9 Signs It’s Time to Quit Your Job

You know those moments when you want to throw up the deuces (or flip the bird) and walk out of the office without a backward glance? Sometimes it’s just because you’re having a bad day, and other times it’s because your job and/or your co-workers suck.

While not every stressful moment or irritation is worth quitting your job over, if you find yourself in one of the following scenarios, it’s time to throw in the towel and find a new job. The manner of leaving is entirely up to you.

1. You’re Underappreciated

It’s one thing to simply want more money, but not really qualify for a raise. That’s not a situation worth quitting over. However, if you’re denied a raise even though you work your ass off 40+ hours a week, it’s time to walk out of that office door for good. You deserve to be paid the appropriate amount for the work you do and the value you bring to the company.

2. There’s No Opportunity for Growth

Dead-end jobs should be dumped like deadbeat boyfriends. It doesn’t matter how great the benefits are; if you want to do more and take on more responsibility (and maybe even make more money), then you need to find a job that’ll allow you to. Quit any job that’ll hold you back, and never feel guilty about it.

3. You Dread Going to Work

No one wants to go to work every single day, but you shouldn’t viscerally dread it to the point where you see no joy in the day. Carrying around that much hatred during your day isn’t healthy. If you hate absolutely everything about your job and really don’t think there’s anything redeemable in it, then you need to quit. Yes, you’ll be walking away from a paycheck, but there’s no joy in the paycheck when you hate your job with every cell in your body.

4. It’s Time for a Change

Even people with great jobs can feel like they’re being called to do something entirely different. There’s nothing wrong with leaving a job when you feel deep down in your soul you’re meant to do something else. Sometimes this is a complete career change, and sometimes it’s breaking out on your own to start your own company. Both are perfectly honorable reasons to deliver your two-week notice.

5. You Feel Disrespected

If someone at work is being disrespectful to you and you’ve done everything you can to put a stop to it (step one, talking to the person; step two, going to HR) to no avail, you need to find a new job. No one should feel bullied, insulted, discriminated against, or underappreciated at their place of employment. Now, if HR and your boss are truly trying to help out, it might be worth sticking around because they’re on your side. Otherwise, cut your losses.

6. You Want More Professionally

If your career goals aren’t even related to the work you’re doing, this should be an obvious reason to quit your job and move on with your life. It’s hard to do that sometimes, especially if your goals are in an unstable field. Despite the risk, no amount of stability can replace the happiness you’ll receive from doing work you actually want to do.

7. The’re Too Much Unnecessary Stress

Some jobs come with large paychecks and high amounts of stress. Sometimes that’s okay—like when you really love what you do—but sometimes it’s simply not worth the poor effects on your health. Anytime the stress of a job is crippling you physically from living a healthy, happy life, you need to leave that job. You won’t care about the paycheck so much if you’re ill at a young age.

8. You’re Constantly Watching the Clock

Everyone loves the weekend. That’s normal. It’s not normal, however, to feel like the only good part of your life is during the hours out of the office. If you find you take no pride or joy from the work you do Monday through Friday, then you need to reevaluate why you’re working that job.

9. You Get a Better Offer

There’s no shame in leaving an acceptable job for one that pays more. Hey, we’ve all got bills to pay and retirement to prepare for. If you receive an offer to work for another company that’ll either pay you more or offer you better benefits, then take it—only if you really want to, of course; you don’t have to accept the offer if you’re happy with your current position, paycheck, and benefits.