Four Signs That You Should Fix Your Current Job Instead of Quitting
When you’re stuck in a job you hate, it’s easy to read a few articles on making your dreams come true and find the confirmation you were looking for when applying for a layoff. But what seems like a terrible job may not be terrible forever – in certain situations, it might be worth trying to fix your job rather than jumping ship.
This post was originally published on the Muse website .
You’ve probably seen articles floating around the internet listing signs that you should quit your job immediately (and if not, you can read them here , here, and here ). Now, of course, there are situations that call for layoffs, and a lot of people get stuck in jobs they hate when they clearly should be looking for something better.
But sometimes you should focus your energies on improving your current situation, rather than going into the unknown. How can you determine if you can get your current job to work? Look for the signs below.
1. You surround yourself with negativity.
If you are consistently frustrated with your boss, your responsibilities, your coworkers, and the company as a whole, look at the company you are staying with. Do you grumble with your coworkers at lunch? Do you take breaks tracking the latest gossip about who got the promotion they wanted and who the department manager invited to dinner?
By focusing on complaints, talk, and gossip , you deliberately surround yourself with negativity that can ruin your perception of your work.
Instead, try to focus on what’s good about your job. Instead of complaining about missed promotions, try to document your accomplishments so that you can present yourself with a more compelling case next time. Talk to coworkers about an exciting project you’re working on instead of talking about a dark task your boss asked you to do.
Can positive thinking solve everything? Not at all. But as you try to change your mindset, you will have a clear idea of whether the problem is your job or how you think about your job.
2. You have not created a travel plan.
There is nothing worse than feeling stuck at work with no predictable promotion opportunity. It seems pretty obvious that if there is no room to grow, it’s time to move on to something else.
But is the problem really that there is no room to grow, or that you haven’t actively collaborated with your boss or HR to determine how to get to where you want to be ?
Perhaps, for example, you want to move into a management position in your department, but you continue to be bypassed due to a promotion. No room for movement, right? Well, probably not, unless you work with your boss to determine what you need to do and what skills you need to develop to get the next promotion available.
Or maybe you need to work with HR to determine if there is an internal step you could take that would help you better achieve your goals – for example, moving from the sales team to the sales training team, where you could start. apply some management skills. …
3. You haven’t rested for a long time
You’ve seen the study, you’ve read it in The Muse, and even heard it on TV, incredit card ads, or in Las Vegas : In the US, employees don’t use their weekends.
Let’s be honest: Working in an endless stream of 40+ hours a week without interruption can make anyone quit. So, if some time has passed since your last vacation, the problem may not be that you have to quit your job entirely, but that you need a break from work to recharge.
Done right – that is, with minimal email checking – taking a vacation can help you feel less nervous and be more productive. And it can even give you a whole new perspective on your current situation.
By taking advantage of those unused vacation days to take a break from work, you can come back with more clarity: Did you just need a few days off? Or do you need a permanent break from work?
4. You did not express your concerns to your boss.
Maybe some of the aspects of your job are truly unbearable, like you don’t like your assigned responsibilities, you can’t stand to work with your project team, and your workload is so great that you’re constantly staying late and working on weekends.
But until you actually talk to your boss about these things , you have no idea if they are the facets of your job that are carved in stone, or if you can actually make a difference.
By simply expressing your concerns to your boss, you can shift your workload, focus your time on other priorities or projects, or move on to a different project team. Basically, you can dramatically improve your current job without having to tweak your resume.
Before you ditch your resume and cover letter and dive deeper into your job search, it’s worth seeing if your current job can be salvaged. Sometimes, changing your mindset and protecting your own interests can be critical.
4 Awesome Signs You Should Fix Your Current Job, Not Quit | Muse