- Do you hate your job with a passion?
- Do you dread going in every morning to begin your shift?
- Is the stress of your job wearing you down physically and mentally?
If the answer to all of these is ‘yes’, it’s high time you left your job. Unfortunately, many of us stick out jobs that we hate, making excuses for why we can’t leave. It could be possible that you don’t really hate your job, but most likely you’ll know the difference between the odd bad day and a week full of bad days.
We spend most of our working lives at work – none of us deserve to spend this time unhappy. For those that genuinely hate their jobs, here are 7 excuses that you need to stop making and why they shouldn’t hold you back from getting a better job.
What’s Stopping You From Quitting?
1. ‘This is as good as it gets’
If you’ve had a past history of bad jobs and this one is slightly better/just as bad, it could be easy to think that there are no good jobs out there. However, it could also be likely that you keep choosing the wrong types of job for you. There’s a job out there for everyone and you may simply not have found your calling.
- If you’ve hated every manager you’ve worked for, it could be time to go self-employed – you could start by taking up a side-hustle on the side and then turning this into a full-time job once it’s taken off.
- If you don’t like working with people, there are plenty of jobs that you can do working from home.
- If every job you’ve had has been boring because of a lack of social interaction, there are plenty of social jobs out there that could keep you stimulated.
Whatever the case, you need to realize that there are better jobs out there – you just need to start looking in different places.
2. ‘I don’t know what job I’d want to do instead’
It may be a case that you don’t know where to go next. You may hate your current job, but it would seem a lot less scary than the unknown.
In such cases, it could be worth talking to a career counselor. Such professionals will be able to pinpoint your skills, your interests, and your preferences in order to find the best job route for you.
It could also be worth trying career taster days or doing a day’s work shadowing for a company to see what it’s all about – these can give you the experience of a job to help you tell if it’s right for you.
3. ‘I’m not qualified to do anything else’
A lack of qualifications might put you off pursuing another job. It’s possible that despite hating your current job, you may feel competent at it – the idea of learning new skills could seem intimidating.
Getting extra qualifications or learning extra skills is now easier than ever. You may be able to study a course whilst working your current job such as this online criminology degree available to budding police officers. Alternatively, if you can’t wait that long, there could be short courses that may only take a couple months such as this personal training course.
You may not even need extra skills and qualifications. There are jobs out there that you can get on the job training for. You may also be able to take an internship or volunteer initially – an employer may be more willing to take you on without qualifications and the opportunity could lead to a full-time position.
On top of this, you shouldn’t undervalue transferable skills – every job has skills that can be used in another job.
4. ‘The pay is good’
Good pay isn’t everything – whilst there’s some truth in the phrase ‘work hard, play hard’, you shouldn’t have to put yourself through hell every day just so that you can afford better things.
The stress of your well-paid job could be preventing you from enjoying your free time as your job will always be there at the back of your mind. It could also be affecting your health – your health is more important than any pay cheque.
All in all, don’t be afraid to take a pay cut if it makes you happier.
5. ‘I don’t want to leave my co-workers behind’
If you get on well with your co-workers, this can make tolerating a bad job a lot easier. You should decide whether your co-workers are really enough to alleviate the stress of the job.
You can still stay friends with your co-workers after you leave and you’re bound to meet new friends in any new job you decide to take up.
6. ‘I worked so hard to get this job’
If you’ve worked hard to get into your current job, it may feel like you’re throwing all this hard work down the drain by leaving. Perhaps you’ve spent years scaling the career ladder to get to where you are or perhaps you’ve studied for years to get a specific job. The idea of then putting in extra work to pursue another career may not be worth it.
In such circumstances, you need to realize that quitting your job doesn’t make it all for nothing. By getting that job, you’ve already made it – now you’ve realized it’s not for you, it’s time to wrap that chapter of your life up.
By continuing that job, you could be wasting the rest of your life doing something that makes you unhappy. You’re much better off taking the leap and leaving. You may have more challenges ahead, but you won’t be stuck in a job you hate. This advice is true whatever age you may be – it’s never too late to switch career.
7. ‘I don’t have the time to look for another job – and I can’t afford to be unemployed’
Some jobs can be so demanding that you may not feel you have the free time to go job hunting. Quitting and going unemployed could give you the time to look for another job, but you may have bills to pay that unemployment benefits aren’t enough to cover.
In such circumstances, consider taking some paid time off to look for another job. It’s not ideal using up your holiday, but it could give you that time you need.
Alternatively, you need to sacrifice those small moments of free time you have just to look for a new job – this could mean giving up a couple of weekends or evenings until something else comes up.
Finally, there’s always the option of asking your employer to lower your hours, giving you more time to look for a job. You shouldn’t ever feel trapped in a job.
Rajan Atmiya says
What a great article… I was struggling with my decision to quit and this post really helped me, thank you.