LIST: 11 signs it’s time to quit your job

You probably had a few bad days at the office. Maybe you find some of your work boring. Your boss might have yelled at you for no reason. You may have found yourself wishing weekends were longer. 

A lot of us feel this way sometimes. 

But do you know when enough is enough, if it’s time to quit your job?

Quitting a job is never easy, especially since it’s hard to find a new one. At 7.3 percent the Philippines has the highest unemployment rate among its ASEAN neighbors, and it’s not the kind of stats you'd want to be a part of in this day and age. 

According to career experts, you shouldn’t quit unless you have a new job lined up. But if you notice more and more of these signs in your work life, it’s time to go JobStreet or LinkedIn surfing and search for a new position:

1) You’re miserable

We’re not saying you should be 100 percent happy about your job all the time, but if you wake up in the morning and dread going to work more often than not, start looking for employment opportunities elsewhere. “Hating your job can lead to stress that affects family relationships, your health, and your entire outlook,” says Susan Heathfield, the guide to human resources for About.com. “Wallowing in negative feelings every day will eventually kill you.”

2) You don’t fit in

It takes some time to adjust to a new job in a new company. But if a year has passed and you still don’t feel like you fit in with your bosses and co-workers, it might be time to leave. It’s more than not being able to make friends at work: the danger lies in not being able to find a superior that can mentor you and help you grow.

3) Your health is suffering

No job is worth your health. Job stress can contribute to heart disease and depression. “Chronic job strain can put both your physical and emotional health at risk,” says Paul J. Rosch, MD, the president of the American Institute of Stress. Work-related stress can negatively affect your mental and physical health. Take special note of chronic back pain, headaches or intestinal issues that you develop while on the job — your body might be telling you to quit.

4) Low pay

We’d all like jobs that pay six figures a month. Unfortunately that’s just not the case always. Nevertheless, you should be getting a salary that that you deserve. If you think you’re underpaid, do some research on your market value and negotiate a raise with your current job while also looking for another position with a higher offer. If the economy and business are both doing well and you’ve been exceeding your targets but you don’t see any raise in sight from your current company, look for a company that will value you more.

5) You’re bored

A lot of us do the same job day-in, day-out. If you’re so bored by your job that it’s affecting the quality of your work, maybe it’s time to think about changing jobs. When you’ve outgrown your position and you’re stagnating in your company, ask for a change of position or look for better employment opportunities — otherwise, you’re limiting your own potential.

6) Your boss is terrible

If your boss is verbally abusive, incompetent, demanding — basically, the boss from hell — and you can’t take it anymore, it’s time to get a new gig. 

Before you quit, see if you can repair your relationship with your boss first. Communicate with him or her the ways that you feel they’re mistreating you, and they might take your advice on board and improve their behavior in the future. 

This won’t always work, though. Judge for yourself whether you can still salvage the relationship, or if it's best to just jump ship. Either way, make sure you’re on good professional terms, even when you leave: if you burn bridges, your future employers see it as a red flag.

7) Your skills are going unused

You might be overqualified for your position, meaning you have a lot of skills that the company doesn’t tap, and you start to feel restless. If you can’t get a promotion at your current company that makes better use of your skills, start researching on a position at another company where you can exercise your potential.

8) Your company has no future

If you don’t know where your company is going to be a year from now, get out while you can. Your company might be downsizing frantically, or losing a lot of money, or the whole industry might be sinking. If you notice the warning signs, start looking for a new position in more stable company.

9) No work/life balance

Have you heard of the American CEO who quit his $100 million a year job when his daughter gave him a list of milestones he’d missed because he was working, like her first day of school and her first soccer game? Work/life balance is a real concern for everyone. If you’ve been spending less and less time with your family because you’re spending 90 hours a week at work, you should look for employment that will let you have a better work/life balance.

10) Your workplace is abusive, or illegal actions are happening

If you notice or experience any harassment, violations of ethics, or anything that makes you uncomfortable, start looking for another job even as you address these issues with your current company.

11) A better offer comes along

This is probably the best reason to quit your job. If you get a job offer that pays better, has more reasonable hours, is more stable, lets you have a good work/life balance, or basically addresses issues you may have with your current job, you should quit and take the offer.

Ideally, before you scream ‘I QUIT!’ and storm out the door in a blaze of glory (but as we said in No. 6, don’t do that), you should've already lined up a new job. Before things reach that point, make sure that you’ve tried to solve all the issues above internally in your present company while you're still working there.

Every job has its rough patches. You might have to go through difficult times. But if you’ve experienced more bad than good, it might be time to start looking around for better options.

This article first appeared in slightly different form on iMoney.