When you first started your job, every day was shiny excitement. You learned new things and often wondered if you could keep up. The days now seem routine. You no longer look forward to coming to work. Is it you – or the job?
Ask yourself these six questions:
Am I paying a price for staying?
You invest time and effort in your job. Is your current job worth the career opportunity cost? Take the weekend or an evening to consider whether you want to be in your current job five, ten, or even two years from now. If “no” resounds loudly in your brain, and you stay another year, will you be more or less ready to get the next job on your career ladder?
Are my “tales of woe” old?
Your friends used to listen when you told them the dumb things your boss or coworkers did or what wasn’t working well at your job. Now, their eyes glaze over with disinterest. Your job stories are even boring you.
Ask yourself – can I fix what’s not working at my job or in my organization, or is it outside of my control? If you’re not happy and can’t actively fix what isn’t working, you may need to move on.
Have I lost trust?
You or your boss have crossed boundaries one time too many. Now, you no longer trust the person you work for, nor she you. When trust disappears, something vital vanishes from the work relationship.
Or perhaps you’ve seen your manager or management team’s values up close and personal and don’t like what you see. Wouldn’t you rather work for someone you could respect?
What else is out there?
Have the job walls started to close in on you? Do you spend more time every night reading Craigslist and Indeed job opportunities then you spend making dinner? Does every posting seem more appealing than your current job? If going to your work feels like stepping into a daily bath of unhappiness, it’s time to pull the plug.
Do I get along with my coworkers?
Do you look around the table at a staff meeting and not see anyone you like, want to learn from, or want to spend time with? While you don’t need to become outside-of-work friends with your coworkers, if one of them sat next to you on a long distance flight, would you want to change seats? If so, perhaps you need to move on, and this time devote some of your job search time to considering what type of people you want to work with and for.
Is it my job or me?
It’s always a good idea to look in the mirror before you decide to leave one job for the next. If you change jobs every year, the problem may be you and not your job.
Has the glow worn off your job? Could you get it back? Or do your answers to the six questions above tell you that it’s “time to move on.”
© Dr. Lynne Curry is author of ” Beating the Workplace Bully” and ” Solutions” as well as owner of the management/HR consulting/training firm The Growth Company Inc. Follow her on Twitter @lynnecury10 or at www.bullywhisperer.com
