Has going to work started to feel like a difficult task? Have you been tired every morning, questioning the need to do this strenuous activity that bears no fruit? If you think you are the only one, you are not. A lot of people go through work stress without knowing about it.
Realizing you are in a working environment acting as a toxin for your physical and mental well-being is vital. Taking steps to get out of such a job is even more crucial.
This article will discuss a toxic work environment, why people leave such jobs, and how to quit a toxic job.
What is a Toxic Work Environment?
A workplace that affects your mental health, physical health, overall personal well-being, and work-life balance concludes a toxic work environment. There can be many reasons for workplace toxicity:
- High attrition
- A biased and toxic boss
- Disproportionate increments
- Overburdening job
- Working extra hours
- Reduced personal life
- Misleading employee policies.
Keep these signs in mind when leaving a toxic environment and look for better opportunities to escape such a situation.
Why People Leave Their Job
While management reports that people leave for a better opportunity in the market, for personal reasons, or for health issues only, this information is untrue. Most of the time, an employee leaves the organization because they are unhappy due to the toxic work culture.
Ideally, if employees feel content at their current workplace, there should be no reason to go out and look for another job or a new position unless it is a career path requirement.
And yet, there are several reasons for them leaving, and none related to career growth; instead, it is mental peace they are looking for outside.
Below are some common reasons reported by employees about their toxic workplaces:
- Underpaid
- No professional respect or value
- Ill-managed teams
- Unqualified and unskilled boss
- Zero learning prospects
- No rewards or recognition
If you have faced any of these, you should rethink your current job and make the right decision.
Signs It May Be Time to Quit
It is essential to look out for signs when things are not working out in the workplace. You can always ignore these signs, but eventually, you will start feeling dissatisfied, which may impact your professional progress.
You have stopped growing professionally
If your roles and responsibilities are increasing the daily overload at work but not adding value to your professional career, this is a sign to look for new opportunities.
You can try to discuss with your current boss any potential changes in your daily responsibilities that can help you learn new things.
There is a chance that it will help you overcome the feeling, and you will get a new job role that helps you grow and learn new things at work.
However, if talking to your manager does not help and leaves you feeling dissatisfied, it is time to make a move. This possibility can arise if another team member cannot handle the responsibilities or the other qualified person has already denied taking them up.
You don’t feel supported
Often, our work involves approvals and validations from our team members and boss to be considered a job done. More so is the case if you need support on a mistake committed by a co-worker and you are being held responsible.
In such situations, it can leave you feeling distressed and unwanted if you don’t get the proper support or validation from your co-workers or boss.
As a hard-working professional, a situation like this can stir your mind, raising questions about your potential and worth in the company.
Please count this as a sign of leaving a toxic place and moving on to get a new job lined in a new company.
You often consider leaving your current job
If you consider leaving your current company too often, it is a big sign, and you should not avoid it. The feeling of giving up and leaving a job can only arise if you are unsatisfied with your work or the toxic work environment.
Even uncooperative colleagues and horrible bosses that are biased can cause one to feel like that.
Also, people who have tried confronting or speaking to their managers or colleagues eventually come to the same conclusion.
Hence, it may be a good idea to rethink your current job and look for a new job if you are no longer feeling good about it.
You feel you are operating on autopilot
It can feel robotic if you are following the same office routine every day for an extended period, doing the same job, or doing duplicate tasks.
The same is when employees are forced to return to their previous jobs to support the absence of a colleague or an understaffed situation. In such a case, moving on from the old responsibilities and then returning to the same tasks can feel like you are on autopilot mode.
You will know the work by heart, but there will be no soul or value to it now. Plus, it can be hurtful to downgrade to a primary job you mastered a long time back and add it to your existing list of daily tasks. If that’s happening with you, know it is a toxic work environment.
Your work does not align with your values or goals
When the last job feels tedious yet monotonous, it should tell you something that is not working out for you. If you don’t feel good about it or feel like this is the job you’d want to be in the next few years, it is a sign.
Working on something that doesn’t seem to be a part of your big professional plan can leave you questioning yourself. So, when that happens, know it is time to change to a new company.
The work makes you feel demeaned
Do you feel like you have been doing the same tasks for the past several years? Having achieved a high skillset with hard work that now surpasses the tasks at hand can make you feel devalued and worthless. It also makes you question whether you are a great employee or not.
You should never forget your worth; if a doubt arises, put that knowledge to the test by trying outside your current toxic work environment.
Steps for Leaving a Toxic Work Environment
It is essential to focus on the signs of a toxic work environment and not ignore them. Choosing the right passage to walk out the door to a company that is a good fit is more crucial. Here are the best tips on how to quit a toxic job:
1. Make the Decision to Leave
Once you observe the issues at your current workplace, you need to decide to quit your last job. Job hunting is not easy, and there can always be problems in the new job. So, be sure before you decide, think of all the possible benefits you will miss and after you decide, stay firm on it.
2. Create a List of What You’re Looking for in a Job
Lists are good. So, make one when you plan to quit your toxic job. Think of all the things you don’t like at your current toxic job and try to find those when applying for new jobs. It keeps you motivated and lets you find opportunities that suit you best.
3. Commit Yourself to Leave
You have decided, and you do not like your current working environment. Commit to that decision and make all possible efforts to find a new job with work responsibilities that align with your skillset and offer you a better future.
The growth factor can positively affect your decision and help you get through with the task of leaving the toxic work environment.
4. Create an Exit Strategy
You want to ensure you leave a good impression behind and zero backlogs for the current employer. In a toxic workplace, there are ways by which your boss may try to hold you back or give negative feedback to your new boss.
So, make sure to plan an exit that leaves you with zero wrong impressions and a problem-free last-day clearance. Also, remember to send all important documents to your personal email in time to be used at the new company.
5. Pick a Firm Resignation Date
Once you resign, there is no going back. And even if there is, you wouldn’t want to take it back because of the work environment.
So, when deciding on a date, ensure to check the last day after your two weeks’ notice, send the resignation letter with details by email, and wait for your notice period to be over.
You might want to ensure you have an offer in hand before you send the resignation letter. Also, since your two weeks notice period would mean no salary for the last duration, you should keep a financial backup to help you get through this phase in life.
6. Keep Your Plans for Yourself
Sharing helps with food, but information about your resignation or job search plans should be kept secret. The fewer people know, the better. It should include your direct boss and subordinates whose jobs might affect you’re leaving.
Other than this, try not to announce the news to the world. It won’t be a good thing if things don’t go as planned and you settle with staying back in the same work environment.
7. Keep Positive
Your resignation is your path to a better life, and you know it. Stay calm and positive, and don’t deviate from your plans. Moving away from a life of toxic work environment will help with your career goals, and that’s all that matters.
8. Initiate the Plan
The only thing you need to do once the plan is set is to go for it. Calculate your resignation period, finalize the offer with the new employer, discuss it with your boss and write that resignation.
9. Resign Gracefully
When you drop your resignation email, remember to be humble and stay productive. And once you resign, you must remain careful with your behavior and work ethic.
The way you behave during the last phase of your employment decides whether your current boss will choose to take you back if you plan to join back in the future. It will also prove helpful in getting a recommendation if required.
10. Maintain your professionalism
The last thing to ensure is maintaining decorum at your current workplace, irrespective of your experience or the work environment. If you quit with professional dignity, you will always have the upper hand and the professional respect to return to your current employer.
Also, it is good to quit a workplace after completing pending projects and a proper handover of the work computer to avoid any confusion later.
Final Thoughts on Leaving a Toxic Work Environment
Moving from one job to another can be tricky, especially if it is the toxic workplace. But once you plan and quit, half of your stress will disappear.
You all need to stay motivated and work hard to receive better opportunities. It will prove helpful in the future when you achieve your career goals with a work environment and an improved life that you love.