Career transition coach reveals how to know when it’s time to leave your job

In the current job market, you’re considered lucky if you have a job. 

But that doesn’t mean that if you’re unhappy with your current working situation, you should remain feeling stuck or miserable. 

Sure, everyone may feel a little dejected at work from time to time, but how do you know when it’s something that may warrant a big decision like getting a new job? 

According to career transition coach, Sylvana Rochet, if your job may not necessarily bring you joy, but your circumstances don’t feel permanent, you might want to think twice before making the move over to somewhere new. 

‘When the challenge you’re having is situational and/or temporary, then you can consider sticking with the job until the matter either resolves itself or you can find a solution,’ she says.  

But when you notice that you’re basically stuck in a state of perpetual distress, action may be necessary.  

‘When the problem is systemic, chronic and has been going on for some time with no resolution in sight, then it’s time to start looking for a new job – unless you’re willing to compromise your mental health and happiness,’ Rochet says. 

She explains that this is especially the case if you’ve already brought up the issue at work and still haven’t gotten much help. 

Sylvana Rochet has been a career transition coach for more than 10 years, helping people make career pivots

‘It may be a sign that you’re not valued and your problems will not be taken seriously,’ she says. 

And it’s almost never worth staying at a place where your worth isn’t recognized. 

Rochet has been a career transitional coach for more than 10 years, supporting professionals in career pivots and leadership changes. 

Through her extensive experience, she’s picked up on the key signs that signify that it’s definitely time to consider a new role. 

When you’re miserable on the weekends too

Being miserable at work is one thing, but ‘when the dread you feel about getting up to go to work five days a week is spilling over into your weekends, as Rochet puts it – it’s probably time to start shopping for a new role. 

When you feel lonely at work

Sure, you’re not at work to make friends, but it really does help to have them. You spend so much of your life at work – it’s hard to go through all of that time alone. 

‘This may sound superficial, but studies have shown that people can tolerate unpleasant aspects of work when they have a best friend at work,’ Rochet explains.

She explains that it’s actually super important to feel a sense of community and belonging with the people you work with day in and day out. ‘

‘When you don’t have that, it can be terribly alienating and depressing if everything else is going wrong at work,’ she says. 

Rochet explains that you should stay in your current role if the situation is temporary or there’s a solution to your concerns (stock image)

When you’re bored all the time

Is work meant to be fun and stimulating all the time? No. But should it never be? Absolutely not. 

Rochet explains that feeling chronically bored at your job is another sign that it’s time to do something new. 

‘If you have been bored every day at your job for months, it’s unlikely that things will change and it means it’s time to go where your skills will be put to good use,’ she says.  

When it feels like your manager doesn’t care about you 

The person you report to should feel like a good leader and an even better mentor. 

So if it genuinely feels like your manager doesn’t care about you, this is a pretty good indicator that your role may not be right for you. 

Rochet says that being chronically bored at work is a sign that you may need to look for a new job that offers more challenges (stock image)

‘If you get the sense that you and your colleagues are merely seen as resources to be exploited, and that no one is looking out to create an environment where you can do your life’s best work, chances are they will not work with you to advance and grow, which will eventually leave your feeling resentful and not energized to do good work,’ Rochet explains.

She goes on to say that in this case, staying at your company can actually be detrimental to your long-term career goals, because you’re staying stagnant in a role where you’re not growing, learning, or challenging yourself. 

And sometimes the situation calls for a little more action than simply looking for a new job.

Sometimes, your unhappiness in your role may actually point to the fact that it’s time for you to consider an entire career change. 

Rochet says that she believes that almost any job can become interesting and exciting, so long as you have the right team, leaders, and opportunities to challenge yourself. 

So if that’s not the case and it feels like it’s about more than just the place you’re working, it might be time to talk to a career coach yourself.

People have changed their roles at many different points in their lives, and Rochet is a strong believer that it’s never too late.  

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