Life is a series of transitions. We can call them seasons or stages or phases but the only thing we can really count on in life is that there will be change. Nothing stays the same.
I find myself wanting (I’d like to say needing and there’s some truth in that) very much to make a career change. Don’t get me wrong, I actually love my job but it comes with a cost, it is so stressful that I am exhausted at the end of every workday and it’s super hard on my health and relationships and that has been taking the fun out of life. A few weeks ago was particularly challenging on several fronts at work and I ended up working 5x 15 hour days in a row. This pushed me to my wits’ end and I announced to a few close friends that I will be leaving my job.
As a single parent, I simply cannot work 75 hours in a week and be ok with that. I’ve always been a hard worker but my family is more important to me than earning a few dollars.
As a single parent, I carry all of the responsibility for earning a living that keeps a roof over our heads and food on our plates.
Now, there’s some risk in all change. You could be leaving a bad relationship for what you believe is a better one (and they turn out to be worse than the partner you left). Moving to a new community (and you find out the people aren’t very welcoming). Or changing jobs (and the new one comes with a terrible manager). All of these transitions are challenging and carry their own level of risk. So, making decisions quickly isn’t always the best approach.
Let’s consider some possible outcomes of knee jerk reactions to a bad week at work where you actually quit your job on the spot.
- You won’t qualify for employment insurance or any severance that you might get if you were laid off instead
- You may not find a job that you enjoy
- You could run out of money quickly
- You will likely lose a good reference
Instead, let’s consider what it looks like to leave from a position of strength.
- You build a plan that outlines the steps that you want to take before quitting, you can set an end date once you know what you have to achieve first.
- Psychologically, it can help make your time at work more positive if you could set an end date so that you know that if something frustrates you, it won’t be a problem forever.
- Relationally, you will have time to set up your company for success when they replace you.
- Financially, you can pay off debts and save a larger emergency fund to give you what I call “runway”.
- You can take advantage of your benefits before you leave – dentist appointments, new eye glasses, etc.
- You can apply for new work or start to set yourself up for an entrepreneurial adventure so that when you leave you don’t have to start from scratch
- Taking a hard look at upcoming large expenses will allow you to work those into your plan.
- Reduced stress overall and confidence in your decision.
So, instead of quitting my job last week as I had originally intended, I have a plan all written down with action steps and timing and costs all detailed out so that when the time comes I will be able to celebrate the change instead of worrying about it.
Tell me about a time that you were able to celebrate making a big change from a position of strength or a time that you regretted that you didn’t take the time to do it better.