Is it Time for a New Job

07-Jun-18

Sad to say that many people dread Monday mornings. After the weekend where we had two days of getting up when you want, wearing what you want, eating what you want, the predictability of the working week soon kicks in. However for some people, it goes beyond just finding it difficult to adjust to the working week.Many dream of a lottery win ,escape to a foreign land .If this is you it is most definately time to look for a new career move.

Not too long ago, people regularly stayed with the same employer for many years and whilst yes, some were fired, some were transferred and others left for other opportunities.People stayed in one workplace for considerably longer than they do now. These days, the average length of employment is just over four years. 

This is greatly beneficial for the workforce as it is much more accepted and better received than in the past meaning that they have less reason to stay in a negative work environment. However the difficulty often arises in trying to decipher when it is the right time for you to leave your job.

Warning signs include becoming stressed about work when you aren’t even in the office. If it’s a single work project that’s getting you a bit down then it may just be temporary .However if this is a regular occurrence then it may be time to ask yourself what the reasons for this are. 

Taking work Home 

If you’re taking the office home a bit too often then try and change that .Perhaps delegate more tasks if you’re in a position to do so. It’s basically just work but at home and therefore unpaid.Although this shows your commitment it may also bring down performance across the job ,so actually has little to no benefit at all.

Also if you have a young family, this can be a cause for long-term disadvantages as well. If you’re missing dinner around the table to finish some expense reports then it’s time to stop this - every parent should know what is going on in their children’s lives. 

Additionally, if you try to avoid work wherever possible and regularly pull ‘sickies’ , every now and again to enjoy the weather or simply can’t be bothered then that’s natural .But if you’re doing it regularly and have also been warned about the number of days you’re taking off then it might be time to leave permanently.The job is obviously not for you. 

Whereas when you actually do make it to work, you are disrespected by many members of staff, whether it’s through not being included in meetings or people making decisions without your input .This feeling of exclusion may be significant enough to pack your bags and move to a place where your contribution will be fully

appreciated. You may also not get on with your colleagues,your personality might not be a good fit for the office culture.You can't help who you are so may'be so it’s time to find a workplace that is  a good fit for you instead. 

Social events are also a central part of working culture in the UK .The number of invitations you get to work social events determines how good or bad things are with you at work. Whilst you may be invited to standard official events such as the office Christmas party (although if you’re not then sorry but things are pretty bad) you may not often be invited out for drinks after work for the umpteenth time. However this is often just because you may not share anything in common with them and it becomes slightly awkward for everyone involved. Although if such events are constantly scheduled when you’re busy, it’s likely this is being done on purpose and it’s time to review.

Other than your colleagues, if you also don’t get on with your boss.If  their goals and your personal ones don’t match up then that is a tough predicament to face.

It can be difficult to  develop and challenge yourself in such an unsupportive environment .If your organisation doesn’t seem to care about your development then you’re better off working somewhere someone does.

If the organisation has being round with a multiple rounds of layoffs or restructuring .Also if you’re getting headhunted regularly or your industry is generally contracting in size it’s worth looking to pastures new.Particularly if you can’t picture yourself there in the near future. 

Finally If you’ve simply stopped caring about your job or the company and  time daydreaming about not having to be here that’s a definitive sign that it’s time to start looking for a new one.