How do I know when it’s time to quit my job?
SIMONE, Vancouver CANADA
April 2026
Sarah’s take:
I know so many people who have been asking themselves this question lately, so I’m glad you asked it! There is so much wrapped up in quitting decisions (our judge: suck it up princess, you’re lucky to even have a job, our high achiever: since when are you a quitter, our pleaser: what will people think of you, our avoider: just wait it out a little longer and it’ll get better.)
I suggest you break your question down into two parts:
How do I know if I’m done with my job, and
When is the right time to quit it?
How do I know if I’m done with my job?
Your gut feel should tell you what you need to know, but most of us aren’t very good at noticing what our instincts are telling us. So stop making pros and cons lists and have a look at what I think are 5 pretty solid indicators that you are done:
You’ve noticed that you’ve stopped taking responsibility and defaulted to blaming, avoiding, or being the victim at work.
When you look at your work week, there is very little (if anything) scheduled that brings you energy.
You fantasize about quitting and what life would be like if you could.
When people ask you about work, you begin with a sigh. Or an eye roll. Or both.
Your level of stress (or boredom) is impacting your quality of life (and even your relationships) inside and outside of work.
When is the right time to quit?
I don’t know. “Right” is a relative term. BUT I am going to give you my two favourite 10 point scale questions to help you figure it out.
On a scale of 1-10, 1 being ‘I’m fine with it for now’ and 10 being ‘I can’t f*cking take it anymore!’, how urgent is it that you make a change at work?
On a scale of 1-10, 1 being ‘grim, very grim’ and 10 being ‘piece of cake’, what are the chances that you will succeed at finding alternate employment within the time frame you have?
If your answer to either of these questions is less than an 8, it is probably not the right time to quit your job. So what now? Now you need to pick an action to try that is not as huge as quitting. What could that be? Maybe you need to have a hard conversation with someone at work about what needs to change. Maybe you need to start more conversations with people in your life who bring you energy (and maybe new ideas for your career path). Maybe you need to book a therapy appointment. Maybe you need to peruse some random job postings for inspiration. Maybe you need some real time away to rest and reassess. Maybe you just need to start saying it out loud. Pick something to try and start trying it…if you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that it will start to shift some things.
Sandy’s take:
Great question and maybe one that might need to be teased apart. I say this because knowing when it's time and actually doing something about it are not always the same thing. But let's start with the knowing part (and if you want advice on what to do with that info, feel free to ask another question!)
Try thinking about your job situation as a payout-versus-cost equation. What are you currently getting from your job? And before you answer too quickly – really sit with it. "Getting something" looks different for everyone. It might be the salary, a flexible schedule, industry experience you can't get elsewhere, a team you genuinely like, a short commute, or no commute! Sometimes when you actually ask this question out loud, you surprise yourself – what you thought you were getting turns out to be something you stopped getting a while ago.
Then flip it and ask, What is this costing you? Time with family and friends, your health, your sanity, opportunities to grow or try something new? Costs aren't always obvious, especially when you've been in survival mode long enough that it just feels normal.
When the costs start consistently outweighing the payouts – not just on a bad week, but as a pattern – that's usually your answer.
A few other thoughts worth sitting with…
Are you staying mostly out of fear (of change, of the unknown, of the job market, of what people will think)? Fear is a valid feeling, but it's a lousy decision-maker. If fear is causing you to hesitate, a question I like to reflect on is, “What would you do if you knew it was going to be okay?”
Also, have you tried to change what's not working? Sometimes the job isn't the problem, but it’s a person or a way of working that is. If there's no path to changing those things and no one's interested in trying, that's useful information too.
There's no perfect moment to quit, and waiting for certainty is often just waiting. But when you can't find a real answer to what am I getting from this?, that's usually the sign you've been looking for. And for what it's worth, the fact that you're asking usually means something.
