7 Reasons To Quit Your Job

We spend the first 18 to 22 years (or more) of our lives preparing to get jobs. That’s so many years of preparation, but jobs are important, so preparation is important. Jobs allow us to not be homeless, to not starve, to not be naked when we don’t want to be, to not rely on our parents for money and every once in a while, they allow us to take a vacation. If we’re fortunate, our jobs bring us fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately, a lot of us aren’t so fortunate. Some people will inevitably be unhappy with any job they get (they’re probably unhappy with most things in general), but most of us would be so much happier if we felt better about ourselves in our jobs, and if our bosses weren’t so terrible. We have a limited number of days to live, so let’s make a choice to not be miserable for any more of those days. At least not because of our jobs.

Here’s a list of reasons why you should quit your job:

You constantly feel inferior.

When people are given power, they sometimes don’t know how to treat other people with respect. Bad bosses tend to be condescending, patronizing, unapproachable and disrespectful, with the innate ability to make the people who work for them feel stupid. All the time. Feeling inferior makes people feel unworthy of respect, and that’s how bad bosses get away with treating their employees the way they do.

There’s poor communication.

It’s been said that communication is the key to success. People say that because IT’S TRUE. Bosses and co-workers who do not communicate well make it impossible for you to do your job correctly and efficiently. You’re a professional. You know how to do your job. But when you’re only given bits and pieces of information, you’re left guessing. If you guess wrong, the likelihood of someone making you feel bad for your decision is pretty high. That’s frustrating and not worth putting up with.

You’re being sexually harassed. 

Sometimes sexual harassment isn’t obvious. You may think that it’s part of your relationship with your boss, like how he’s always being jokey when he tells you how hot you look in your new pants. Or how she (sexual harassment perpetrators aren’t only men) smacks your butt when you leave her office. These are subtle instances of sexual harassment, but they are still inappropriate and are probably making you feel inferior. Of course, there are more serious cases that are way more invasive, and if that’s happening to you, quit your job immediately and consider taking legal action so the behavior doesn’t continue with other employees. I realize that taking action is way easier said than done, but just remember that any kind of sexual harassment (unwanted sexual advances… wanted sexual advances are something very different and way more fun) is not okay, and the person doing it needs to know that you’re not okay with it.

You have no interest in your job.

Sometimes (a lot of the times) we have to take jobs we don’t want just to pay the bills, and that’s okay. But when you feel like your lackluster job is holding you back from pursuing your dream job, that’s when it’s time to make your move. Switching jobs isn’t easy, but actually having an interest in, and feeling connected to what you do every day will help with your all-around happiness. Out of the seventy-ish hours that we are awake during the work week, forty-ish of those are spent at work. In case you didn’t feel like doing the math, that’s more than half of our awake time spent working. We might as well enjoy it doing something that interests us.

You have the opportunity to move.

If you have the opportunity to move somewhere you’ve always wanted to live, do it. Even if you think you won’t find another job. You will. If you’re good at what you do, it’ll happen. It’s important to love your city and experience change, if that’s what you want. If you aren’t good at what you do, that’s okay too. A new city brings new opportunities (and new Instagram pictures).

 There’s no room for growth.

Growth is important for a few reasons. First, pay raises are essential. The cost of living is constantly going up, and inflation requires us to pay more for things. How can we pay more for things if we aren’t being paid more to pay for these things? Second, everyone wants to feel like they’re working towards getting a promotion or a raise. If there’s no room for growth, there’s nothing to work towards. Third, staying stationary in our jobs means we aren’t growing and being pushed to our full potential. If trees aren’t watered, they don’t grow (sorry… it just felt right).

You are stressed… ALL THE TIME.

This one’s tricky. I don’t think a small amount of stress is bad, as long as it’s manageable and you’re finding ways to overcome that stress. However, if your job is constantly stressing you out to the point of it affecting your relationships, your sleep, your eating habits and your overall happiness, it might be time to call it quits and find a less stressful job. I doubt the people in your life would be mad about it.

We work to be able to afford the lives we want for ourselves. Most of us don’t actually WANT to work, but we don’t really have another option. It’s very possible to be happy in our jobs, but we can’t rely on anyone else to find the job that will make us happy. We need to know our worth and create that happiness for ourselves.

Featured image via ShutterStock