Should I Quit My Job? How to Make the Best Decision for Your Career

Wondering whether it’s time to stay in your current role or move on? 

You’re not alone. Many professionals are reevaluating their jobs at some of the highest rates we’ve seen. 

In this episode, Career Strategist and Executive Coach, Jill Griffin breaks down a practical, strategic framework for assessing your role: 

• Why you originally took the job—and what that reveals about your priorities
• How your goals, identity, and professional expectations have evolved
• Where the role aligns (or no longer aligns) with your strengths and values
• How to evaluate growth potential, cultural dynamics, and organizational realities
• A clear decision-making structure to help you move forward with confidence and data, not doubt

Transcript

Framing The Stay-Or-Go Question

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Hey friends, it's me, Jill Griffin. I am the host of the Career Refresh. And this is your place for practical strategies, thinking about career reinvention. Should I stay? Should I go? What's next? All the things. We are going to break things down and help you lead with clarity, be effective in your decision making, and always be intentional. Today I want to dig into a topic that tends to be one of the most emotionally loaded questions that I hear from clients and through my various travels. And it's like, how do I know when to stay or go in my job? And the staying or going could be because you've outgrown the job. It could be because of organizational restructuring or things that are going on at the company where you don't necessarily align anymore, or you're starting to feel like I'm in the wrong career or I'm in the wrong job and I need to figure out what's next. So for whatever the reason is that you're thinking about this, I want to give you questions to ask yourself and to make sure that we're doing this both on your overall well-being and then also making sure that you're doing it with a strategy. So today we're going to break it all down. Let's dig in. All right. If you are thinking of leaving your job, I just want to let you know that you're not alone. Research shows us that millennials and Gen Z are leaving roles at record rates. And in fact, we're also finding analysis that those that are over 40 saw resignations rise over 30% in early 2022. Now, I know that's information is a little dated, but we don't have data more current than that that's out there. So we're just seeing that trend as people are getting more experience in their career, they're starting to think about leaving their overall clear. Younger workers are also not idle. We're seeing that 13% of Gen Z and 11% of the younger millennials say they plan to quit within the next 12 months. So even though industries like tech and finance, where quit rates tend to be a little bit lower than the average, we're seeing that there is still meaningful movement there. And then when we're looking across roles like marketing or sales or development, we're also seeing that the signals for change and the desire for change are louder there. So when you're asking, should I stay or should I go, you are definitely part of this broader shift. At some point, we're gonna do an uh episode on what employers need to be thinking about to try to keep this as an environment where you want to stay. But right now, this is an episode about you, the employee. So before you make any of these decisions, I want to make sure we're doing it based on like strategic decision making and it's also supporting you, which is always going to be a plus. So making sure that we're grounded in what I call career well-being, your overall performance goals, that we're making sure that we're not just reactive or emotional because it's a competition of everything that makes you you, plus a strategy is what we want to bring into this decision making. So, this is an episode where I'm gonna tell you to grab that notes app, grab a pen and paper, and start jotting down these questions and the ones that resonate with you. Take some time and answer them before you make any steps. I would also spend some time either talking to a trusted colleague, maybe from a former organization, maybe not in your current organization, perhaps a mentor, or obviously working with a coach. These will all be places where you can get a neutral, unbiased third party to help you through some of this decision making. First, I want you to look at the origin story, right? Every great story, every great hero has an origin story. So this is before we're looking at whether we should stay or go. We want to know well, what version of you, your past self, what version of you accepted this role? You had reasons to accept this role. So, first it'd say when you got this job, how did you feel about it? Were you excited? Relieved? Proud? Were you feeling desperate, like I have to find a job? Are you curious? I want you to think through what you were feeling when you got this job. Then I want you to think, well, why did you take the job? Was it growth? Was it stability? Was it money? A paycheck? Was it a brand name, a great company? You thought it was gonna be a stepping stone, it was gonna give you access. Why did you take the job? Were there any hesitations or red flags as to why you took your job, right? And let's be honest, there are some red flags, even beige flags. Sometimes we ignore them. Just want to get clear on that, right? And how have you changed since taking this job? You're not the same person that said yes to this job, even if it was just a couple of months ago. We want to look through what grew in you or about you, or what experiences do you garner? What has changed since? And what did you want to get out of this job when you took it? Again, it might be a paycheck or money, it might be access to health care. If you're in the US, most of us get our health care through our employer. Or it might just be, you know what, I really want to be in a position where I'm learning about a global remit, or I want to be in a position where I'm working really closely and adjacent to the engineering department. What did you want to get out of this job? What skill or outcome would you say I took this because? And again, I know it's often grounded in money or a title, but I want to know what else you came to gain. And if you didn't get something to think about for the future. And then the next thing I want you to ask yourself is if you did nothing and stayed exactly where you are, what happens? So really thinking through this decision and its various consequences. So most people don't leave jobs just when things get bad. They leave jobs when they start to abandon themselves. It starts at times and it grows quietly. It might be, you know what, I am not using my strengths. You're saying yes all the time when you really mean to be saying no. You're finding that the culture that you work in is just no longer a fit. You're tolerating behaviors or ways of being that really don't align with your values. And let's be clear, it's work, it's not a hobby, it's not going to be perfect. But are you seeing things, the way the organization, the way people in the organization speak to each other or treat each other, how they work cross-functionally, that you're just like, you know what, this is not aligned with the place of the values that I hold and where I want to continue to grow in my career. And then are you finding yourself maybe lowering expectations just to get to a place that it can feel good enough for you to get through the week, right? These are the moments that tend to accumulate. And I'd say this is how you break your own heart. This is where when people are on the fence, these questions that are coming up, and we don't either get clarity on them, we don't decide if they're true or untrue, or we don't maybe think seek therapy or work with a coach or some sort of support system, these moments accumulate, I'm telling you. And then everything starts to feel like another drop in the bucket, another drop in the bucket until there's no more room in the bucket. So when you thought to think about the areas for you to look at, we have a your origin story. Now we're looking at your identity and what you're aligned to. This is the foundation. This is your leadership identity. I often talk about your leadership identity, it's who you are. It's a mixture of your values, your strengths, your beliefs, your experiences, and then how you want to operate as a leader. I don't care if you are in high school or if you are a seasoned professional, everybody has an opportunity to be a leader. So don't take leader or leadership as being title only. Ask yourself, how does this role align with who I am and who I'm becoming? And do I get a sense of purpose when I do this work? Or am I staying here out of obligation? When you picture yourself a year from now, how does it feel to still be in this place? Does it feel expansive? Or does it, is there like a tightening in your chest or like a level of like anxiety? Right. Alignment doesn't mean bliss. And not every job, again, is always going to be offering you those highs, right? Because if you're always on a high, where do you go next? Right? It there's everything is a high and low. But we just want to make sure that you're getting super clear and that you're not like gaslighting or betraying yourself. Next area to look at is your energy and engagement. Your body tends to know before your brain catches up. I have a client who recently has been under enormous pressure from the internal organization, the marketplace, the board they work with, their executive leadership. The asks that are being put upon them are tremendous. It doesn't mean that they can't do it. It's just tremendous. And as always, I have permission to talk about their story here. You know what? They keep getting sick. They keep the stress in their body, it keeps getting to a level that they're spending most weekends wiped out and sick. And I've talked about this before, especially when it comes to burnout. When you're in a place in which you're in a fight or flight or fawn or freeze, your all of your secondary uh systems shut down. So if I need to run and get out of the burning building, right? I need my cardio, I need my um, I need, I need my lungs to expand, I need my heart to run to row, I need my endoskeleton, I need to be able to run and have my muscles be working, right? All of that becomes primary. What becomes secondary is your digestion, your um, your sex hormones. Um, all of that becomes secondary because you don't necessarily need that when you're fighting the fight. What happens when we're in burnout and we don't complete the stress cycle is those systems. There's the stress in the stressor. And I talk about this a lot. The stressor is the email, the project, the boss, the situation. And then you need to remind yourself that you are out of that kind of intense stress. And that's where you get relaxation. That's where you need to take a pause after your work day and try to find a way to move your body and be in a place in which you're releasing some of that stress. Because when you don't release that stress, that is when you get sick. There's only so long that your systems can be sort of put on hold or be frozen in place. And when we're under prolonged stress or that chronic stress, again, we get sick. So this individual that I was referring to, a client, is looking at what changes they can make within their role or what changes they can make so that they're balancing their lifestyle so that they're able to accommodate for the nature of a stressful job. They ultimately really like their job. It's a great place, but it comes with this. So that's what we're talking about with around energy and engagement. And how are you making sure that your body always knows first your brain catches up later? Next, I want you to think about what energizes you about this role. Write it down. Be honest, right? Are there things that drain you? Are your uh frustrations temporary, or these patterns are not changing? And are you getting sort of the Sunday scaries where you're thinking, oh, I gotta go to work tomorrow. I don't want to do that. That's some of the stuff where you're thinking that we're seeing that often shows us that our energy and our engagement are a bit off. Next area: growth and opportunity. People tend to stay when they're learning and growing, and they tend to leave when they feel like they're outgrowing the container. So, do you see opportunities for growth or making an impact or advancement here? Are you doing meaningful work? Meaningful work is an inside job. Does it feel meaningful to you? Um, if you decided to stay, what would have to change in order for you to be fulfilled? And if nothing changed, would you still want to be there in six months? If the answer is no to any of these things, make note of that and see how this feels. Next area is relationship and the overall environment. There is no job that is perfect, there is no environment that's perfect, but we want to make sure that you're in an environment that feels good for you for whatever that looks like. Do you feel seen, supported, respected? Are you inspired? Do you work with people that you enjoy? Um, or at least that you're content with working with them during the day, right? Questions to ask yourself. How do you feel supported by your manager and team? How are you supporting your manager and team, right? You need to be in reciprocity. And do you feel valued for what you're bringing to the table? And is the culture helping you become who you want to become, or are you holding back? I was recently uh last year involved in an organization in which I was giving a lot of strategic planning work to um, it was a nonprofit and I was doing a lot of work with the organization and moving forward and we were making progress, but you know what? I rarely felt valued, I rarely was supported, I rarely, it was often um, what else have you done type of attitude. And wow, right? I've been doing this work for how many years? And I still fall into it. So we're all messy, we're all in these situations. And after much evaluation, I just had to realize, even though I believed in the cause, that this wasn't the best place for me to be giving and donating my time and volunteering my gifts. So I needed to move on. And that was a hard conversation to have first with myself, and then of course to have with others. But the relationship and the environment was not, I did not want to be in an environment that I'm volunteering in, that at the end of the time or the day or the project that I'm working on, I feel terrible, right? So that's what we're asking. Is there something about the culture that is helping you or is there something that's holding you back? And we're not talking about um free snacks or ping pong tables or any of that. Uh, we're talking about, regardless of whether you're working from home or whether you're in person, how do you feel when you leave at the end of the day, whatever that looks like again? And going back to the experience that I just shared for myself, I was like, this feels terrible. I just spent 20 hours on this thing and it feels terrible. All right. Next, I want you to think through some practical and strategic considerations. So I'm a strategist. We're always going to talk about logistics. Have you had a chance to explore internal opportunities before deciding on leaving? Have you had an opportunity or a chance to think through what you would do and have you pitched it to somebody? Maybe there isn't a stated opportunity, but you can create it. Um when you're thinking about resigning, is there something that might open up if you decided to resign and move on? Is there is there a feeling inside where you're like, you know what? It's time to go. And then also I want you to think about the trade-offs. You need to look at your money, you need to look at your numbers, you need to look at whoever, if you uh live or love with whoever, whatever you're doing, you need to make sure that you have the numbers that work for you. Experts say it should be at least six months. I would say it's probably closer to 12 months. So if you're considering leaving and you don't have a job, I would make sure that you have at least 12 months of living expenses before you consider doing this. Obviously, the best case scenario would be leaving and moving into your next role, but things again to think about what are those trade-offs and are you prepared? Last, the decision point, it's really going to come down to making that decision and feeling it for a couple of days. So often what we do is we make a decision, then we make another decision, we come back to another decision and we're ping-ponging all around. What I would ask you to do is try on both or the many sides of the decision and hold that as the decision mentally for 24, 48 hours or longer, depending on the choices that you need to make. And really sit in that decision and see what comes up for you. See, do you feel stressed? Do you find that you're avoiding people? Do you find that things are seeping into your dreams at night? Really sit with the decision and see if you can get some clarity there. And then I want you to ask yourself if fear wasn't in the equation, what would you choose? Right? What does my gut say versus my rational mind? And sometimes they're the same and sometimes they're different. And if it was five years from now or even six months from now, and you looked back at the decision, would you be proud of the decision you made? When I look back at the decision I made, I'm I'm clear. I'm proud. I'm now putting my energy and my efforts into other volunteer organizations and other areas where I can contribute to uh the causes and the places that I believe in and love. So really, you want to take the fear out, you want to take the fantasy out, and you want to get super clear on the questions that you need to ask yourself, like many of these, and then also on how it feels, right? I at this point always tell clients to be sitting and meditating, and whether that's five minutes of meditation or more than that. So really getting in and being able to hear that internal GPS, your internal compass, checking in with that too as you're going through this. How does that feel? Right. There's fear that's like nervousness, and then there's fear where it feels scary and threatening. So I want you to, again, separate that. I often find if it's fear that it's just nervousness, the hoop we need to jump through is usually a lot bigger than we think. If it's fear where it feels really shutting down and um catastrophic, that might be a sign that it's not for you to be quitting and leaving your job at this time. So when you're going through this season, this wintering, I look at jobs as seasons. I've done an episode on that. You can check out the seasons of your career. I'll put that in the show notes. When you're looking through that and you're questioning what to do next, there's some place that's like feels like the hallway, right? You're between what's no longer and what's next. I want you to remember that this is not about failing. This is about evolving. This is about sometimes staying is the strategy. And sometimes leading is leadership. This job path that you're on, it's really important that at times we're doing things that, you know, are moving us forward or helping us learn. Sometimes we're doing things that are for um, you know, the money. I often talk about how you have a job, a career, and a purpose. And you can have all of those without ever leaving your seat or ever getting a new title. Um, really be thinking that through and just whatever you ultimately decide, hold that decision for a couple of days before you actually make it and make sure that you trust yourself. You're the one who's gonna have to live with the consequences. And if you keep second guessing yourself after you make a decision, I think that's a really good opportunity for you to take some of this again to a therapist or a coach or a mentor to really help you think through what it is that is best for you as you navigate moving forward. All right, friends, if this episode resonated with you, I want you to share it with a friend. It really helps us get the word out, helps people get the support that they need. And as I've said, I want to create a workplace resolution. I want to make sure that we are creating workplaces that work for everyone. If you want any more information around career strategy, career transitions, career reinvention, you can always find me at thegriffinmethod.com or jillgriffincoaching.com. I want to hear from you. You can email me at hello at jillgriffincoaching.com. And as always, always, always be in possibility. Be gentle with yourself. If you're breaking your heart right now, I want you to be really gentle with yourself and always be kind. All right, friends, I'll see you soon.