5 Things to Consider Before Chucking the Deuces to Your Job

When you are an aspiring entrepreneur with a racing mind full of innovative ideas that just isn’t compatible with a traditional 9-5 job…

Or a 10-year veteran on a job that is just merely paying the bills and provides you with no real excitement (okay, maybe it hasn’t been 10 years but it sure as heck feels like it) ...

Or you’re one more “side-eye glance” away from snapping on that co-worker who dislikes you for no apparent reason and gossips about you daily…

Or you have been waiting on that promotion you just know you deserve yet have been overlooked yet again…

Or you work for a supervisor that you are PRETTY sure is not smarter than a 5th grader by a long shot or remotely fit to be in a leadership position…

Or perhaps you just have a short attention span like me and you get the itch to do something different on the regular…

When you are not happy or fulfilled at work, it is easy to fantasize what life would be like if you just didn’t work there anymore. In these times, our optimism usually trumps our sense of logic. If you’re anything like me, you might even be quick to say, “God’s got me” and proceed to walk out on faith.

The purpose of this blog post is not to be a Debbie Downer or to even undermine the power of what I feel like God can do, but (don’t you just love that word) there’s this thing called free will. To the believers, sometimes we follow OUR OWN PLAN that we have deemed as plan A. Then, when our rash decisions get us into trouble, we resort to God’s plan, otherwise denoted as our back up plan. Whether you believe in God’s grace or Good Karma, many of us take leaps of faith expecting for there to be some kind of safety net to catch us before we hit the ground. The reality is, sometimes there is no safety net. Our choices have consequences especially major decisions such as quitting your job.

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I get it, you’re over the job and RET-TO-GO! BEEN THERE, but let me tell you what I considered before I actually, DONE THAT. Read on for SimplyMei’s advice on the

5 Things to Consider Before Chucking the Deuces to Your Job

1. Do you have a plan?

It happens. We get so fired up and one wrong look or comment can send us out the door. I encourage you to refrain from making permanent decisions when you are in your feelings. It is hard to be rational when you are really upset about something. In those moments, you do not have the mental space to think about things clearly because often you are replaying what it is that made you upset. Do not, I repeat, do not act off impulse. Worse, do not think quitting is a way of getting revenge or hurting your employer. Yes, you may be a top performing employee but business is business (you know strictly financial) and it always finds a way to keep running.

Instead of blowing up, take some time to cool down and then reflect. During your time of reflection, consider your responsibilities. Think about your bills and expenses. Think about the cost of the lifestyle that you like to live. Think about your child(ren) if you have any. Think about the pets you may care for. The point is, the decision to quit may affect many aspects of your life and may also affect others besides just you. If you quit, what are you going to do in order to fulfill responsibilities? “But SimplyMei, it’s not my dream to take care of bills, sleep, eat, and repeat” ... and that’s cool but… The question then becomes what are you going to do after you quit? What’s your alternative plan be it following entrepreneurial dreams or finding another job?

AND FURTHER…

2. How hard are you willing to work?

We have all heard of the people that just decided to up and quit their day job one day to pursue a dream, yet ended up being successful in the end. These individuals quit unapologetically and courageously. I mean, Kanye West quit the Gap and Madonna quit Dunkin’ Donuts. Look at them now.

We fantasize about how great life will be when we quit as if it’s the answer to all problems. What we often forget to take into consideration is the work and sacrifice.

If you quit, are you willing to stay up all night submitting resumes online if that’s what it takes? Are you disciplined enough to wake up every morning to start your physical job hunt for the day? Are you willing to temporarily give up the luxuries you treated yourself to when you had a job? Entrepreneurs, are you ready to eat, sleep, and live your dream? Are you willing to market yourselves constantly even if that means passing out your business cards to strangers every single day? My point is, before you jump the gun because you have a fantasy, honestly assess yourself. Maybe you don’t have a backup plan lined up but you are still ready to leave your job. No judgment here. However, if you proceed with voluntarily quitting you need to keep that same energy in your hustle afterwards.

3. Can the challenge on the job be resolved?

One of the most “a-ha” moments that I have encountered during my professional journey is that not all managers are fit for leadership roles. I remember working in retail years ago under a team lead that was anything but professional. Yet, being such a naïve new person to the workforce at that time, I was scared to speak up about my grievances. I assumed that my role was only to come to work and do my job as instructed by my managers because they knew best, right? However, I’ll never forget this one particular team lead. What’s crazy is that I loved my actual job but the team lead made my shifts a nightmare when we worked together. She bullied and picked with me for no reason. During our shifts together, she would make it her duty to point out my errors in front of customers (talk about humiliating). She would go way over our allotted break times, but report if I was a second over mine to the store manager. She would talk about inappropriate things with other co-workers and very rarely gave me any positive feedback when I did something noteworthy (I truly worked hard). She got worse over time and soon the work environment was too toxic for me to deal with. Long story short, I quit.

Looking back, I realize I quit the supervisor, not my job. Had I notified upper management about my team lead’s unprofessional behavior, maybe things would’ve turned out differently. Maybe I wouldn’t have quit so abruptly. I wish I had known then that just because someone has a title doesn’t make them fit for the job.

I share this story only to ask you: Is it really the job that you dislike or is it a workplace conflict that has you ready to head for the hills? Don’t be like me and quit because you have a challenge with someone. Chances are this challenge can be resolved if you take appropriate action. Don’t let one person or thing affect your money flow.

4. Have you stayed long enough for the harvest?

Oh boy. I feel like I might strike a nerve with millennials. Listen, I’m preaching to myself too. Sometimes we can feel a bit entitled and like we deserve things. However, life doesn’t always work like that. Life doesn’t always give us what we think we deserve right when we feel we deserve it.

Have you ever been discouraged because you didn’t get the raise you thought you deserved? Have you ever been salty about someone getting the position you wanted? Chances are it left you feeling frustrated and overlooked. Our first instinct is to pack up and take our talents down to South Beach. No but seriously…when we aren’t satisfied with our jobs, we start to think that the grass HAS to be greener on the other side. We may accept a job that pays us just a tad bit more or offers other seemingly better benefits. The problem with this is, sometimes we trade a promising career path at our current jobs for temporary elation all because we didn’t stay long enough to reap what we have sown. We didn’t stay long enough to see the fruits of our labor…that promotion… that raise. No, we were just upset that it wasn’t happening “fast enough”. Before you quit a job truly consider what you are giving up and if it is worth it to start all over. Chances are you could be next in line for that next-level increase.

5. Is the job affecting your health?

Do you find yourself frequently requesting off because you just don’t want to be at work? Are you experiencing frequent physical symptoms like stress headaches? Have you had thoughts of getting into physical altercations with someone on the job? Is your job affecting your desire to be engaged with family and friends? (social alienation)

If you have exhausted all options such as consulting with HR and you still find the workplace extremely toxic, then it may be time to pull the plug. Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but many work environments have their gossips, unfit managers, and so forth. If you continue running from these issues instead of learning how to effectively navigate workplace conflict, you may be running forever. (If you would like me to write a blog post on some tips for dealing with workplace conflict, just let me know. I am a Training and Development Coordinator for my company and recently held a training on this very topic.) However, if the work environment is truly affecting your mental and physical health, it may be time to take real action.

Wrapping Up With SimplyMei

If you have read all of the above considerations and still stand firm in your decision to quit, then I find that to be pretty…awesome. Maybe one day I, too, will find enough courage to take a leap of faith and spread my wings. As I begin fulfilling some of my entrepreneurial goals, I can feel myself nearing a crossroad: to follow the more secure route (continue elevating in my career path) or to take a chance on an unpredictable road (quit my job to blog fulltime, write my first book, became a motivational speaker, etc.). I haven’t quite reached the point of quitting my job even though it pains me when I have to do things like postpone a blog post because of things like work overload. Maybe I will one day… Maybe I won’t. Stay with me on my journey.

Enough of my rambling, though. I say this and I’m done: Never make a life changing decision like quitting your job without some thought. If you have thought it out and you are adamant about what you want, then hey (excuse my French), own that shit boss.

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But what do I know…

I’m just a blogger that writes down her opinions. Until next time with #SimplyMei…

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