Fortune lists eight signs you may want to quit your job as follows:
1. Your values don't match those of your coworkers or higher-ups.
2. Your boss doesn't like you.
3. Your peers don't like you.
4. You don't get assignments that make the best use of your abilities.
5. You always get stuck with the "grunt work" no one else wants.
6. You are excluded from meetings that your peers are invited to.
7. Everyone else at your level has an office, while you have a cubicle in the hallway.
8. You dread going to work.
To me, the killers are #1, 2, and 8. These are the ones that have made me move most often throughout my career.
I'd also list the following as reasons you may want to quit:
1. You're poorly compensated.
2. There are no opportunities for advancement.
3. You don't feel challenged/excited by the work/company.
These said, I'd also advise anyone thinking of quitting not to do so until they have another job. I know it may be tough to grind it out while you find something better (I've been there before myself) but believe me, dealing with a job you hate is MUCH better than not eating.
This seems like typical 'woe is me' most american's seem to have. If your boss doesn't like you, your peers don't like you and you are hitting several of the other points... you may just be miserable to be around and not be good at your job.
I am sure the same thing is going to happen at any other job these people go to after people get to know them.
Posted by: Brent | December 26, 2011 at 10:32 AM
I have experienced #1 and #8. I accepted a new IT job with my employer at the time because the new IT job paid $10k/more a year. It was working with a group of researchers, but I didn't believe in the cause or mission of why the research was being conducted. It wasn't unethical research, far from it, I just didn't really care for what they were researching. That was how I experienced #1. #8 was with the same research job, I'd start coming in at 8:30 instead of 8 because my boss didn't watch me closely, and I just really didn't care if I was caught coming in late. I've never had a boss that didn't like me, or at least if they did not like me I never picked up on the signals.
Posted by: Squeezer | December 26, 2011 at 10:45 AM
#5 made me smile because I volunteer for grunt work and dirty jobs. Being a "go to" guy has put me in the unique position to know everyone and everyone knows me. It helps to have friends in high places.
Posted by: Lurker Carl | December 26, 2011 at 05:36 PM
You know how when you're itching to leave your job, you mentally quit it and get a smile when you envision the reactions of your peers? I decided that when I 'quit' more than five times a day for a week straight that it was time to start searching.
Posted by: Emily Hunter | December 27, 2011 at 06:50 AM