Over the past few weeks, strangely, I've had at least five people who are on my leadership coaching programme who've expressed a desire to leave their jobs.
I had similar conversations in the past with some of those who attended my sessions, but it seemed disproportionately high this time around.
Perhaps, the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges as well as the changes it has brought about have triggered many people to ask this question of themselves: Should I stay or should I go?
But how do you know when it is time to leave your current job?
Start with some "action research", i.e., reflecting on your actions and feelings. Do you feel misunderstood or mistreated? Or are you just totally bored with what you are doing right now?
These feelings may prompt you to decide that it's time to go. But before you drop that notice, clear your head first.
This is because if you leave without clarity, you are likely to find yourself in similar situations later on.
So, examine your mindset.
No matter what job you do, and regardless of how you are ranked in your company, remember that you must have an entrepreneurial approach to your work and professional life.
Being nimble, flexible, brave, resourceful, creative and innovative are the only things that set you apart from everyone else. These traits form the core structure of the values that you bring to your job.
It truly does not matter how qualified you are or how many university degrees you have. If you don't have these tactical skills you are, at best, a mediocre employee.
For example, I have a really good friend who left a senior managerial role that he had held for over 10 years because he felt underwhelmed in his role. He decided that he would make an excellent business owner with the vast knowledge he had.
I had absolutely no doubt that he was an exceptional technical talent. He was outstanding at his work and was most sought after. But, I also knew he was leaving for all the wrong reasons.
He had no real clarity about why he wanted to leave. It was a purely emotional reaction to not getting enough perceived satisfaction from what he did in his job.
He never actually studied if he was, in fact, making the appropriate strategic moves in his job to give himself the personal fulfillment he so craved for.
I knew the answer and I told him quite frankly that he did not possess an entrepreneurial mindset to his work, which was an absolute necessity for a business owner.
And, that leaving in search of satisfaction elsewhere without essentially giving it a proper shot in this job would be a mistake.
But, he opted to take his own counsel and leave his well-paying job to start a new venture.
After a couple of years of business and financial struggles, and having had enough time for proper reflection about his own role in his career, I am now helping him secure employment in a corporation that best suits his temperament.
As I mentioned earlier, clear your own "head space" and be as strategic and entrepreneurial as you can be in your current job. If you have done this honestly, and still feel that you must move on, then ask yourself these two very crucial questions.
Are you unhappy for the most part each day as you do this job?
If the way you prefer to work is just not accepted in this company, then you will be unhappy nearly all the time.
If you find that you are often day-dreaming about doing something very different or being in another organisation, then do not be in denial of your feelings.
These are signals showing you that something is definitely amiss in your current work-life.
The next question; is your work environment tainted with too much toxicity for you?
Remember that your job isn't only about the tasks you perform each day. It is fashioned by numerous other influences that provide a holistic experience. These factors give you the requisite buoyancy to get up and get to work each day.
If your line leader or boss is a narcissist who thinks that the world only revolves around himself, or if he has scant regard for your goals, needs, challenges and concerns, then you need to think about your next move.
When there is a lack of collaboration and positive growth-inducing actions in your company, or if your organisation treats its human resources like a commodity that can be bought and sold, then you need to consider leaving.
So, when is it time to leave your job?
Only when you know that you have acted with an entrepreneurial mindset, yet you feel unhappy for the most part, and are surrounded by toxic people.
Shankar R. Santhiram is managing consultant and executive leadership coach at EQTD Consulting. He is also the author of the national bestseller "So, You Want To Get Promoted?
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
