I was working for a reputable company making an above-market salary for my position, with other decent benefits, and flexibility such as remote working and flexible hours. However, I was absolutely miserable, and let me tell you why money and benefits are not the only important factors for well-being in the workplace.

The type of work. I was in a compliance department working with three different sub-departments. Rather than specializing in a certain discipline, my brain was stretched thin having to keep up with the different regulations and operational expectations. Did I also mention that regulatory compliance is extremely boring? It is mostly paperwork and weeding through non-sense during the background checks. The only way I can explain how I felt completing this type of work was seeing the color gray shadow every item I touched, while a heavy anchor pulled from my chest into my office chair.

The people. I was conflicted about my compatibility with the team. On a personal level, we all got along really well. We had the same sense of humor, we all had kids around the same age so we were able to relate to life stories, and overall we really enjoyed coming into the office to see each other. With that said, I enjoyed speaking to them on a personal level, but I did not agree with their professional behavior. A big no-no for me was realizing that a lot of corners were being cut in order to save face for clients’ expectations. I didn’t want to develop these bad habits that conflicted with my professional ethics and realized it was time to reconsider if this was the right team to learn from for my professional aspirations. 

The IT was absolute crap. It wasn’t every month or even every week that something was not working properly – it was every single day. I was often repeating work I had previously completed because the changes were lost due to system errors. I had enough, after wasting hours upon hours on repeat and filing official complaints to the delusional IT department that believed this was normal infrastructure across all firms, I was ready to accept that this was not a productive way to work.

Unrealistic expectations.  While juggling various forms of work, having to turn a blind eye to unethical business practices and repeating tasks over and over due to terrible IT systems, I realized that management still expected me to take on more work in order to lessen their load, all while promising a promotion for eight months that never came through. It was an absolute learning lesson to know when to push back on certain tasks, especially because companies will without a doubt take advantage of the workhorse. 

Lack of change for concerns. I was not shy about the issues our department faced. I was told we would receive resources to mitigate the problems, however, that took over a year. While we continued to grow the book of business, existing problems escalated and new problems formed.

When I thought about all these issues and the negative impact it was having on my productivity, I realized that like incompatible boyfriends, it likely would never change so I can either remove myself from the situation or tough it out a little longer to see if I felt differently in the future.

I battled internally for months on making the right decision. Then suddenly I felt that inner voice tell me, “Now, the time is now. Quit your job now. Not 3 months from now, not once the promotion comes through. Right now!”  I doubted that voice – was it my ego that just had enough, or was it that inexplicable gut feeling that was guiding me? The feeling was so intense that I chose to believe the latter – so I packed up my stuff and left.

It didn’t feel high and mighty like you read about, the company was not happy about it, and I had a brief “what did I do” period. But so far it has been the best thing I ever did for my family and myself. I got to spend more time with my son. This helped him excel with the speech milestones he was behind on. I got to help my mom form a business. My previous working experience gave me a lot of insight into how to best approach her business model. And I got time for myself. I worked on developing healthier habits, letting go of stressful factors, and developing a stronger relationship with God. 

After three months I felt ready to start looking for a job I wanted, not just a paycheck.  This reflective experience made me realize that my mental well-being was more important than the things a paycheck could buy. I then saw a job I always wanted to try and applied with the expectations of probably making less than I was previously making. I went in for a first-stage interview, which ended up becoming a four-stage interview back to back, with an offer made within the week. Not only was it what I wanted to do, the pay and benefits were better than my previous job. I was and still am in complete awe of how trusting that inner voice put me and my family exactly where we were meant to be for the next chapter of our lives.

Some believe that the inner voice is your own consciousness, others believe it is the guidance of a passed loved one or guardian angel, but I personally believe it is God.  Any follower of Christ will tell you He has a plan for you, and when He is speaking to you it may not make sense at the time but it comes full circle with the plan mapping itself out perfectly for what you need.  So my advice to you is if your inner voice is telling you to leave your job – do it.