Recently, I discussed how you might be able to recover from being betrayed at work or even in your personal life.
One of the recovery models is to actually leave the company you work for. But, when do you know it is time for you leave your current job?
You might start by measuring your happiness. You might feel misunderstood or mistreated. Or sometimes you are just totally bored with what you do right now.
These feelings might prompt you to decide that it’s time to go. But before you drop your notice into HR, I recommend that you get absolutely clear why you want to leave this job.
I know from experience that when you leave without clarity, you are very likely to find yourself in the same awful situation again.
Your starting point for ending this job is to really examine your mindset.
No matter what job you do, and regardless of how you are ranked in your company, remember that you must have an entrepreneurial approach to your work and professional life.
Being nimble, flexible, brave, resourceful, creative and innovative are the only things that set you apart from everyone else. These traits form the core structure of the value you bring to your job.
It truly does not matter how qualified you are, or how many university degrees you have. If you don’t have these tactical skills, you are at best, a mediocre employee.
For example, I have a really good friend who left a senior managerial role that he had held for over 10 years because he felt underwhelmed in his role.
He decided that he would make an excellent business owner with the vast knowledge he had.
I had absolutely no doubt that he was an exceptional technical talent. He was outstanding at his work and was most sought after. But, I also knew he was leaving for all the wrong reasons.
He had no real clarity about why he wanted to leave. It was a pure emotional reaction to not getting enough perceived satisfaction from what he did in his job.
He never actually studied if he was in fact making the appropriate strategic moves in his job to give himself the personal fulfillment he so craved for.
I knew the answer and I told him quite frankly that he did not possess an entrepreneurial mindset to his work, which is an absolute necessity for a business owner. And, that leaving in search of satisfaction elsewhere without essentially giving it a proper shot in this job would be a mistake.
But, he opted to take his own counsel, and leave his well-paying job to start a new venture.
After a couple of years of business and financial struggles, and having had enough time for proper reflection about his own role in his career, I am now helping him secure employment in a larger corporation that best suits his temperament.
This time round, I am confident that his experiences have taught him to be more reflective before ever jumping ship.
First, ask yourself if you actually cleared your own “head-space” and tried to be as strategic and entrepreneurial as you can be, in your current job. If you have done this honestly, and still feel that you must move on, then ask yourself these two very crucial questions.
Are you unhappy for the most part each day, as you do this job?
If you feel that you know who the “real you” is, and this version of yourself just never gets out in this job or if the way you prefer to work is just not accepted in this company, then you will be unhappy nearly all the time.
If you find that you are often day-dreaming about doing something very different or being in another organisation, then do not be in denial of your feelings. These are signals that show you that something is definitely amiss in your current work-life.
The next question; is your work environment tainted with too much toxicity for you?
Remember that your job isn’t only about the tasks you perform each day. It is fashioned by numerous other influences that provide a holistic experience. These factors give you the requisite buoyancy to get up, and come to work each day.
If your line leader or boss is a narcissist who thinks that the world only revolves around them, or if they have scant regard for your goals, needs, challenges and concerns, then you need to think about your next move.
When there is a lack of collaboration and positive growth-inducing actions in your company, or if your organisation treats it’s human resources like a commodity that can be bought and sold, then you need to consider leaving.
So, when is it time to leave your job?
Only when you know that you have acted with an entrepreneurial mindset, yet you feel unhappy for the most part, and are surrounded by toxic people.
But remember, before you resign, you must drop your own self-deception!
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