Four Signs That It's Time to Find a New Job
Posted on January 07, 2022 by MARCI LEVERIDGE, One of Thousands of Relationship Coaches on Noomii.
The Great Resignation? Hostile work environment, a lack of room to grow, work/life balance, and following your dreams could be your reason to join.
Four Signs That It’s Time for a New Job
The Great Resignation is here. That turn of phrase was originally coined by Anthony Klotz of Texas A & M University, and it refers to the large number of people leaving their jobs after the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic seemed to be lessening. Indeed, the trend seemed to begin in April of 2021, as vaccines were becoming more available and many companies returned to in-person work. And it’s real—the “quit rate” in America reached 3% in September of 2021, which is amazing since that rate had not gone above 2.4% in the previous 20 years!
So should you join the mass exodus? Maybe the pandemic has you rethinking your priorities—time for family, how fulfilled you need to be, even how you feel about your commute. Or maybe it’s been on your mind for several years, and you keep postponing a decision. In any case, it’s important to remember that change is difficult, and job changes affect so many other parts of our lives. But there are some situations, pandemic or not, that warrant at least considering a change. Here are four of them.
1. There is a hostile work environment. This may seem obvious, but sometimes it can sneak up on you. Indeed, the employment website, defines a hostile work environment as one in which a supervisor, manager, or coworker negatively or severely impacts another employee’s ability to complete their work. It can include sexual harassment or discrimination based on gender, gender identity, race, age, disability, religion, or sexual orientation. Sometimes that’s easy to spot, as when unwelcome touches or sexualized comments are made, despite your telling the people to stop, or when racial epithets or innuendos continue after they are called out. But other times it can be more subtle, as when a person is consistently excluded from meetings that those of the dominant gender or race are invited to attend. If subtle slights occur, or your job performance is consistently and unjustly minimized when others who perform at the same level are given awards or promoted, it is important that you keep written records of this and report to your supervisor and/or human resources. If no meaningful change occurs, and especially if management discourages you from reporting, it’s not an appropriate work environment. Whether or not you choose to sue the employer, it’s probably time for a new job.
2. There is no room to grow. I think of growing in one’s job in three ways: depth, breadth, and height. By depth, I mean deepening the set of skills you have, refining them so that you feel more and more satisfied that you are producing quality work. If the expectations are that you turn out work quickly and by (perhaps unrealistic) deadlines even if that means it is shuttled back to you later, you are likely to feel frustrated and even ashamed of your work. In some cases, a person has developed good depth of skills, but is ready to branch out, and gain more breadth of knowledge. That means having the opportunity to learn new skills, through formal training or mentoring. Without that chance, even the most motivated employee is likely to feel stymied. And finally, it can be important to increase one’s height in the organization—to have the opportunity to advance, to get promoted, to make more money. In some companies, that’s just not feasible. Perhaps the people above you are entrenched, not likely to move or retire. Or maybe the skills you most value in yourself do not match the company’s needs in higher positions. And sadly, it may also be the case that you are being discriminated against. In any of these cases, you could stay and fight the status quo, or you could leave and look for a company where you are respected and given the opportunity to grow.
3. The culture doesn’t allow for the work-life balance you need. Every life needs a balance of meaningful work, and time to relax, recharge, and engage in non-career-oriented relationships and activities. Some jobs or organizational cultures just don’t allow that, much less encourage it. Say you have a job that requires you to travel 4 days per week. If you share custody of a child and that child stays with you every other week, traveling 4 of those days that your child is with you simply does not work. If your job requires you to be available for overseas phone calls at any hour of the day or night, or to take phone calls and emails after hours or on weekends, you will not be able to get the rest you need. Sometimes these demands seem like an acknowledgement that one is important, that the organization can’t survive without your unique contribution 24/7. But at some point, your reserves will be depleted and it will be time for a new job.
4. You’ve always dreamed of doing something else. Sometimes, people “fall into” a job or career—because they need to support themselves and a family, because it was easy or in a good location, or because they needed to support a partner’s career pursuit. Those factors are important, and you can make it work. But if you want to thrive, it’s important to have a plan for following your dream.
We spend at least a third of most days at a job. Jobs are necessary to support ourselves, and they can’t teach us much about our abilities and what we do and don’t want from life. If you are wondering about whether or how to change your job situation, life coaching can help you make informed and balanced decisions.
