If You Ask Yourself This Question, You Probably Should Quit Your Job
and when you should NOT hand in your notice
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February 11 was my last day at my full-time job. After I sent my final text message to the team’s WhatsApp group, I was ready to delete the app.
Then, I received a message from my former co-worker. And three others after that.
Apparently, a few team members had a serious reflection session after I as their leader announced my resignation. They were all under lots of pressure and completely burnt out, yet they did not know if it was a sign telling them to quit.
They all asked me the same question: “How did you know that you should quit your job?”
I replied:
“When I asked myself if I should stay for my teammates.”
Asking this question means you no longer feel anything for and gain anything from your job.
You don’t find it exciting. You don’t see that you are going to learn something new, nor do you want to. You don’t actively find ways to improve yourself and how you work.
You are exhausted from the huge pile of tasks. You are tired of the empty promises your boss makes. You are upset that the managers refuse to see the reality for what it is, that the job is pushing you to your limits and they will not compromise: it’s their way or the highway.
You fill your day up with noises from loud music or continuous TV binge-watching because you want to numb all of your senses to avoid the fact that you are overwhelmed. You go out of your way to find trivial activities to do so you can procrastinate until the deadline is up your bum.
Asking this question means you are relying on the only positive factor left to give yourself an excuse to keep staying at this dead-end job that gives you more pain than reward.
I believe that if you are having a hard time with every other component than your job, such as working environment, salary, or colleagues, you should do everything in your power to solve the recurring problem instead of opting for quitting.