Should I Quit My Job: Introduction

Sales is a challenging field because it is naturally competitive and risky.  There are a ton of factors that can affect the outcome and the majority of them rest with your own ability and drive to perform.  Sales is made for Go Getters who are willing to take a big bet on their ability to perform.  I often say that there are two kinds of people in this world, the Go Getters and Get Gotters.  The reality is that we’re all some combination of both and some failure is the price of admission to success.  As you go through hard times, in sales in particular, it’s easy to look around for greener pastures and think to yourself if there is a better way to achieve your goals. 

I feel like I’ve seen a thousand posts on LinkedIn about how you need to leave toxic environments, cut out negative people, and ultimately retreat or quit your way to happiness.  It always seems a little whiny or childish to me.  Leaving is definitely the easiest way to escape a situation but it is not always in your best interests.  With each cut, you reinforce two things.  First, that the situation, person, or company you’re leaving is hopeless or not worth salvaging.  Second, that you are not in control of your circumstances except for the power to quit. 

Recently, I read one such post titled “Should I Quit My Job?  15 Signs the Answer is Yes” and it garnered a tremendous number of likes, reposts, and comments agreeing.  I was annoyed because I’ve personally experienced all of these reasons during my career and have found it to be much to my benefit to stay despite them.  In fact, some of these reasons which I’ll list actually have quite positive attributes that can make a company or relationship more valuable, in certain circumstances. 

Conspicuously missing from their list are the most obvious reasons like Harassment, Demotion, Changes in Compensation Plan, Unsafe Work Environment, or Paycheck Bounced.  Those would be big, blinking red warning signs that you should probably run away.  Instead, the post listed a bunch of subjective reasons that I'd like to dig into.  

In the next few articles, I am going to examine each of these reasons for leaving your job and weigh the potential costs and benefits associated with them.  The reasons are as follows:

Reason 1: Feeling Stuck

Reason 2: Feeling Undervalued

Reason 3: No Passion for the Work

Reason 4: Lack of Growth Opportunities

Reason 5: Micromanagement and Control

Reason 6: Unconstructive Criticism

Reason 7: No Sense of Purpose

Reason 8: Stagnant Salary

Reason 9: Frequent Burnout

Reason 10: Toxic Work Environment

Reason 11: Unclear Job Responsibilities

Reason 12: Lack of Support from Colleagues

Reason 13: Unrealistic Expectations

Reason 14: Poor Work-Life Balance

Reason 15: Constant Stress

Bonus: When is the Right Time to Quit

Please let me know if these topics are interesting to you or might be helpful to your employees or colleagues who are going through a hard time with their current job. Hopefully I can provide a different perspective and add some counterbalance to the cost/benefit analysis so they can make the best decision possible.

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About Josh LaPoint