Wondering when to consider changing jobs? This article provides insightful signs and reasons to help you make the right decision for your career.
n average, a person spends more than 13 years of their life at work. Spending so much time on an activity that you don’t like or that stresses you out is a dubious pleasure. Together with the online education service Yandex Praktikum , we’ll tell you what signs will tell you that it’s time to change something.
1. The last time you were praised was last year.
Or never at all. Both a complete lack of feedback and constant criticism can negatively affect your emotional state. But while the latter can stimulate development and improvement for some time, the former will simply hold you in place. Even if you yourself are trying to master new tools and are constantly learning, the lack of feedback and encouragement for your work can make you think about the feasibility of your efforts.
When the manager prefers to remain silent, you can initiate a conversation yourself and directly say that you lack an assessment of your work. And if he scolds you, find out what to do to improve the indicators. And then write out areas for growth and fill in the gaps. No improvement in communication? Most likely, it’s time to browse job search sites.
2. You don’t like what you do.
For various reasons. For example, you find it difficult to force yourself to complete tasks – each one seems like a punishment. Or you consider them a pointless waste of time – you don’t see the results of your work. Or the company’s ideals do not coincide with your worldview, you have to step over yourself every day.
The problem may be related to a specific place, or it may be related to the profession as a whole. It is normal to be disappointed in the direction you once chose. But you should not stay in it and torment yourself all your life just because of the time spent on training. An unloved job can cause constant stress, and this will negatively affect your mental health: it will increase the risk of developing depression and anxiety, and negatively affect your self-esteem. The immune system does not benefit from regular dissatisfaction either : short-term stress helps it fight diseases, while long-term stress, on the contrary, weakens it. In addition, it increases the likelihood of certain diseases, including fibromyalgia and heart problems
It doesn’t matter at what age you realized that the job doesn’t suit you – at 25, 30, 40 or 50. There is time to master a new profession and start enjoying your work. It is possible to learn a popular specialty from scratch on courses from Yandex Praktikum even in less than a year – the time frame depends on the chosen direction. The online education service has more than 50 programs in marketing, management, design, programming and data analysis. In order not to get lost among them and immediately find a specialty for yourself, you can take a career guidance course . It is free and will take only two hours.
All programs are created by experts based on real tasks: this immediately immerses you in the work environment and better introduces you to the profession. Students practice their skills on simulators, in code editors and other professional programs – 70% of the training is devoted to practice. By the time you graduate, you will already have several projects that will form the basis of your portfolio.
3. You face discrimination
If you think there is discrimination in the company, then most likely you are not imagining it. Gender inequality can manifest itself in different ways: questions about maternity leave, inappropriate comments about appearance, bias in assessing professionalism, understating salaries. The problems with the latter are confirmed by statistics: in 2021, the average salary of women in Russia was 1.5 times less than that of men. The imbalance is especially noticeable in leadership positions: male bosses receive 30.8% more. In general, girls are less likely to reach the positions of directors and top managers , although the statistics here are more pleasant: 45% versus 55%.
According to a survey conducted by the hh.ru service, employees are more biased towards female managers. They often evaluate their work negatively, believe that they demonstrate female solidarity in professional matters and are less susceptible to criticism because their mistakes are treated more loyally. 39% of respondents would be happy if a man were hired to replace their female manager. Only 15% supported the opposite situation.
As a result, it is not that far from the boss’s inappropriate jokes about women’s logic to a real glass ceiling. But not everyone is subject to gender stereotypes: it is possible to find a company with modern values and objective assessment.
4. You feel stressed even on weekends
All week long you count the hours until Friday evening, but when it comes, the expected relaxation does not happen. Because thoughts about work keep coming back. By Sunday evening, anxiety sets in: you go to bed as late as possible to at least delay Monday a little. And so it goes week after week.
This most likely indicates burnout , a work-related stress that results in physical and mental exhaustion and sometimes loss of personal identity. Other symptoms of this condition include:
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regular lack of productivity;
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lack of energy;
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dispersal;
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feeling of disappointment;
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frequent headaches;
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sleep and digestive system disorders.
Burnout can happen even at a job you love, so don’t think about quitting right away. First, try to establish a balance between work and personal life.
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Don’t tolerate overload . If you feel that there are too many deadlines, discuss the situation with your manager and try delegating some tasks to colleagues.
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Find a relaxing activity . Yoga, meeting friends, walking in nature – any method will do.
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Get a good night’s sleep . Spend the weekend at home and stay in bed for as long as your body allows. The main thing is not to blame yourself for laziness or lack of socialization. And then try to establish a sleep schedule.
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Go for a run . Any physical activity will do you good, but doing it outdoors will help you fight stress.
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Talk to your loved ones . Support from friends and family will not be superfluous.
5. You don’t get along with your colleagues.
Misunderstandings can concern both work-related issues and any other topics. This is a normal situation, but only if colleagues are ready for dialogue. If all your words are perceived with hostility, it will be more difficult to develop and achieve success. Such an environment can make you afraid to offer new ideas and constantly control yourself so as not to start an argument. It is especially difficult if it is not just one person who is against you, but the entire team.
Tension in a team is one of the triggers for burnout, so it should be taken seriously. Try to talk to your colleagues about this topic and defuse the situation. If they are adamant, it is better not to hold on to the position and look for a new team in which you can achieve psychological comfort.
6. You work around the clock
But not because of the schedule, but because of the avalanche of deadlines. It is impossible to complete all tasks in eight hours, so you often have to stay late, come early, or even take work on the weekend. With such a workload, it is easy to become overworked, even if you like the work and are paid extra for the overload.
This condition reduces productivity, increases irritability, and makes your mood unstable — this can affect your relationships with colleagues and friends. To get rid of the excess workload, try talking to your manager — ask to set fewer tasks for a while. Don’t be afraid to say no if you are offered to work on the weekend or if your colleagues ask for help. Also, analyze your schedule: there is a chance that overtime work is not a mistake on the part of your boss, but a problem with time management.
7. You often feel unwell
Headaches, insomnia, digestive problems, skin rashes – all of these can also be symptoms of overwork and stress from work if left untreated. Of course, you should first visit a specialist to make sure that the body’s problems are not caused by any diseases.
If it turns out that there are no illnesses, you need to at least take a break from work. Take an unplanned vacation or a couple of days off to recover. During this time, turn off chats and email notifications, remove everything that reminds you of work from your sight – try to relax as much as possible. If quality rest does not help and problems arise again upon returning to the office, this is an alarming signal – it’s time to change something.
8. The company is not developing. And you along with it
Over the course of a year, or maybe even several years, neither your salary, nor your position, nor your list of responsibilities have changed. And it’s not just you: the company simply doesn’t strive to grow. Boredom accompanies every working day, and you understand that you are capable of more.
If you have become attached to your colleagues and see the team’s potential, first try to show initiative. Think about ways to improve current projects, new potentially successful products, channels for promotion – make a list of ideas and voice them at the next meeting with the manager. If the initiative is not appreciated and supported – try to realize the potential in another company.
9. You have reached the ceiling in your profession
The tasks have become boring, the career ladder has rungs. The once beloved job has become so boring that even wonderful colleagues and a luxurious salary do not save you. There are two ways out. The first is to try to move horizontally: look for a job in a related field, maybe even lower rank, but with intriguing tasks. For example, retrain from a copywriter to an SMM specialist or from a Python developer to a web developer. Probably, for this you will have to learn new tools, master software – look at it as an interesting adventure. If something goes wrong, it is never too late to return to your old profession.
The second way is to master a completely new field for yourself. To start, you don’t necessarily have to quit: start getting to know the profession through courses — consider it a hobby. This will already dilute boredom. And when you are sure that you really like it and are good at it, you can move on to a full-fledged search for a new job.
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