How do you know when it’s time to quit your job and move on?
For some context, I’ve been at my current job for just over 5 years. It’s a smaller company, so I’ve been very flexible over the years and I’ve had to wear a lot of “hats”. I truly believe I am very good at what I do, but as the years have gone on I’ve picked up additional responsibilities and tasks, and now since I am one of the most senior people there I find myself doing a lot of the more complex tasks because I’m the only one that knows how to do them. I feel slightly taken advantage of.
I’ve not gotten a raise in a little over 2 years, and actually they cut our hours by 20% a year ago. This was supposed to be temporary but they keep extending the dates. We’re also supposed to be getting company stock to offset this, but we don’t have any legal paperwork outlining this program. We’re overloaded with work but are told we need to take on more so that we can cover overhead.
At the beginning of the year I told management I wanted to do something different, and they created a new role for me. There was to be a transition period between my current role and new role, but now it’s been 9 months and I am doing both roles now, at 80% of my salary. I am stretched too thin.
A new opportunity has arisen where I could make more money with less responsibility, and I am seriously considering it. However I feel so guilty for wanting to leave because I love the people I work with. I just want to be doing different, more fulfilling work. Despite their efforts, I am unfulfilled. I really want to stick around because it’s comfortable and I love the people, but also I find myself in tears on Sunday evenings because I’m so overwhelmed. I’ve told my boss many times I have too many tasks and can’t do two roles anymore, but things are slow to change.
Should I stick it out for comfort / the people or is it time to explore something else? How do you know when it’s time to go? TIA!