Work takes up a large amount of our lives, long hours that take the majority of our days, essential for providing good lifestyles. Therefore it is important that the jobs we hold are ones that we enjoy or at least can bear. Life can become increasingly difficult if you have and continue to have a job that you cannot stand, and just think that most people will work to a retirement age, so it’s key to find that job that you can be happy with.

There are a few signs that become obvious that it’s time to go:

• The struggle every morning to get out of bed, lack of motivation to even get a shower.
• A bad mood on Monday morning.
• The thought of even travelling to work.
• The thought of how dreadful it is that it’s the longest ever possible time to the next weekend.
• You count the hours away on your watch the minute you walk through the door.
• Anxiety during the weekend is a bad sign, the earlier it sets it, the worse.
• Taking sick days, where you really couldn’t gather any motivation to go to work.
• Excessive and long toilet/cigarette breaks, where all you want to do is get out of the way.
• Heavy eyes after a perfectly good nights sleep.
• You daydream too often.
• Your patience is not as good as it use to be.

Make a list of all the pros and cons of your job, and be completing honest and reasonable, having a company perk where you get free coffee doesn’t count as a pro. Once you’ve compiled your list, look in depth and see which one outweighs the other. Again be reasonable, if there’s nothing listed that your life depends on, and the cons are a lot more troubling than the pros are enticing, then you can seriously consider leaving. Knowing what has made your job unbearable can also help you not make the same mistake when you look for a new job.

Take a look at yourself and your value to the company. You have to ask if you are being paid what you deserve and if you are really appreciated. Check your job position online to see if you’re getting paid correctly. You know if you’re not being fully appreciated if:

• You’re being paid less than what others in a similar position are
• Your work load has changed with no real explanation. Having it doubled without promotion or warning means they’re taking you for granted. Reducing your work load is a bad sign that they think you’re not as competent anymore.
• If a recent promotion of another employee has left you baffled, as you’ve either performed as well as or better than them, then you know they don’t care.
• No salary increase after good performance over a good period of time is another sign that you’re not appreciated.

Stress at work is also a fact to consider, and even though everyone will experience stress, it’s the magnitude that should be brought to your attention. Excessive stress will undoubtedly affect every other part of your life, so it’s important that you have it in the right quantity. Having that excessive caused by your job is another reason to switch jobs, if your finding yourself getting closer and closer to telling your boss exactly what you think, then you know that the stress is getting out of control. 

Of course when you’ve decided that its time to go, weigh up your options. Can you bear to stay there a little longer while you look for another job, or are you ok with going without pay for a little while? Make sure that you take into consideration that the time it takes to find another job is unpredictable. Try considering a part time position somewhere while you search, just to keep those vital bills covered. Remember that they’ll always be jobs to keep you going when you need them, even in times of difficulty like recessions, people still need employees.