All of us have days when we don’t want to go to work, when we wonder if this is the best we can do, or when we are so annoyed with our boss or coworkers, we want to walk out the door and never look back. We know those days will pass, but there are warning signs that it is actually time to move on. If you recognize any of these, it may be time to go.
Sunday nights are filled with dread
Sure, you’re excited for Fridays and the start of the weekend, but if Sunday night rolls around and anxiety and depression for the coming workweek creep in, it may be your first sign. A LinkedIn survey found 80 percent of professionals experience what they call “the Sunday Scaries”—worrying about the workload, balancing work and life and stressing over things you didn’t get done the week before. When the Sunday Scaries become a weekly occurrence, the job may be putting too much stress on you.
Your body is paying the price
When that Sunday stress carries into the work week, your body may giving you all the warning signs you need. LinkedIn’s studies find that 70 percent of stress at work is caused from work-life balance and too much workload. Serious work stress means sleep may get disrupted, irritability is a daily occurrence, stress eating and poor diet cause weight to creep up, headaches are more common, as are stomach and back pain, and you rarely have time to take care of yourself. When your job has become the priority and your body is paying the price, it is time to look for something that can provide better work-life balance.
You’re not growing
Our work should be fulfilling and should teach us something new, allowing us to be challenged and grow. A study of more than 2,000 people showed nearly a quarter of respondents would give up future lifetime earnings for a meaningful job. Are you one of them? If you hit a dead-end—there is no upward position to strive for, your ideas are not being heard, you are not appreciated and you just stop caring—it’s time to find something that you care about again.
When the company is struggling
If your company is making major cutbacks and reporting financials are off, pay attention. What are the changes that may be coming? Is this just a quarterly glitch or is the company on a downward spiral? Trust your gut and know when to jump ship so you don’t go down with it.
If you’re reading this article
Looking to see if you have the warning signs may be all the warning you need. If you are unhappy and questioning whether to stay or go, start putting feelers out there, you may just find what you are looking for.
