When is it time to quit your job? – Health

Your health is everything!

In an ideal world everyone has a happy, healthy work/life balance. This however is often not realistic. One type of Career Purgatory that we have not addressed up to this point is when you have a job that worked well for your situation but overtime no longer does.

Your health is more important than the short term benefit of staying with your current employer. Have you considered these questions?

1. Have you gained weight?

We’re not talking about the fact that a work perk is that you can eat popcorn and drink all the delicious Starbucks coffee you can get your hands on. Keep in mind there are several things that can be attributed to weight changes. The real concern is that you no longer are able to maintain the health lifestyle you are accustomed to maintaining.

An example is being a personal trainer then going to a new job and after a few years realizing your are 40 lbs heavier (and not muscle mass weight) than when you started?

2. Do you take medication to manage work anxiety?

If you suffer from general anxiety then I empathize with you. If you have to start a medication regimen to handle doing your job. The problem is your job and not your brain. Its incredibly unhealthy to be in a position where you feel obligated to stay medicated to get through the work week.

3. Do you have re-occurring nightmares about work?

Everyone dreams about weird stuff however when you try to sleep and you have nightmares about work on a regular basis. This could mean more than you happen to like ice cream before bed.

4. Do you have work separation anxiety?

When you are not at work you stress almost as much about work as when you are there. Everyone stresses from time to time about a deadline or short term goal but specifically this being a daily concern. For example do you have 3 or 4 weeks of paid vacation that you are AFRAID to take?

5. Have you ever had heart palpitations while you were at work?

If someone jumps around a corner and scares you this is acceptable. If you happen to be at your desk and your heart starts to race because you checked your email. This could be a sign.

If any of these questions resonate with you then its probably a good time to consider a new job, possibly a new employer if the company culture is the real problem for your stress levels. However maybe you are in a career that is highly stressful, but you could use your skills to adapt into a new one.