Your career is the most valuable and most personal investment you'll ever make. But if your enthusiasm for your role has plummeted, how do you know when to stay or when to go?
The answer might be more straightforward than you realize. This is because your career values underpin everything. They are like a compass that indicates the direction you should take next.
Jobs will come and go, bosses and coworkers will come and go, but your values remain—and they are unique to you.
Here are four career value questions to ask yourself before taking the leap:
1. When It Comes To Your Career, What Matters the Most?
Only you can answer this and you should consider it from your perspective. Is it how much you earn? Is it your job title? Is it the environment you're working in? Is it the impact you make?
Write down the primary factors that motivate you professionally to anchor your decision-making.
2. What Are Your Top Three Non-Negotiables at Work?
Review your responses to question 1 and decide your top three non-negotiables. These are the dealbreakers to use as a baseline to assess if an opportunity is right for you.
Your non-negotiables should support your responses to question 1. Here are a few examples you might choose:
- The location of where you work
- The minimum salary you can consider
- A level of autonomy that you require to do your best work
3. What Would You Love To Do More of at Work?
Now you know the fundamentals you need. Next, zoom out and look at the bigger picture. What would you love to do more of? Is there a skill you'd love to leverage fully? Is there a specific project you want to pursue?
And, to make space for this, what are you ready to relinquish? Is there a recurring responsibility you'd love to delegate, or are you ready to pursue a promotion?
Analyzing what you want to do more of will help you establish if the growth opportunities you seek are possible in your current role, or if it's time to move on.
4. How Do You Measure Success?
Consider how you define career success on your terms. Then pick three benchmarks, or indicators, to determine this. It might be reaching a certain level of seniority, experiencing a predetermined milestone moment or using a specific skill set that gives you purpose.
Remember, you have choices when it comes to your career, but only you can decide what matters most.
How to Make Your Decision
Answer all four questions honestly and take time to consider your responses. When you have done so, you will be in a better position to assess your present role versus the opportunity that lies ahead of you.
When we find ourselves questioning if we should stay or if we should quit, there's usually a push factor that makes us want to leave.
Ponder what's driving you to hit eject on your role. Is it frustration with your responsibilities? A bad relationship with your boss? Or are you struggling with burnout?
If you're feeling frustrated or stuck, revisit your responses to question 3 to identify if there's an opportunity to pursue a project at work that would excite you. If your current job has become a dead end, your responses will guide you towards the type of roles to which you'd say a wholehearted "yes."
Recognizing Push Factors
Analytics firm Gallup's State Of The Global Workplace poll showed that in 2022, 51 percent of currently employed workers are "watching for or actively seeking a new job."
If you're feeling unsatisfied at work, try determining what push factor is driving you to look for a new role. Then, determine if the problem is fixable. If not, it might be time to quit.
If you're tempted to quit due to a faltering relationship with your boss, take a step back and consider your strategic options for moving forward. Can the relationship be salvaged? If that's not feasible, don't let a relationship dynamic derail your ambition or goals. If a situation is becoming toxic, trust your gut and explore avenues to move forward that align with your best interests.
If you're dealing with burnout, the warning signs can include an increasingly negative attitude or apathy toward your work, constant exhaustion, anxiety, insomnia and increasing feelings of ineffectiveness. This can feel debilitating. If you find yourself in this space, ask for help.
Before you decide to quit, seek out someone you trust to discuss how you're feeling. Then, talk to your employer to determine if you can reconfigure how you work.
Recognizing the push factors and exploring ways to troubleshoot the challenges gives you space and time to consider all your options. We all have days when we're ready to march out the door. But you might regret making a snap decision—especially if you don't have a new job to go to.
Consider Your Next Steps
If you're in a situation where you feel you need to leave, but don't have a new job lined up, think through the situation. If quitting would leave you in-between roles for an extended period, do you have a financial plan that would cover a gap in employment?
In addition to giving up your paycheck, you need to consider health insurance, benefits and any retirement contributions that may be tied to your employment. Crunch the numbers to determine if it's viable to quit without another job to go to, and how long you can manage without an income.
Money is a common reason why we stay stuck in jobs that we don't want. "I hate my job, but I need the money" is something plenty of people think. Only you can decide what your non-negotiables are and how you value or consider the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
It's important to take time to get clear on what you want, assess your options and make the decision that's right for you. And remember, what you do now won't define you forever. Pursuing an opportunity that aligns with your career values will be priceless, and worth the wait.
About the Author
An award-winning career coach at Twenty Ten Agency, author of Prep, Push, Pivot, and host of the Audible Original series How to Change Careers with Octavia Goredema. You can learn more about Octavia's work at octaviagoredema.com.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
An award-winning career coach at Twenty Ten Agency, author of Prep, Push, Pivot, and ... Read more
