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A Tool to Help You Decide Whether to Quit Your Job

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Fri Jan 10 2020

A Tool to Help You Decide Whether to Quit Your Job
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Around half of America’s workforce is dissatisfied with its work.

Maybe you feel the same. We’ve all had friends and family who have hung on to jobs that bored them for too long. They always had a good reason: the security, the difficulty of finding better work, something about the location being convenient. It’s easy to become that person. Without realizing it, you’re dragging yourself to work each day, maybe complaining from time to time, but never taking seriously the thought that you may leave.

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So why not do so something proactive? You don’t have to hand in your notice right now—but try actually engaging with the issue at hand instead of waving it away, and you may discover something interesting about your career trajectory. The good people at resume.io have created a new guide to help you decide whether the best thing to do is to quit your job, double-down and make it work, or—the in-between option—hold on for now until the right moment to quit.

Along the way, this flow chart of destiny suggests some ways of making things better where you are. For example, if the people at work make you want to quit, ask yourself whether it’s your colleagues in general or one person who is getting to you. If it’s one person (including if they are a bad influence on others—for example, by encouraging a macho atmosphere), it may be worth discussing the issue with your boss rather than handing them your notice.

If it’s the group as a whole—the company culture—that’s getting you down, you need to decide whether it is possible or worth the effort to try to make a change or to fit in. Again, it could be something to bring up with your manager.

Look out too for the advice at the foot of the infographic. Your job is fundamental to your security and your identity, and there is a right and wrong way to go about staying or leaving.

Quitting should happen in an organized and professional manner, even if you can’t wait to get out. It’s a small world, and small acts of revenge or unprofessionalism will catch up with you sooner or later.

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If you decide to stay on, consider taking a holiday or even a sabbatical to think things over and prepare a new approach. Studies have shown that taking a holiday from work can improve your attitude toward it upon your return.

And if you’re after a new career path, don’t forget to check out our courses and certificates to help you find your way to a newer, better way to work.

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