Guide: How to know when you should start looking for a new job

Are you ending each work day in a bad mood or living for Fridays when you can log off for the weekend? We’ve all been there. Here are the three main reasons you should start looking for a new position today:

1 You don’t enjoy what you’re doing AT ALL

It’s normal to have a bad day now and then, but it’s not normal to hate every waking moment you spend at work. Before you consider leaving, ask yourself what makes you dislike your job so much. Is it the slow pace? The lack of flexible work options? The people? Your attitude?

Before you head to LinkedIn and apply to every posting in your field, see if there’s something you can do to improve your current work situation. If your bad relationship with work is tied to your mindset, behaviours, or habits, try working on these things first and see if your work days improve. Whether you decide to search for a new job or not, reflecting on your past mistakes and thinking about future goals is always beneficial!

2 The work environment is toxic

If your workplace is full of gossip, petty behaviour, or bullying, it’s time to kickstart the job search. A toxic workplace may also not recognize or reward great performance, prioritize company objectives over the well-being of employees, or not offer fair compensation.

You’re entitled to a healthy and psychologically safe work environment, so don’t ever feel bad about walking away from a job that makes you feel lesser than.

3 You’re not challenged

As cheesy as it sounds, you stop growing when you stop learning. This doesn’t mean that every part of your work should be super tough or unmanageable, but you don’t want to hinder your career growth by spending 50% of your time at work twiddling your thumbs or scrolling on TikTok.

We’re believers that you don’t have to be obsessed with your job, but that doesn’t mean you should hate it either. If there aren’t opportunities for advancement, you feel overqualified, or you believe you could complete every assigned task in your sleep, consider exploring new opportunities.

You don’t have to love every second of your job or feel fulfilled day in and day out. You should, however, trust your intuition, advocate for yourself, and walk away from a job (or anything in life) that no longer serves you.

Keep blooming, besties.