According to data released by Statista in November 2020, the global unemployment rate is at 5.42%. With the global unemployment rate reported to be at 5.39% in 2018, the global workforce has seen a 0.03 increase in unemployment from 2018 to 2020.

The numbers in Nigeria are even tougher to deal with. As reported by Statista October 2020, the unemployment rate is at 8.1%. The true picture lies in looking at how the unemployment rate has risen over a period. From 2013 to 2020, there has been a 4.4% increase in the unemployment rate in Nigeria.

Anyone with a job should treasure it at this time.

The decision to quit a job in such an unfriendly labour market has to be carefully thought out. Despite the bravery needed to take such a decision, there are occasions where it becomes the most viable decision to take.

Let us look at some of such situations where you may start to walk your way towards quitting your job.

1. You are consistently unhappy doing your work.

Nothing gives a clearer sign to either quit or not as much your state of happiness does. Beyond being motivated, do you wake up feeling sad realizing it is another day for work? Do you have more sad days at work than happy days? Do you feel disconnected from your day-to-day task?

Don’t give a blind eye to your feelings, they are strong indicators, reflecting your current state and what needs to quickly change.

2. You are convinced you need to move to do more.

Ever gotten to the point at work where you know there is no more room for you to improve? You simply have reached a resistance and may need to break out to do more.

Satisfaction truly comes when we are able to fully express ourselves and create impact through our works. When we constantly strive to always be our own competition and keep doing more, we then are sure of making significant impact both at work and in other parts of our lives.

3. You need to start your own thing.

Entrepreneurship doesn’t only provide the opportunity to create value by finding opportunities and delivering timely solutions, it also creates the room for entrepreneurs to fully express their abilities and meet personal goals and dreams.

Quitting your job to start your own business takes bravery. Entrepreneurs are risks takers and at such, taking big decisions is a thing they do whilst driving through the road to dreamland.

Katie Whitley shared this on LinkedIn.

“So last week I quit my job. At times I thought… Do you really want to be doing this.. mm I’m not sure? This is a huge risk? Possibly. Am I bloody mad? Maybe. But then I thought, why the hell not. I stopped telling myself about the possible risks. I stopped thinking and started doing. I changed my mindset and focused my mind on starting. Even though I am leaving an amazing team behind, I am beyond excited to be starting my new journey as the Founder of Kreate Ldn.

I have always had the ambition to start my own business, create a story of my own, be my own boss and to do what I most enjoy… Creating content! So today marks the official day that I am starting as the Director and owner of Kreate Ldn Ltd. A branding and content creation agency.

I’m going to be afraid, I’m going to mess up, and I’m probably going to think… “bloody Nora, what on earth have I got myself into here”. But I’m going for it! Quitting your job is the hardest thing do to, but I know the one thing I might regret is not taking the risk and trying.”

4. There is a better opportunity.

Sincerely, we all want to take better opportunities.

You may work for an employer so long that you become sentimentally attached. As professionals who are constantly seeking career growth, we need to grow beyond sentiments and be in close touch with happenings in our sector and the labour market, to understand how things are evolving and where the opportunities are.

Change is constant. Depending on what your current priorities are, you may consider quitting your current job for a better opportunity that is more sustainable, supports your career growth, provides better healthy work environment, offers more work flexibility, and any other thing that is a priority for you.

To conclude, given the evident bottlenecks in finding jobs in our current labour market, you don’t want to be quitting a job just because you or someone says so. You need to be strategic and have clear action plans in place to access better opportunities.

You need to be sure the opportunity is there and you can take it, before quitting your job. In the case of workplace aggression and/or abuse, you may want to just quit for good.