The Easiest Way to Know When to Quit Your Job

If you clicked on this article, the time to quit is now.

That was easy!

The fact is that once you start looking for advice about leaving, you already have one foot out the door. For one reason or another, you’re either unhappy or feel that there are better options elsewhere. Quit now. Find a better place to work; find a role that is empowering, exciting, rewarding; find a company that captivates you and speaks to your interests and desires.

What is it you’re passionate about? Whatever it is, I bet there’s a job for that. Love basketball but can’t play? Try being a ball boy. Or how about knitting? Baby name consultant? Shockingly, yes! Having trouble cutting it as a copywriter? Try becoming a fortune cookie writer instead.

Maybe skiing is your thing but you’re not talented enough to be an instructor: how about becoming a ski resort social media manager? In mainstream business, there are jobs for things as arcane as a “Digital Yenta,” or as bold as Coca Cola’s “Vice President of Consumer Connection.” No matter what it is you wish you were doing, I am convinced that if you clicked on this article, it’s time for you to quit.

Okay, maybe there are a few exceptions. If you’re my editor at LinkedIn, for example, and it’s your job to check out this article. Or if you’re a dedicated follower who reads every word I write regardless of personal relevance (in which case, please accept my heartfelt gratitude). And to be fair, many people simply can’t afford to quit. The job market is still pretty bad and opportunities, even for great people, are hard to come by. So if you know you should quit but are gathering financial resources, you’re off the hook as well.

For the rest of you, it’s time to quit. By the time you start consciously asking the question, your subconscious already knows it’s over. The unconscious mind, where your gut reactions come from, knows the right decision because it’s unencumbered by fear. It’s your big conscious cerebral cortex that starts making excuses: I would quit but it’s hard to find another job in this economy. I would quit but my next boss could be even more horrific than my current one. I will quit, but I’ll wait until after year-end bonuses or the next stock dividend.

What are you really waiting for? Think about the old management adage “hire slow, fire fast.” It’s rarely adhered to in management, but it should be. Even more importantly, why don’t we think this way about ourselves and our own careers? We should fire ourselves quickly if we’re not happy, not empowered, or not challenged in our jobs. 

I don’t know what your reasons are for considering quitting your job. Hate your manager, hate your company, hate your role? There are plenty of other articles detailing good reasons to quit including an insightful one by Jack Welch posted earlier this month. What I do know is this: When people start to become unhappy in any aspect of their lives, one of two things happens. They either make a change, or they stay in the unhappy situation for weeks, months, or years before making a change and wishing they’d done it sooner. There are countless psychological, financial, and performance studies on the impact of change during unhappy or unhealthy situations, and every single one of them demonstrates that sooner is better.

So why do we stay? Because we’re taught not to make rash decisions. Slow and steady wins the race; don’t be a quitter; give it the old college try. None of these clichés offer bad advice generally, but it is terrible when it comes to your work life. Once discontent seeps into your career, it quickly becomes toxic. Once toxicity starts to spread, you’ve got to make a big change and make it fast. 99.99% of the time, quitting is the right decision.

Maybe 0.01% of the time some outside twist of fate comes along and creates a positive change. But why be reactive with your life when you can be proactive? A point-zero-one percent chance just isn’t a good gamble – yet people make this bet every day by staying in a situation that makes them unhappy. Do yourself a favor and assume you’re the rule, the 99.99%, not the exception. That means this: the only way you’ll wake up tomorrow in a different situation is if you do something today to make it so.