Self-Ish Series: 5 Reasons Why You Should Chuck the Deuces to Your Employer

Flor Carabez
Jul 25, 2022
3 min read

I'm assuming you were attracted to this post because you've either toyed with looking for a new job or you're already actively searching. In either case, leaving your comfort zone is a huge risk, but there are a couple of things you should not sacrifice for the sake of a paycheck.

Actually, before we even get into the list, let me make the clear distinction between a career and a job.

In either case you still earn a check, but, a career is fulfilling as you venture through the hierarchy of your field; which brings me to the purpose of this whole post:

If your position switches from feeling like a career to a job, it's time to go.

Growth

One of the most fulfilling factors of having a career is having new challenges to tackle and figuring out creative ways to tackle them. If you feel that you can no longer grow as a person and/or as a professional in your current position, and there is no way for you to advance, you may need to leave. There's no such thing as growth in comfort.

Divergence

Missions and visions change all the time, and that's okay, until it's not. If your company's vision has changed into something that will deviate you from your long-term goal, or something that deviates from your ethical/moral compass, it's time to go. When you're passionate about something, you develop standards, and when those standards are not being met, your workplace can become toxic. For those that suffer form anxiety and depression, this can quickly become a trigger (trust me, I know).

Trust

There's nothing worse than an employer making false promises (well, I guess being unemployed could be worse, but still, this is not okay). Sometimes employers will paint a hopeful picture of success to its employees to prevent a revolving door because the hiring process is tedious and expensive. These false promises stifle your career path because you will keep waiting for that new opportunity to advance, and it may never come, instead of just taking a risk and applying elsewhere.

Affordability

Your employer may not be able to afford you anymore or may just choose to not invest in your work worth. In either case, do your research and see if you can advance in both salary and responsibilities elsewhere. The grass may be greener on the other side.

Respect

It's 2019 but, ageism; sexism; racism; xenophobia, they all still exist. You spend at least 2,080 hours a year at your workplace, this should be a brave space for you to flourish in your career. A microaggression I've experienced consistently when discussing opportunities of advancement is to,

be patient because I'm young and have no kids.

Since when was there a marital, dependent and age requirement to move up in the world?

In all, change is scary but essential to growing and sometimes needed for our own peace of mind. It's totally okay and necessary to be selfish when considering recommencing the "job hunt", if something ever happened to you (knocking on every piece of wood), your employer won't think twice before posting your position up (or closing it and just having your coworkers share the workload to save money).

So be selfish and chuck the deuces if you need it.

If you think of any other reasons to leave that I did not cover, make sure to drop them in the comment section.

Successfully,

Flor E. Carabez, M.Ed