When Enough is Enough

Finding a job can be tough no matter how the general economy may be doing. Finding a good job when the economy is struggling is often times a full-time job, that demands all your resources, talents, patience and networking skills. Despite the actual or anticipated challenges to finding a job, there may come a time when you feel you must quit your sales job and take to your talents to the open market.

While leaving one job for another is usually an easier decision, leaving a job without another to go to takes courage, confidence and an unwavering belief in your ability to find a position. But when is enough truly enough?

Drastic Changes to Your Compensation Plan

While some may argue, most of us in sales are in sales in order to earn a substantial income. Yes, having passion for what you sell and enjoying those you work with are very important, but would you still work where you work if the pay was half what it is now?

Accepting that money is important, if your employer makes drastic changes to your comp plan that promise to reduce your income to a point that cannot sustain your desired quality of life, it may be enough to send you out of the door and out into the sometimes wonderful, sometimes horrific world of job searching.

Accepted Breaches of Ethics

If you hold your principles high and feel that ethical behavior from your employer (and employees) is of critical importance, then realizing that unethical behaviors are being tolerated or even promoted from your employer should mark the time you stand on your principles and take your skills elsewhere.

Evaporation of Work-Life Balance

For some, working 80 hours a week for their employer is no big deal. For others, anything over 40 is downright unacceptable. Only you can decide what a healthy work-life balance is for you and only you can decide if changes in your position have eroded your ability to maintain that balance.

Having no balance in your work and personal life can be very damaging; not only to your performance at work but also to your relationships, health, network and general sate of well-being. If changes at work are negatively affecting your personal life and the changes seem more long-term than short, leaving to rediscover your life’s balance may be in order.

A Host of Others and a Blend of Many

There are many other obvious reasons why walking out with nowhere to go is a good choice. For example, if you feel unsafe at work, harassed or grossly unappreciated. Sometimes, you hit the point of enough is enough not from a single, profound change but from a combination of smaller changes. I call this occurrence “death by duck bites.” One duck bite isn’t going to kill you, but get a few thousand angry ducks coming after you with aggressive beaks and you’d better take cover!

Quitting a job should always be done after much thought, reflection and honest introspection. Especially if quitting means you have no company name to put above your name on your business card!