Working at a big corporation usually gives you stability, fairly good salary and health insurance. You get a limited amount of vacation days and you don’t have to think of work after 5 p.m. Great. But is it really great? Do you wake up happy each morning, and feel that you use your talent and make impact and love what you do? If so, congratulations. You’re one of the 30% of Americans who are engaged at work, compared to the other 70% who are not engaged at work according to recent Gallup study.
If you hate waking up on weekdays, think of quitting your job and wish for the workweek to be over, you should consider your situation and ask yourself if the 40h/week (at least) you spend at work is well-invested time? If your corporate job feels like just a job where you only care about the monthly paycheck, it’s time to leave. There is much more out there to pursue than a paycheck and a corporate logo in your e-mail signature.
Your life is valuable, treat it gently and don’t waste it on something you don’t like. Consider the five reasons below why you should quit your corporate job, and ask yourself if you’re truly satisfied with your job today.
1. Passion
Ask yourself these three questions:
Are you engaged in your job?
Are you longing to do it?
Would you do it in your spare time even if you didn’t get paid?
If the answer is no, you’re probably not passionate about the work you do. The one way to do great work is to be passionate about it. If you don’t have the passion, quit, and if you don’t know your passion yet, don’t settle and keep looking. Never settle. You won’t be happy or engaged without the passion, which will lead to poor results with no impact and a life far from its full potential. Passion will make you wake up happy each working day for the rest of your life because you won’t consider it as a working day.
2. Impact
Do you create a positive impact you’re proud of in your current job? Do you deliver authentic value? Or are you just a brick in the wall of the corporate HQ? The results of your work should be visible and valuable; your hard work should be meaningful and make sense. It should deliver value to others or the society. If it doesn’t, there is no point for you to continue doing it. Instead, find your passion and go for it; make your passion your new job. The authentic impact and value you will create will be worth a lot more than your monthly paycheck.
3. Dreams
In my belief dreams is the essence to our existence. They push humanity forward. Working at a corporate makes it difficult to find time and energy to fulfill your dreams and goals. To do that (if they aren’t related to your workplace) you need to step outside the walls of the golden cage that feed you. You need to see things from new angles, interact with people of different experiences and realize there is more to explore beyond your desk.
If your dream is to become an entrepreneur, but you’re not sure on what business to start, you have to leave the safety net and throw yourself out there to find what you want. Being safe won’t help you achieve your dreams.
4. Freedom
You don’t want to be a millionaire—you want to live like one. Having the freedom of your own destiny and impact, your own schedule, and the possibility to do what excites you and control your own lifestyle. Corporate paychecks and bonuses in your bank accounts won’t let you live your desired lifestyle since you are stuck in the corporate cage and never have time to spend the hard-earned money. Time is a valuable asset that can’t be bought. Be careful with it and use it wisely, preferably on your dreams and passions, and not on a corporate job you don’t care about.
5. Legacy
Nobody will remember you from a big corporation; you’re just an easily replaced number in a money-making factory. After all your hard work and efforts, you want to be remembered and cherished, right? Doing meaningful work that will leave a legacy behind in your name is important because it’s proof of your work and existence. It’s the gratitude to your talents and passions that people will remember forever, and it will be passed on for generations to come. We’re not eternal on this planet (as far as I know), leaving something of authentic value behind for others to enjoy and learn from is the least you can do for yourself.
If you’re still unsure about your current job situation, try this meaningful quiz to decide if you should quit your job or not.
