Even if your job is pretty okay, there are always going to be bad days (or even bad weeks) when you find yourself wondering if the grass is greener somewhere else. But how can you tell if you're just having a bad day or it's really time to move on?
Recently, u/john_thezipper asked people on Reddit to share the telltale sign that it's time for them to quit their job, and the comments came flooding in. Here are a few of the top replies:
1. "I've only ever walked out on one job. I decided to quit when I started getting to work early but ended up late because I would sit in my car dreading to go in."
2. "When you dread going to bed because you know you have to get up and go to work tomorrow."
3. "When the paycheck is late or bounces."
4. "On Thursday, my boss let me know I have to prove I’m worth my barely livable wage, so we’re going to have a meeting every day next week to see how I’m going to make the company more money. I had two interviews today."
5. "My personal favorite was waking up every morning trying to remember if I had any meetings on my calendar or if I could call in sick without it being noticed too much. Every. Morning. I was the director of sales at my location in a very large company. I just couldn't deal with any aspect of the job anymore, and the projects I was working on were starting to fall apart. I was having a really hard time finding a way to care about that."
6. "Getting gaslighted by a boss and seeing management close ranks to protect each other."
7. "When they lay off the nicest, most loyal and experienced person in your department. They told me it was about his salary and nothing more. If they are cutting costs like that...time to go. It’ll only get worse."
8. "If they refuse to respect your health or your family’s."
9. "When I feel so bitter and disillusioned that I know I can’t continue there anymore."
10. "When I get an offer for more money."
11. "When you don't care if you get fired."
"When the thought of being fired is actually comforting, lmao."
12. "Invasive thoughts about work while at home and off the clock."
13. "When things don’t change, there’s no progression in your position, and those with less experience are getting promoted to better positions over the ones with experience. Hence why I submitted my request for a layoff this afternoon. Too many options out there to stay stagnant."
14. "When the new person who was just hired is making more money than you."
15. "I'm a mechanic. One day I was at a yard sale, looking at some old tools. I started chitchatting with the seller and he asked me where I worked. I hesitated for a minute, then said, 'I work for...one of the local tree services.' He replied, 'You work for [company name], don't you?' I replied, 'Yes, how did you know?' He said, 'You were too ashamed to admit it.' He was right. I put in my notice the following week."
16. "When I start crying on the drive home."
17. "Management changes hands constantly."
18. "When all you can think about is how frustrated you are, or how much you wished you weren’t there, or how much you hate your coworkers."
19. "I am OUT if someone in authority has anger issues or yells at employees."
20. "When I start absolutely hating even waking up in the morning. I don’t like working in general, but when I start hating life every single day, I’m leaving."
21. "When you are bringing home your frustration and it's impacting your personal relationships."
22. "Everyone should be looking constantly just to see what the market currently is. Money-wise, I'm leaving as soon as I can make a significant amount more than I currently do unless I really like everything else about my job — then I'm going to try to get a raise and see what happens. Other than money, the fastest way to get me looking for another job is when management starts going on a micromanaging crusade. I don't need you hovering over me all day. Give me some metrics to hit and leave me to do my job."
23. "When they mention that 'we are all family here.'"
24. "When they start giving you more responsibilities with a flashy new title, without any raise in pay."
25. "I think for me it was when it physically hurt to get out of bed in the morning and get to work. My body would just tighten up. Back then, I had not yet learned to separate my personal life from work bullshit. Things at my jobs consumed me for a long time until I realized that this is unhealthy. I have to not care anymore."
26. "I was having a root canal. The doctor asked why I was smiling. Told him because I wasn’t at work. That’s when I knew it was time to quit."
27. "When I start having nightmares about the job."
28. "When your boss happens to 'forget' about your planned vacation and wants you to work. Especially when it was discussed months ahead of time."
29. "When a customer talks to you like garbage/assaults you/does anything to treat you like a nonhuman, and management does not do anything about it."
30. "When they say, 'And if you don’t like it, there’s the door.' I always take the door. It’s my hard red line."
31. "When none of the workers have been there a year, but all the managers have been there 20-plus years."
32. "Not getting year-over-year pay increases to match inflation."
33. "When my manager starts to call me outside of my working hours."
34. "When the perks have just about all gone and they threaten to take the last one."
35. And finally, "When I just feel it my gut. It’s like a failing relationship when you finally face the uncomfortable truth that things are no longer working."
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.