Understanding when it’s time to walk away from a job might be difficult. There comes a moment in most roles when we see that we’re not excited to come to work and begin a new task. You might even feel like your manager drives you insane. But how are you supposed to know when you have enough reasons to leave? Peakon, the HR data platform analyzed its huge database of more than 34 million worker surveys to find out whether they could foretell which employees would resign soon and how soon.
The study showed that most workers start giving hints that they aren’t satisfied with their job about nine months prior to handing in their notice. From this time, their engagement, loyalty, and satisfaction start to decline until the worker eventually leaves.
How can it help you? Peakon established four key signals which tell you when it’s time to leave your job.
1. Tasks don’t feel challenging
Apparently, people don’t hate being very busy. Most workers enjoy it, as long as the assignments they’re dealing with aren’t boring. If the tasks are too simple, or there’s no opportunity for growth, it might be a good reason to move to a company that will provide you with actually challenging work.
According to the CNBC interview of bestselling management author Suzy Welch that before making the final decision, you should ask yourself when you did something new at work last time. If you can’t recall such a moment in the recent past, then you’re stuck in a job she calls a ‘velvet coffin’. It’s quite comfortable, but destructive to your intellect and spirit, as well as your career.
Challenging jobs give us a sense of accomplishment, which is vital to a rewarding work experience. Without it, we start to feel less creative and productive.
2. Your manager doesn’t want to discuss your salary
Of course, it’s extremely important to feel recognized and compensated for our efforts and skills adequately. The best way for the company to show appreciation is through pay, perks, benefits, as well as performance-related compensations. If the return doesn’t meet your efforts and/or doesn’t match with what your peers make, it’s only logical to search for a more generous company.
However, Peakon discovered that salary wasn’t the most important indicator that the time to leave had come. Even though being underpaid is frustrating, failure to have constructive conversations with a manager about it is even a bigger red flag.
Experts say that the conversations about salary should be centered around how you can help to reach the company’s goals and followed by the proof in the form of your excellent performance over the past several months and the explanation of why you deserve to earn more.
But if the company’s management doesn’t want to negotiate, it might be a sign that you should move on. Such situations undermine our feeling of self-worth, Peakon discovered. It shows that the company doesn’t respect the employee, which is even more serious than just money.
3. You don’t feel supported by your manager
Bad supervisors affect us much more than any other negative aspect of the job, for example, poor relationships with coworkers, or the overall workplace atmosphere. A Gallup study has shown that half of the people have left a job because of their manager at one point in their life. Of course, there are lots of annoying qualities a supervisor can have, but what actually makes us leave a position? Peakon found out that it’s the managers who fail to give their staff enough support needed for their work.
Just like with the previous two signs, this shows more deep-rooted difficulties between an employer and an employee. Good managers enable their workers to perform better and help them to accomplish more. They have to act as more than just inspectors using outdated punishment methods.
If you always hear your boss’s lectures and feel that they don’t value your talents and experience, and don’t treat you with respect and empathy, it’s probably time to walk.
