Is it time to quit? Facing the difficult decision to leave an employer

If you‘re an average professional employee, you’ve probably considered more than once that there may be tantalizing opportunities outside of your current job situation. In some cases, you may be right. This article will give you valuable insight so that you can have a clearer understanding of what you should do, as well as how and when to do it. As with any major decision in your life, your decision will drive your overall professional destiny. Making the right choice is crucial - feeling unhappy or unfulfilled at work can be one of the most depressing factors in your life.



You've been faced with many choices in your lifetime -- about your studies, your career, your job and your personal life. Past decisions you've made have placed you in the working environment you experience today. Other circumstances may have affected your career trajectory, but where you are right now is ultimately the result of your choices.


If you believe that circumstances beyond your control are solely responsible for your current situation, then you will never be able to responsibly take control on your own career and destiny. This realization is critical -- you have to be conscious of the fact that you run your life, including your career. You are the one who needs to act upon life's circumstances, you can't sit back and play the victim. The simple fact that you are reading this article is a good step toward helping you to take the wheel and drive faster to your desired destination.



Emotions play a key role when trying to figure out if you should stay or leave your current job. Having a clear understanding of these emotions and feelings - about your career, your boss, your role, and your overall working experience - is critical before making any major decision. We advise that you take the time to carefully consider these matters. It can be difficult to clear up the time necessary for achieving this important task, however, it is critical that you make some space in your day to think thoroughly about your current situation. Only then can you effectively move toward achieving your own goals and self-fulfillment.



For one thing, it is important that you distinguish what is bothering you about your current situation. What is it that is making you consider taking a look at other companies or jobs? Try to assess your own inventory of assets and liabilities, within your current employment.



Assessing Yourself



In order to accomplish this, you need to understand that you possess some "Hard" and "Soft" properties. Here's an example to help you understand what this means. Imagine an iceberg floating in the water. The tip of the iceberg, above the water are its "hard" properties -- the most visible ones. These are quite evident for you and everybody that you work with. They include your technical knowledge, the set of skills you have acquired, and your experiences. These are easy to measure and assess.



The lower part of iceberg, the part underwater, is representative of your "soft" properties. These include your attitude, values, lifetime goals, emotions and personal inspirations. These are much more difficult to measure, and are not as evident to either the people you work with or even yourself. To discover these requires deep reflection and assessment of your unique qualities. These soft qualities are the ones that differentiate you from others and make you a unique individual.



The combination of both is what you bring to your current job and company, and in return for these you are paid. The soft part of you influences how you use and apply your hard qualities. This is why it is so important to reflect on both in order to find the true sources of your discomfort and dissatisfaction at your job.



Assessing Your Company



Your company also possesses "Hard" and "Soft" qualities. "Hard" properties include the company's financial assets, its formal organizational structure and departments, its job descriptions, policies and procedures. Below the water, they have their "soft" side as well: the organizational culture, the way people work as a community, the leadership style, etc.



The sum of these properties is what your company brings to you as an employee. Your happiness and satisfaction often depend on how well your inventory of qualities match up with those of your current employer.


As you can see, the "soft" side brings a great deal of subjectivity rather than qualitative measurement. The complexity and number of these combinations makes it impossible to have the "right" formula for a group of employees. However, you can give appropriate weight to each factor on the company side (based on your own left lower "soft" side) and make your own assessment. This analysis is not easy, and it requires deep reflection on what your priorities are and how they match your short-term and lifetime goals. We suggest that before doing this analysis, you should clearly define these goals and priorities.


Assuming that you have clearly defined what you to want to achieve in the short and long term, particularly from a professional perspective, this exercise should be relatively easy. We recommend that you write down your goals in order of importance to you. Then, ask yourself what your current job, boss and company doing to help you achieve these goals.



The results of your working experience assessment are unique and individual, therefore, there is no perfect formula. This is just an attempt to weigh and measure some of the many factors that may influence your decision toward your current job. You should use the result as a guide to help you to better assess your current emotions and feelings. These emotions are based on perceptions, and sometimes our perception can get biased because of recent events (e.g. you just have an uncomfortable discussion with your boss, or have heard gossip about your department's future, etc). Make sure to try to make an objective assessment about your job and your satisfaction level with it.