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Last updated on: February 24, 2011 18:04 IST
Parul Banka
If you feel underpaid, lack learning and growth responsibilities, or feel your personal life is being affected, it's time to quit
your job

½ ploy ent gives us a career, position, boosts our self-confidence and helps us pay our bills. Indeed, e ploy ent is very precious.

We spend a large proportion of our lives at work and therefore, it is i portant to be happy with our work.

Here is a rough esti ation of the ti e that a full ti e working professional spends at work.

Gegular work hours: 8

Travel to and fro from work: 1
Sleep: 7
Time towards work as a percentage of time we are awake: 9/17 = 53 percent at least

There could be ti es when it is best to ove away fro the existing job to another one. In this article, we explore the ajor signs that
indicate the probability that you should change your job:

Click NEXT to read on...

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1. When you stop learning in the current role

Last updated on: February 24, 2011 18:04 IST

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More of the sa e thing is not growth necessarily.

I re e ber what a senior person I know used to say... ten years of experience of the sa e work, without i proving skills is not
necessarily 10 years of experience; it could be 1x10 or 2x5 years of experience.

Image: When you have little or nothing else to do or learn, you know it's ti e to call it quits

2. When the role is not of your choice

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You work as a progra er but your passion is training. Whether you perfor well or not in the for er, I suggest that you get out of it

and ake a transition to the latter.

It is i portant that we do work that we are passionate about so that we enjoy it.

Image: If your passion lies so ewhere else, get out of your cubicle and don't ever return to it

3. When you feel that you are not the right fit for the profile
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This is a situation when you feel that you are not able to produce results as good as you could. It eans that you are not at your best

in this role.

After joining work, if you feel that it is not the right fit for you, you should change. I re e ber what a supervisor had said to his tea
e ber, "I would be very sorry to lose you but I believe that it is i portant to be happy in your job. So, if you are not happy, then you
ust ove on."

Image: So eti es one gets too s art for a job. At such ti es, it's best to leave

4. You feel underpaid

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W e should charge what we deserve. If you feel that you are grossly underpaid, ove to a different profile.

Of course, the condition here is that you should have the correct infor ation about co pensation as rarely anyone feels that s/he is
paid enough; we could always do with ore oney.

At the sa e ti e, look at the entire ga ut of opportunities that the organisation offers you -- learning and training, pro otion and
growth, onsite, role enhance ent, business perfor ance of the organisation and a realistic evaluation of the value that you add and
can add to the organisation.

I re e ber a colleague who was given an onsite opportunity for over two years, which was not only highly lucrative but also wonderful
fro a learning perspective. Yet, he was disgruntled that he did not get pro oted in less than one and a half year's ti e.

Since, the expectation was unrealistic; it only caused hi stress, without any significant gains. My suggestion is to avoid such traps.

Image: Stop pulling a long face because you're not getting paid enough. Do so ething about it

5. The co pany offers no extra training or learning opportunities

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I recall the story of the woodcutter, who was very sincere and hardworking. He cut lot of wood every day. His e ployer was very happy

with hi .

With ti e, he gained practice and he started cutting even ore wood. But later, gradually, his output started falling.

When the output beca e unbelievably low, his e ployer asked hi what the reason could be.

The woodcutter had no idea! Then the e ployer asked, "Are you sharpening your saw regularly?" The woodcutter responded, "Where
do I have the ti e to sharpen y saw. I re ain so busy cutting woods that there is no ti e left for sharpening the saw"!

Don't let this happen to you. If the organisation does not facilitate learning new skills, you ay want to evaluate whether you want to
continue working there.

Image: If you find yourself ill-equipped and the co pany is doing nothing about it, it is ti e to say bye

6. No clear career path

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If the role or organisation has no clear plans for you, please switch jobs. It is YOUR career and you should know the next possible
options for you.

Image: Hit a dead end in your current co pany..

7. Always doing the undane job

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Are you in the tea , who always gets the undane work while you have the capability to do better work?

Re e ber, that everyone needs to do regular transactional work but if it is only undane work, then you should look at alternatives.

Image: Being stuck in the sa e cubicle isn't the best thing for your career... or life

8. It is i pacting your personal life

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The boundary between professional and personal life has di ed significantly. In all fairness, everyone gets 24 hours a day. We

need to decide what our priorities are and spend this ti e accordingly.

If you happen to be in a job that is sabotaging your personal life (after you have tried all other options), it is probably ti e to ove on.
Of course, the assu ption here is that you want a life outside work as well. It is another atter when all that you want to do is work.

I have a friend, who by choice likes to work 14 hours a day and has therefore chosen a profile, where he can do this. If this is the
category you fall in, then it is fine. As long as you are happy about the work-life balance or the lack of it, it is fine.

Image: When your job begins to affect your health and personal life it's ti e to take atters in your hands

9. When you feel the lack of respect

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Without being excessively sensitive, if you feel that you are not being respected as an individual, please take the exit.
No atter what work we do and at what level in the hierarchy, we all deserve to be treated with respect.

Image: People at work aking you feel iserable. Get out... now

10. Are you excited to go to work?

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The final question that you should ask yourself is: do you look forward to go to work every day or is it just a drudgery that you go
through? If it is just a routine, then there is definitely so ething a iss.

It ight not be the right job for you or probably you are not approaching your job with the right attitude, or so e other factors. You are
the best person to adjudge what the relevant reason is but whatever it is, it needs attention and action.

Having said this, there are so e caveats:

Image: If you feel this way only on Friday evenings

Don't burn bridges

Last updated on: February 24, 2011 18:04 IST

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It is i portant to evaluate other options in the sa e organisation before putting in your resignation. Do not write-off the entire

organisation and quit without exploring the opportunities it has to offer.

Don't burn bridges: Re e ber to leave a icably. Many ti es people in their hurry or excite ent to join a new job burn bridges and
leave on a bad note. Don't do this; the world is really s all. Don't just disappear; handover your responsibilities properly and leave with
dignity. ½lse, before you join the new workplace, your reputation ight precede you.

The final point to consider: It is not just the organisation's responsibility to keep us actively engaged in the job; a lot depends on us as
well. Therefore, before setting out to look for opportunities outside the organisation, do an honest self-evaluation.
I had a colleague who was very unhappy at work and felt that both her colleagues as well as custo ers were very difficult people to
work with. Unfortunately, what she did not realise was that she was the one who was being difficult as all the people cannot be difficult
at the sa e ti e. In such situations, I find an honest self-evaluation really helpful to gauge the locus of proble .

I hope that these tips help you ake the right decision in your careers.

Image: Don't burn your bridges... ever