightly, but that doesn’t mean it should never be taken. And a staffing organization like Garnet River is a great place to explore possibilities—and recognize that every ending is a new beginning.