It doesn’t matter if you are the employee or the employer, if your workload is overwhelming and spilling into other aspects of your life, it might be time to think about quitting your job. There is a fine line between a normal workload and being overwhelmed with work duties.
Everyone is different, thus are their thresholds of tolerance for workload stress. There are several key factors to consider before jumping ship, which we explore below.
Your Skills are Underutilized
Work can be very unsatisfactory if your skills are not recognized and put to work. You can have all the training in the world, but if aren’t using any of that training, you are being underutilized.
When you took the job you probably felt like you could go places with this company, there was room for advancement and one day you’d have the corner office with all the windows. You’d be in corporate meetings with the bigwigs making important decisions. After all, that’s what your college degree is for, right?
Instead, you are in the basement pushing paper and on the rare occasion upper management is in your area, it’s usually not good news. In fact, they probably don’t even know your name, so how could they possibly be aware of all you could do for the company?
Your Skills are Undervalued
Wanting to be a valued member of a team is human nature. We have a need to be needed, to bring value to a greater cause. When we are undervalued, it’s disheartening and discouraging. At first, we will put our best foot forward and try to rise about the mental strain of being underappreciated.
After a while, our attitude begins to change as we continue to unnoticed and our drive to prove our value to our superiors dwindles, along with our performance.
You are No Longer Passionate
If you are like the millions of others who took a position or even built a company based on your passion, by now you know it takes much more than just passion to achieve success. Depending on passion alone is a grave mistake.
Being passionate about our work is a wavering emotion. It’s not a sustainable driving force to keep pushing forward. In addition, as our lives evolve, so do our passions. If you are struggling with keeping passion alive in your workplace, it might be time for a change.
The Company is Going Down
People have an innate desire to fix things and build things. We feel valued and important and necessary when something we’ve built is successful. Even if we are but a small piece of the puzzle, it feels good when things go right.
When the company is tanking, there are two options –
1) Stay and be overwhelmed with impending doom, or
2) Get out.
It’s like being on a ship headed for an iceberg. We can try to alter the course, but if we are full speed ahead and crashing is inevitable, at some point we have to jump ship.
Your Values are Compromised
Sometimes in the workplace, we are put in precarious situations where our basic values and morals are challenged. Standing tall and strong is easy at first, and we even feel proud of ourselves for making good choices. As time goes on though, values seem less important and bad decisions are right around the corner.
It’s overwhelming on the mind and body when we subject ourselves to this type of workplace stress day in and day out. Taking risks is one thing but compromising your values and morals to make a buck isn’t worth it in the long run.
Your Boss is a Jerk
We’ve probably all had at least one boss we didn’t really like. That’s normal. We aren’t going to like everybody, and that’s okay. But when your boss is a complete jerk, pledging your devotion to the position is a mistake. Consequences could range from being in a constant foul mood to verbal abuse to sexual harassment.
When you stay, you are telling your boss is okay to act in such a manner. You are allowing your boss to evade consequences for being a tyrant. And you are allowing yourself to be continually clobbered and steamrolled by another persons’ horrible behavior.
You are Getting Physically Sick
A big sign of overwhelm and incredible stress in the workplace is when our bodies simply can’t keep up. Continually subjecting ourselves to work strains takes a toll on our immune system. We end up with simple illnesses; colds, muscle aches and pains, and headaches.
But this can easily and quickly progress into something more complicated all due to workplace pressures, such as hypertension and cardiac problems. If your job is negatively affecting your health, it might be time to reevaluation your position.
Each one of these situations above not only creates a gloomy outlook for you personally but also impacts other areas of our lives. Our intimate relationships, family members and friends also take a beating when we are overwhelmed. It’s a good idea to step back once in a while, especially if you notice workplace overwhelm.
