5 MYTHS ABOUT QUITTING A JOB

I have been very unhappy in my job for quite some time. The work environment is very stressful, I feel completely underappreciated, and I can’t really see the purpose of most of the work I do. Quitting a job is an option.

I want to get out of there, but every time I discuss the idea of ​​quitting with my friends and family, I get the same reactions: “Are you sure it’s the right thing to do? Surely your job can’t be that bad. Maybe things will get better. “

My parents were worried about how I was going to support my family and basically called me selfish for wanting to leave him. A friend even warned me that “quitting is going to look bad on your CV.”

Quitting a job you don’t like is a tough decision, and it’s been made harder by some very persistent myths. These myths create a social stigma around the idea of ​​quitting, which is silly, because quitting is perfectly natural. In fact, 10-15% of all of us do so every year.

These myths keep us trapped in bad jobs, and they give bad leaders and toxic workplaces much more power over us than they could ever have. Let’s change that. Here is the Top 5 of the myths about quitting your job.

MYTH # 5: QUITTING A JOB = FAILURE

“Don’t be a coward.”

“Nobody likes cowards.”

“Winners never quit, and quitters never win.”

Do any of these sentences sound familiar to you? According to traditional thinking, once you have started something you should never give up, and if you do, it is a clear sign of failure.

This is completely wrong and sometimes quitting is exactly the right thing to do. Like the story of the Danish soprano Tina Kiberg.

When she was little, Tina was a pretty good violinist, spending her free time practicing and practicing. One day, she participated in a violin contest and realized that she was probably never going to be a stellar violinist. She left the violin, took singing lessons, and became a solo opera singer.

If she had seen quitting as the worst thing she could do, she could have become a mediocre violinist.

Also, try to guess what these successful people have in common: Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Tiger Woods, Reese Witherspoon, John McEnroe, and John Steinbeck.

Yes, they all dropped out of Stanford University.

Truth # 5: Sometimes giving up is the way to success at something else, and staying = failure.

MYTH # 4: GIVING UP IS THE EASY WAY OUT

Did you quit your job? Well, I guess you don’t have what it takes to be successful. Too bad you couldn’t find a way for him.

Some people see resignation as a sign of weakness. It’s silly. In fact, the easy thing to do is to go on without a thought in that job you hate day after day, year after year. It can be horrible, but you already know what you have and you avoid the uncertainty of making big life-changing decisions.

To resign, on the contrary, you need guts (here in Argentina we say eggs, balls, courage). In fact, leaving a workplace that is toxic or walking away from a boss who is a complete jerk can be a downright heroic act.

Truth # 4: Giving up can be an act of courage (or even heroic).

MYTH # 3: GIVING UP IS SELFISH

How can you be so selfish and quit your job? You are leaving the workplace, your clients, and your coworkers. Also, think about your family… how are they going to cope if you quit?

Wrong.

If you don’t like your job, you’re not doing anyone a favor by staying there. When you’re unhappy at work, it tends to affect everyone around you through a phenomenon called emotional contagion, and chances are you’re making your coworkers and clients unhappy.

As for your family, maybe they would be happier if you didn’t come home from work every day tired and frustrated. You could even be an example for your children.

If you go into work day after day, year after year, and you really hate your job, and you come home stressed and angry, what are you teaching your children?

Truth # 3: Giving up is not inherently selfish.

MYTH # 2: QUITTING A JOB IS A RISK TO YOUR CAREER.

If you quit your job, it will look bad on your CV, and your career will suffer accordingly.

Yes, and staying for years in a job that you hate and that gradually wears you down and frustrates you is going to be AWESOME for your professional career.

This myth completely ignores the career risks of staying in a job you hate. In fact, the longer you stay, the more energy, motivation, and self-confidence you need to move toward success are lost.

Truth # 2: Sometimes quitting a job is the best thing you can do for your career.

MYTH # 1: GIVING UP IS A LAST RESOURCE.

Sure you can consider giving up, but you should exhaust all other alternatives first. You only quit when all else has failed.

For people who believe this myth, quitting is the last option. It’s what you do when you’re too broke and exhausted to stay at your current job.

That makes this potentially the most dangerous of the myths listed here, because it means that people stay in the bad jobs until (or beyond) the breaking point.

Truth # 1: Give up when it’s the right thing to do, not when it’s the only option left.

SO?

Every time a friend tells me they quit their job, my immediate reaction is always “Great! You made a difficult decision. You took the initiative and decided to get away from a bad job or go to something even better ”.

I say that you have to start congratulating the people who left their jobs for how brave, motivated and proactive they are.

Have we left anything out of this article that you would like to highlight or comment on? Have you encountered any of these situations in your work life? How do you react when someone close to you talks to you about the possibility of quitting their job?

Take a look on this Article that for sure will be interesting for you! 13 TIPS TO HELP YOU DEAL WITH A JOB YOU HATE (BUT CAN’T LEAVE)

Success in your decisions!