Three Signs You Need to Break Up with Your Boss
By: Valerie Nifora
It’s been said that people don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics report issued by the Labor Department in early October, 4.3 million people quit jobs in August, which is approximately 2.9% of the US workforce. This might naturally make you wonder: Who’s managing these people?
More and more Americans seem to be joining in “The Great Resignation.” Should you be among them? How do you know that your work environment has deteriorated to the point that you need to break up?
Below are three signs that it may be time to leave your company, or at the very least, leave your boss.
1) You cringe each time they call you.
Naturally, there’s always a little nervousness when a higher-up asks to speak to you. But when you find yourself in the position of dreading the conversation or becoming physically ill — that’s a sign. As a friend of mine once said:
It goes beyond rolling your eyes. When your fight or flight instincts are in full form, you know there’s a problem.
If your daily experiences at work feel like they’re taking a toll on your wellbeing, it might be time to hit the road. Your mental health is more important.
[Related: Eight Important Lessons I Learned From Quitting a Job I Loved]
2) The feedback you get is always negative.
No doubt that constructive feedback on your work is always helpful, even if you’re not 100% thrilled with the message — but note that the operative word here is “constructive.”
Receiving feedback that does not leave you room to learn and grow is toxic. Negative feedback is not constructive feedback, and it’s important to know the difference. The point of feedback is to help a person see where she excels, as well as where she can improve.
Pay close attention to the words used in the feedback you receive from your boss. Words that are emotionally changed, such as “horrible,” “awful,” “garbage,” or “stupid” should never be said by your boss to describe your work or performance.
Negative emotional words only leave you feeling emotionally battered. If that describes you and your boss, it might be time to break up.
[Related: Job Crafting — Create Meaning in Your Work]
3) There’s no room for growth.
People feel the happiest and most positive when there is progress. Being productive and seeing a career path is vital to development not only as professionals, but also as people. A recent Glassdoor study cited that:
Every additional ten months an employee stagnates in a role makes them 1% more likely to leave the company when they finally move on to their next position.
If your boss is preventing you from accepting greater challenges or embracing new opportunities to learn, advance, or improve your skills, it might be time to find a new boss that will encourage your development. It’s your career. You need to take control of it.
It’s always difficult to make the decision to leave a boss, but staying in a situation that causes unnecessary stress and contributes to a hostile work environment can lead to greater distress in the long-term. It often simply isn’t worth it.
Everyone should feel that they are contributing to a team in a meaningful way. Bad bosses only prevent that contribution and erode your confidence. When that that situation arises, sometimes the only viable solution you have is to break up.
[Related: Four Signs That it Might Be Time to Quit Your Job]
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Valerie Nifora is the Senior Marketing Manager for Accenture.
Originally published at https://www.ellevatenetwork.com.
