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Last updated on March 30th, 2022

Most of us have experienced the misfortune of an unpleasant job. Whether it was just a bad match or a truly miserable arrangement, it’s always hard to know when to say goodbye.

If you go too soon, you’ll feel like a job hopper. If you stay for too long, you’ll feel you wasted your time and didn’t live in aligntment with what you needed.

Endings are always hard, but that doesn’t mean you should postpone the decision. So, how can you identify you’re not in the right job? Let’s dive right in.

Have a question, comment or thought to add? Leave a comment at the bottom and I’ll reply right away 🙂

9 Signs That Your Job Isn’t A Good Fit

Note from Kayla: This piece was a collaboration with Artur Meyster. He’s the founder of Career Karma, and you’ll see links to his company sprinkled about in this post. Guest posts help provide well-rounded information on Writing From Nowhere.

1. The Passion is Long Gone

When you enjoy what you’re working on, you get better results. Being happy is actually very good for business, too. Better outputs plus more satisfied and productive workers should be a no-brainer, yet it’s not always a priority of managers to notice employee satisfaction.

On the contrary, when you’re in the wrong job, “passion” may sound like a word in a foreign language. Pursuing passion and career fulfillment may even be dismissed as trivial by management and other team members.

It could be temporary or fleeting, but it could also be an early warning sign that your current job isn’t the right fit.

2. Your Values Do Not Align with the Company’s Vision

Tenderly searching for a company with matching values is a task that’s easy to dismiss when big raises and exciting relocations or benefits are flashed around.

Over time, choosing profit over values will wear you down, ultimately making you lose focus, drive and confidence in the work you’re doing.

Beyond that, if a company painted an image of value-driven profits but the company culture fails to deliver, you know you’re really in the wrong job.

3. You Feel Mistreated

According to Kununu, mistreatment is one of the many reasons why developers leave their jobs. Naturally, this isn’t unique to this profession.

Why would anyone with a competitive skillset stay at a job where they feel they are mistreated? Sadly, this is many people’s reality.

Some professionals don’t feel empowered to leave their current job despite the fact that they’re being mistreated. The reason for this is often because they have a good salary or maybe they just feel they won’t be able to find another job.

This will ultimately erode at their professional attitude and their personal life as well.

4. Your Boss is the Problem

Mistreatment from coworkers is one thing but from your boss, it’s completely different. If someone from your work is treating you impolitely, you can let your boss know about the situation and he might find a solution. But what if your boss is the actual problem?

You’re left in a losing position due to failing leadership, not a failure on your part.

Most people who have a bad boss leave their jobs because they just can’t stand the situation. If this is your case, you can have a conversation with your boss and let them know what you think.

Sometimes it’s not about your boss being impolite, but maybe about other behaviors such as setting unrealistic goals and being stressed all the time.

5. You’re Constantly Waiting for the Weekend

Feeling excited about the weekend is something we all experience, especially after a long week. Sometimes our job leaves us exhausted and we’re just trying to have a little break, but after that, we’ll just feel ready to work again.

When we’re working on a job we don’t enjoy, we see the weekend as an escape instead of as our resting time. That is ultimately a very erosive and unsustainable position to be in.

6. The Job is Different from What the Recruiter Described 

Oftentimes when we apply for a job, we’re attracted by the job description. If this job differs from what recruiters described at first, we may feel frustrated.

In this is the case, it’s not good to explore what hasn’t played out as promised. It’s ok to have other duties your boss may require you to do. What’s not ok is when all these tasks become the actual bulk of activities of your job.

7. Your Achievements are Never Enough

If you’re an ambitious person, you might set big goals with the intent of impressing your boss. This is positive for most companies and it’s actually something that most recruiters are looking for. However, some companies might not appreciate this as much as others.

If you’re constantly putting a lot of effort and time into certain tasks and your achievements are not enough for your boss, then it’s time to look for solutions.

8. It’s Affecting Your Health

Your job should be a priority, it’s true, but there’s are many things that go above work: namely being your health. A stressful, damaging job holds detrimental consequences to your health.

Don’t let your job affect your well-being. Remember that the only one who can save you from affecting your health is yourself.

Stress and anxiety are not just mental conditions—they can influence your physical health as well and affect every area of your persona life, so don’t underestimate them. If your job is somehow threatening your well-being, then it’s time to say good-bye.  

9. You’re Not Fit For The Type Of Work

It’s easy to bounce from desk job to desk job wondering why every job is a bad fit, but you should address the elephant in the room: maybe you’re not fit to work behind a desk.

Maybe you’d be happier working remotely and traveling the world. Or using self-employment as the answer to all of your demands in life.

There are many different types of work, so before accepting a new position, consider the exact type of work you’ll be moving to and how it differs from your current circumstance.

Final Thoughts

Do you need more encouragement deciding if it’s time to leave a job? We could go on and on, but we’ll leave it at these 8 points.

You have our sympathies because there’s nothing more frustrating than dealing with a bad job. Regardless of your situation, it may be time for you to start evaluating your current position if any of these points resonated with you.