We’re halfway done with 2017 and we hope you’re keeping up with your plans, goals, and New Year resolutions (wink, wink). 

If you have spent the first half of the year stuck in a suffocating office, labouring from 8-5, and relief only visible when leaving the four-cornered office is within reach, then it’s probably high time you ponder the idea of making a go at something that makes you happy.

The reasonable fear of what will happen should you quit our job is what usually keeps you from leaving something that has been making you miserable. Staying in a job that no longer excites you is not worth the creeping depression you’re feeling. 

Here is a quick checklist for you to know if you should start drafting your resignation letter:

There’s already nothing new to learn.

Life is an endless stream of knowledge and information, so when you’re in a routine, and you’re no longer getting something new from what you are doing, it’s time to look elsewhere. Yes, no matter how old you are, it’s important to learn something new.

It keeps the monotony out of the picture. It may be as simple as a new way to make the bread taste better or it could be as complicated as revolutionizing string theory. 

There’s no opportunity for growth.

Hoping for something more is natural. Dreaming of something better is great. If you are in a company where you can’t see anything but a dead end, then perhaps it’s time to seek a work place where you clocking in and out is going somewhere.

The absence of work-life balance.

If your work is your life, and you’re happy doing it, it’s okay. However, if your work starts to overwhelm the other facets of your life, and your job is taking you away from enjoying the presence of your loved ones, then you do have a problem.

Quitting should be the last resort though. There are two words that can absolutely help: time management. We know, we know, easier to preach, but there’s no harm in trying. There’s probably an app for creating your schedules better.

Lack of camaraderie with co-workers.

Spending 40 hours a week in the office is not hard work if you have good relations with your co-workers. Having rapport with people you spend a lot of time with is essential to your well-being, so, yes, you absolutely have to consider this when deciding whether to stay or leave the company.

Only leave, however, when you’ve exhausted all your efforts in reaching out. There’s no shame in doing your best to make a relationship work, whatever form it is. 

The financial compensation is no longer enough.

This should probably be reason number one, yes? There’s a reason why in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, basic necessities such as food and shelter are in the foundation of the pyramid.

We can not achieve the succeeding needs if we aren’t able to fulfil the basic first. Knowing your worth is crucial in knowing whether you’re receiving the right compensation.