First of all, when you get the chance, watch and/or read Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ commencement address to the Stanford University graduating class of 2005. Jobs’ premise is to find what you love. I agree wholeheartedly with Steve. After all, we spend the majority of our time at work and it’s important to like it or at least like some parts of it. No job is perfect and Steve was lucky to have found and created something he was good at.
The passion for a job remains elusive for a lot of people. With a continuing bad economy and an uncertain future, many people feel stuck or trapped in their jobs but can’t afford to quit. After all, who’s going to pay the bills?
There does come a time though when it’s time to walk away and look for something
better. You may feel this way after one year on the job or nine, either way, hardly anyone is going to remain with one company for many years like the olden days and everyone should recognize when it’s time for a change.
No advancement. If advancement is important to you and you’ve maxed out your grade, then it’s time to look for opportunities elsewhere to advance. Even if advancement is not important to you, you don’t have to sign your life away by remaining at the same company. It doesn’t hurt to learn something new elsewhere.
Constant mental and emotional fatigue. Everyone has days where they are exhausted. If this is an everyday occurrence, though, it likely means that you are tired of your job. It takes more effort to get up in the mornings. You’ll take a nap any chance you get. While you may have enjoyed sleep in the past, you love it and need it even more.
Mediocre relationships with your boss and/or co-workers. Maybe you’re just barely getting along with your boss. Maybe you can’t stand your boss and/or your co-workers. If you don’t respect your boss, it will be difficult to continue working at your job for the long-term. It is one thing to not like your job but if you don’t care for your boss and/or co-workers, it can zap all of your energy. After all, it helps to exchange pleasantries at work and if you don’t have that at your office, then it’s time to go.
Not caring. You could care less about meetings and projects. Your boss tells you about an upcoming conference and the only thing that excites you about it is missing work for the day. Your boss gives you a time-off award which you accept but toss aside because you think you deserve better. Your boss gives you a compliment but it doesn’t mean anything to you…just goes in one ear and right out the other.
Looking for an escape. You look for an escape any chance you get, whether it’s leaving the office during your lunch break (which you should do anyway to give yourself a break, however, this becomes the highlight of your day), scheduling any type of appointment possible so you can leave work early, daydreaming about a vacation that may be months away, and taking annual leave whenever possible because you can’t stand to be at the office a full day or week. These are all signs that you’re fed up and need to make a change.