Should I Leave My Soul Draining Job Or Stay?

By Selipha Kihagi

Natasha is an Account Manager at a leading manufacturing company in the country. She has been in her post for 3 years now, after working and scheming her way up the ladder to make manager. While her job is lucrative enough to help support her two children through a posh lifestyle that she had always dreamed of, now everything seems to be crumbling on her.

“Don’t get me wrong, I do love my job. Every aspect of it is something I always knew I could do and the position has provided me connections and influence in all the right places,” Natasha says. “But lately I feel stressed out from the long hours and constant complaining from my children that I am never there. I have cancelled on school visits and instead sent my assistant with presents, missed out on their birthdays and will sometimes send them on vacation with their nanny just because I am too busy at work.

The first and second year I didn’t see anything wrong with this, but now everything is changing. I am stressed out at all times and it has started affecting my job. I consider leaving, but if I do, I am worried I will regret my decision.”

This kind of situation would put anyone in a difficult position, not only the experienced but also those who are just starting off in their career. To leave your job or stay is one of the most difficult decisions you can make, but at the end, the decision has to be made.

So, should you leave your soul draining job or stay?

Before making this decision, it is crucial that you weigh all the options and assess which outcome is most favourable to you. And to successfully do this, here are a few things to run in your mind;

1. Why are you in your current job?
People are usually in their jobs for various reasons, which are best known to them. For Natasha, the job is one she has always wanted. What about you? Is your job a passing wind or is it something you would like to develop further. If the job is a passing wind, then your decision should be easier to make; there is no point in going under depression for a job you don’t even love.

For those who actually love their jobs but other factors contribute to their feeling overwhelmed, the decision becomes harder. If you are in this category, your best option would be to try and negotiate flexible working hours with your boss. If it works out well and you get the hours, then good for you. If it doesn’t, try and look for a similar job but with better working hours.

2. What job would you do if you were to leave?
The decision to leave a soul draining job becomes even more regrettable if you realize you have no idea of what to do next. Yes, you might think of applying for another job or starting up your own company, but this is not really a laid out strategy. If you do research, you will find that most people that leave their job and succeed usually have an idea of what they want.

And you should too. If your soul draining job appears to be the better option for you than that which you plan to do after, then it might not hurt to hold on a little longer or find ways to go through each day. If what comes to mind sounds more promising that your current one, then by all means take that leap. However crazy it might be, it is all about you. Some people may consider changing careers altogether. It is up to you to do the assessment and make a decision.

3. Is the issue you are having at work manageable?
Sometimes we forget to look past the difficulties we are experiencing and this becomes the root cause of all wrong decisions made. Successful people advise that you must never make a decision based on your current emotion, and the Bible goes on to support this fact. The same is applicable when deciding whether to leave your soul draining job or stay.

Just because your boss reprimands you on a daily basis or your co-workers gossip about you like it’s an every day job does not mean you need to leave. Think about what you could do about the situation. Can you fix the faults that your boss calls you out on every single day? Can you move your desk to a corner where you do not have to hear your co-workers gossip about you? If it’s your family that requires more time with you, is there a way you sit them down and discuss your options to work around days you can spend time? It’s all about finding a balance; if you can find it then staying is the smart option. Only when you can’t find a balance should you leave.

Every problem has a solution, and the solution does not always have to be drastic. The same applies when it comes to a soul draining job. You can’t just leave your job because every bone in your body seems to be cracking from the pressure or discomfort, take time and lay out all your options before making that decision. You’d be surprised that all you need is to work around it, not leave.

Do you have a query about your career? Leave a comment below

15 Comments

  1. I got tired of applying for jobs.Recruiters never gave me an opportunity and made me feel like I was not good enough yet I know how good I am.I went out there and started my own business and I have never regretted. You can do that,too.

  2. Hi,my career is one that can allow me to work from home but the boss doesn’t allow it.Sometimes i feel i should have more time with family and the best way would have been if i can be allowed to work from home on some days.Why do you think the boss is adamant?

  3. I do not want to quit my job because I need the money but it is frustrating because there is no promotion and worse when I applied for the job it said accounts assistant but ended up being a clerical job. I am bored out of my mind because most of the time I don’t have anything to do and make up things that would improve our work as my own initiative. Being a creative, I love being busy and challenged. I have been applying for jobs for a while but haven’t gotten even one. I am just so bored and running crazy. What do I do?

  4. I work in a large scale hardware as a stock data clerk.I counted all the items which the boss was supposed to fill on the data system. There are more than a thousand items. The boss has filled only a few items after I insisting alot. She seems not interested in doing this work yet she wants to be the only one doing it.she doesn’t want to see me sitted at my desk but to be in the store everyday counting stock.then I would update in a record book daily. .am at the third book repeating the same items. I am exhausted, I feel like am being just helped with money monthly because I don’t see results, I can’t quit this job because am the breadwinner in my family. I f I quit today there will be no rent end month if I don’t have a job.I Don’t have strength yo count those items anymore. I feel like crying all the time and I have to hide this stress from my family and colleagues. I am a good office administrator. If anyone has an opportunity kindly contact me.I need help.I am fatigued and stressed. I have persevered this situation for 3 months now.

  5. Every job has its own challenges my dear. Kindly, remain committed to your job and dont quit.

  6. Hi Jane. Most recruiters look for experience and what you have been doing in your resent years before you are considered for any post. Be assured that regardless of what you are doing, that alone will earn your a better opportunity. know this, Business management is the mother of all business related careers sales inclussive. You have exellent experience. thanks

  7. Hi Milka,
    My name is Geoffrey.

    You can apply for Sacco Clarical Duties, Accounts Treasury, Banks Operations persons or Reconcilliation officer, Credit control person and accounts assistant withing finance department.

  8. I have been working in sales field which is not my chosen field,i feel so bad because i now work just to earn and not loving what am doing.kindly advice,i have done business management and ave tryng looking for a job in vain..

  9. Hi, please advice. I have been workingin a realestate company. This is the 3year now. Love my work as an administrator and a PR officer. My soul draining situation comes in when the company does not meet the client’s needs and been all alone in the office as my bosses are never there, find it difficult to handle all the complants. Some clients go forward and threaten me when i try to defend the company. We never have meetings where i can raise my problems. Our communication is always via the phone… My bosses comes in the office like once in a week. Am determined to get a new job by the end of this year where my hard work can be credited and recognised. All in all my clients appreciates my services very much and this has made me perservere and overcome pressure. Kindly advice. Thanks

  10. Hi Dorcas, sorry for not been able to get a job, there is a new hotel opening along thika road and i wish you forward your application papers, hopelly you will get the job, all the best in life.

  11. I find it difficult to get a job in the accounts field, I can’t really know who are the best employers to approach, how to approach and who to use. Most of the Recruiting companies i have tried have not given me any postive response either. I have not been called for any interview. Where could the Problem be? could be that I am over anticipating to get what i can not afford?

  12. i am jobles i have been looking for a job for 3 yrs, i visited a lot of websites of jobs even office still not not! so can you help me a way to get job, i am at east Africa Somalia

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