There are plenty of good reasons to quit a job. Maybe you want better pay, need to get away from a toxic boss, or are ready to pursue a different career. A few years ago I left what had once felt like a dream role because I was burned out past the point of no return.
Should You Quit Your Job?
Advice on how to decide
Summary.
There are plenty of good reasons to quit a job. Maybe you want better pay, need to get away from a toxic boss, or are ready to pursue a different career. But quitting can be scary, because it also highlights what you stand to lose: the relationships you’ve cultivated with colleagues, the comfort of a familiar boss and organization, financial stability, sometimes even your sense of yourself as a gritty, resilient, loyal person.
This article reviews several new books—Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away; Two Weeks Notice: Find the Courage to Quit Your Job, Make More Money, Work Where You Want, and Change the World; and My What If Year: A Memoir—that offer advice for weighing the benefits and the costs of quitting.
A version of this article appeared in the March–April 2023 issue of Harvard Business Review.