The idea of quitting your job is scary, but do you know what’s even scarier? Waking up every morning and walking into a place you really dislike for eight hours a day – for the rest of your life. Many people refer to this as ‘working for the man’ or ‘suffering through the daily grind’.

Whether you dislike your workplace due to its policies and regulations, its poor management team, office politics or because you despise your job duties – life is way too short to spend almost every day at a job you don’t love.

Adulthood is tough – we need to rake in money so we feel successful; we need to accept responsibility that work makes us who we are; we need to deal with our manager’s bullshit; we need to get along with our coworkers; we need to keep our mouths shut and put up with it all. Or do we? What if we’ve been fed a lie and freedom is just around the corner: a simple “I quit” away?

If you can tick off five or more of the below points then you would be better off throwing in the towel and finding a new path and a new job: the job you’ll love and be passionate about. The job that won’t even really feel like a job at all.

1. Your Boss or Coworkers Make Your Life Hell

If you’ve started having revenge fantasies involving your own boss or coworkers – it might be time to call it a day. Truthfully, though, if you watched Horrible Bosses and thought “they don’t seem that bad at all compared to my boss”, then you may have a problem on your hands.

If you’re feeling discriminated against, harassed, bullied, unfairly reprimanded, overworked, you never seem to get any feedback or you’re rarely getting credit for your work, those are all signs you’re in a toxic work environment.

If your work environment consists of a ton of drama or gossiping, rather than supportive coworkers and management who lift you up instead of drag you down, you have a problem. If the problem continues, don’t think for one second that you have to stick around and take it. Find somewhere that truly appreciates all the skills you have to offer. Find an office that wants someone with your creative intellect. Find a team that will lift you up and truly support you and engage with you.

2. You Have Given Up On Your Dreams

If there was one thing you could do every single day and you would never lack the motivation – do that. One of the biggest regrets people have on their death bed is that they gave up on the dreams they had when they were younger.

Society shapes us into becoming loyal contributors. Many of us risk giving up our dreams because we instead choose to stay loyal to our mediocre, decent-paying job that we don’t really love. Instead, we need to stray from the norm and live the life we’ve always dreamed . If you’re worried your dream job won’t pay as well, find a way to make it work. Sell your car, budget your holidays better, and dedicate time to nurturing your future. You owe it to yourself.

The best part is, if you’re doing what you love you’ll be great at it – and if you’re great at it, you have a good chance of being successful and ultimately making great money doing what you love.

3. Your Top Skills Are Overlooked

You’re a brilliant writer, yet you’ve found yourself stuck in an accounting and administrative role. You’re the best chef you know, yet you’re working in a dismal call centre. If you are  in a role that you have no interest in, and it’s only about the money, it really is time to move on as there is nothing worse than letting your true talents go to waste.

Every single one of us has a gift. Nurture that gift or it will die inside you and before you know your only talent left is being able to always pick the table that wobbles the least in the office canteen.

If you don’t recognize your gift and use it, you’re not maximizing your potential at all. That unfortunately is the sad, bitter truth.

4. You Are Worth More Than Your Salary

The current job market is a tough place to be right now but there is nothing tougher than feeling the strain of trying to live on a low wage. Do your research, see how much similar companies are paying and ask for this to be matched. If you are constantly promised change and it never happens then you are actually being conned out of a proper living wage.

One reason why you might be underpaid is because you are allowing yourself to be. Remember we’re only worth as much as the price we put on ourselves. Work in a way that proves you’re worth more, then ask for a raise. It’s very unlikely your employer is going to offer you a raise – they usually wait for you to ask before they’ll consider it. If you’re denied a raise, it’s time to move on. Nobody wants to be stuck in a place where promotion is impossible and the deserving aren’t given loyalty from their employers.

5. Your Health Is At Risk

Stress can affect every part of your well-being – physically and mentally. If you can’t sleep at night because of worries about your workload or worries about how your boss treats you, then speak up and explain how you may have too much on your plate, or that you need better communication from management. You might actually end up revealing yourself as a human being – what’s so wrong about that?

Any respectable company will manage you well and reduce stress in the work place to a minimum. A good manager will never let you feel uncertain of where you stand, because they’ll know that having job security is important. If your employer is treating you in a way that makes you feel undervalued, and  makes you fear for your job, that is incredibly unhealthy and you need to just cut your losses an resign. If your employer is willing to care so little about how you are treated then it’s time to get the hell out of there.

6. You’re Counting Down the Hours Until the Day is Done

Working for the weekend is not a way to live your life. The most rewarding jobs are those that you genuinely enjoy every moment. Imagine that? Not looking at yourself in the bathroom mirror during your lunch break wondering where the hell you’re going in life. Does such a blissful day exist?

There are opportunities out there passing you by because you have no energy left after such a mentally exhausting day hating on your job. Keep searching and you will find something which is better than staring at the clock at 10am wishing the day was already over.

7. You Dread Walking Through The Doors

Everybody gets a bad case of the Mondays but if you’re wishing that when you get to work you’ll find the office has burned down to the ground – that isn’t healthy. Even the most successful people in the world don’t joyously backflip their way into work, but they certainly don’t walk through the door dreading the day either.

If you spend every morning feeling sick at the thought of going to work, that is (minus holidays and weekends) on average 260 days out of the year you are waking up and dreading the day ahead. Quite a morbid thought when you look at it that way, however this new perspective might help you move on to more positive pastures. Sometimes we need a reminder that life is short.

8. Your Gut Feeling Tells You To Quit

Nobody knows the real you better than yourself. If your brain is begging you to quit your job, before you both disintegrate into nothingness, then give yourself some respect and just quit. One day you will find something that your heart truly believes in.

If you’re not happy in your current role and your gut tells you that you’re not enough of a favourite to be getting any sort of promotion, quit.

Find the path you would love to take by writing down ten things that make you the happiest. Then find a career which is as closely connected to these as you can. Times might be tough starting again from scratch but five years from now you won’t be able to thank yourself enough.

9. Your Whole Team Is Miserable – Not Just You

People are not lying when they say “misery loves company”. If you find that the majority of your conversations with your work colleagues is hating on your place of work, then get the hell out of there! Toxic people and negative attitudes are highly contagious.

This might shock you but there are other people who actually enjoy checking in on their place of work. They exist, I have seen them! We’re not saying that you have to become BFF’s with everyone on the pay roll but genuinely smiling at those opposite the desk from you, rather than grumbling at them, will put a bit more life back into your soul.

10. You Don’t Believe There Is Any Other Option

The worst place you can be in mentally is hopelessness. Don’t ever think: “There are no other jobs out there. Who will have me?” You’ll be surprised just what you’re actually capable of as soon as you begin believing in yourself.

Write down on paper all the most incredible things about you – everything you have achieved. Now look at that paper again and you will see this is the CV you should be handing out to potential employers. Sell them on your creativity, your ability to think outside the box and your dedication. Your potential is endless and the world is your oyster – now write up that resignation letter and get moving on up!

Image credit: Office Space film