The Good Reasons for Quitting Your Job

Gone are the days when people work for a single company for 20 years. Millennials are called the job-hopping generation for a reason. Is there someone young leaving your company recently? Or if you are a millennial, are you thinking of changing job in the coming 12 months?

People think that millennials are a group of disloyal kids who never want to stay at a company for more than 3 years, but is it really the truth? Looking for a job, sending out CVs and applications, taking time off for interviews, negotiating salary, writing the resignation letter, and finally actually leaving the company…. This is a hell lot of work. Do we millennials find this lots of fun to go through? No, certainly not. If we are truly happy at work, why would we create all the troubles for ourselves? Because there is something that we are not happy about, and we think leaving is a better choice. We were taught to seek life purpose, and to live a fulfilling life. We leave to improve our life, it’s just that simple.

So when do you know it’s time to leave? Let’s go through the good reasons I can think of:

1. The company does not inspire you. / You disagree with the company mission.
   We work 8 hours or even more per day, it’s at least 1/3 of our pre-retired life (and the other 1/3 of the time you are sleeping, so it’s actually 1/2 of your awake time). If you spend so much time on doing things that do not inspire you / deep down you disagree with, you are just wasting time.
2. You cannot grow as a person.
   If you feel like you are not learning any interpersonal skills / communication skills at work, or you are not becoming a better person, you should try to change the situation. If the core of the problem is yourself, fix yourself. Or if it is truly hopeless because of the current workplace, go somewhere else.
3. You cannot grow your career.
   If you’ve been working for a while now, you have probably seen it from someone, or you might have experienced this. In the beginning, you got to learn new things, gain new skills, and discover new ways to work, but suddenly there’s a day that you realized you are only doing some repetitive work and not learning new things anymore. If you can plan and schedule your work in a way that you keep learning, then it’s great and you should stay with the job, otherwise you know what to do.
4. You are very underpaid (objectively).
   The worth of the same position in the job market fluctuates and varies among companies. Compensation and benefits are not only about the salary. There are extra perks like free gym membership, birthday leaves and so on. If the whole package doesn’t add up to what you are worth with your skills and experience objectively, then you should consider asking your boss for more. If what you are looking for is impossible at the current company, try to find something suitable for you in the job market.
5. There is unfairness that you cannot stand anymore at the workplace.
   Human beings are not good at behaving without emotions. Even at work, we might include our personal feelings towards our colleagues, bosses, and subordinates when we interact with them. We do not treat everyone equally although many of us try our best to do so. This would cause some people feeling hurt, and if you are the one who got hurt, tell the person who caused this honestly about how you feel. Communicate as calmly as possible to make the communication more effective. If things do not work out, leave, or wait for the time when that person leaves.
6. You want to change your job nature.
   This one is obvious. If you want to change what you do (switch industry / do remote work / become a freelancer / start a startup, etc…) and your current company cannot offer you the position you would like, what else can you do right?
7. You have personal issues to deal with, and the issues require your full attention.
   You need a break for all the things going on in your life. If it’s possible, take a few months of sabbatical leaves, or else quit the job. Admit to yourself that you need a break, do part-time jobs / freelance work if you need the money to support yourself, but if you are financially sound, focus on your issues, don’t think of work for the time being. You have many years to work, there is no need to think of work now when you have more important things to do.

This is the list of good reasons I can think of. For most people, it’s usually a combination of several reasons that make them quit their job.

If you are thinking about whether or not you should leave your job, I hope you find this article hopeful, and I hope you give serious thoughts about the reasons behind your wish to leave.

If you are working in management or human resources, I hope you would reflect on your people strategy, and retain the good, hardworking staff.

I sincerely wish you all the best for your career,
- A millennial job hopper