7 signs it could be time to change jobs

How do you know when it’s time to move on? Vick Shaw speaks to an expert

Time for a new job? (Alamy/PA)

If you’re feeling overburdened and undervalued at work, you might have wondered whether to try and start the new year with a new job.

Of course, everyone gets frustrated at work from time to time, motivation can dip, or we simply hit a challenging patch. So, how do you know when it’s really time to move on?

Tony Gregg, chief executive at Anthony Gregg Partnership, an executive search firm, believes there could be some tell-tale signs that it’s time to see what else is out there…

1. The business goes significantly against your morals and values

“The way a business operates and treats its employees is very important,” says Gregg. “We spend around 40-odd years working, which is a really long time, so you have to be your true self.

“Not being true to yourself can be where a lot of people fall down, and this particularly happens in interviews,” he adds. “During an interview, people try to be someone who they think the employer wants them to be, you can’t hide from that, you are yourself and that’s the real quality.”

2. You no longer feel challenged in your role

Gregg points out the old saying: “What got you there, won’t keep you there.” If you’re not feeling challenged enough, this can start to show up in the quality of your work, he adds. Persistent poor work could also come to the company’s attention, meaning some people in this situation may want to jump before they are pushed.

3. There aren’t enough decent opportunities

“When you recognise you are not being challenged or getting enough opportunities, you’ll know you need to move on,” says Gregg. “Obviously, as soon as you recognise you are not getting enough opportunities, whilst the company doesn’t know it yet, you can sit down and spend time at your own pace to look at the next job – the right job – whilst you’re under no pressure to change. It’s managing your career that’s really important.”

4. Your health is suffering

Poor mental or physical health as a result of work stresses and strains will not only have an impact on employees themselves, but also on their relationships outside the workplace.

“If the job is affecting your health and mental and physical wellbeing, you’re going to get burned out,” says Gregg. “You need to ask yourself, is this really the right role for me? Is this the right organisation? Is it their unsatisfactory expectations? Are they making me work unreasonable hours?”

You may be determined to move on, but there could also be some steps you could take to make your immediate work situation more bearable, whether it’s by speaking to your boss about your workload, contacting HR to see what support might be available via your employer, or speaking to a union representative.

5. The role is too demanding

While problems can arise at work when roles are not challenging enough, they can also crop up when the balance is tipped too far the other way. “It might not necessarily be the type of role causing burnout, it could be the type of organisation or, in some cases, the role is not what you expected it to be and the demand is too high,” says Gregg.

6. You are not being paid what you’re worth

Online salary checkers can help you to get an idea of whether you’re being paid your market value. If you have been in a job for a long time, and have had years of annual pay rises, rather than a big pay jump to attract you into a company, you may find that your salary has fallen some way behind what other firms are offering. Gregg says that often, when people leave to go to a different company, they will be expecting a 10% to 20% increase.

7. You feel underappreciated

“When you have been working at the same company for a while, you may feel you can become taken for granted, and other employees may rely on you to complete certain tasks, ” adds Gregg. “However, when this happens and you resign, it will become a big shock to the company and they’ll suddenly feel disappointed because if you were appreciated more, you would not have resigned.”

Gregg says that in some cases, an employee’s departure can leave the company having to pay significantly more to fill the same job role.