Are you wondering if you’re bad in your job? In today’s world of high job turnover and career jumps, it’s important to keep up if you want to keep your job. If a job isn’t working for you, then it’s best to keep an eye on new opportunities that might come your way. After all, staying with a company for years (and years and years) is becoming a thing of the past. But sometimes it’s hard to tell if your job isn’t right for you, or if you’re just plain bad at it. So we’ve compiled 10 signs to help you figure it out.
1. You Keep Getting Left Out
Sometimes when you’re about to get the axe, other parties at the company will be notified ahead of time (both for workload reasons and through the grapevine). A lot of times, if you’re the next to go, people will avoid including you in social events so they won’t have to face awkward questions.
2. Your Boss Avoids You
Similar to #1, a huge indicator that you might be on the chopping block is if your boss is avoiding you. Obviously as a subordinate, you normally have numerous, extended conversations with your boss. If these suddenly start to taper off, then it’s probably an indicator that he or she is waiting for the right time to bring up the bad news.
3. Your Workload Gets Lighter
If you start noticing that less and less work is coming down the pipeline, that’s usually a bad sign. It’s an indicator that a conversation has taken place on the top level about limiting the amount of responsibilities you have. That way there is less of a chance that your performance will affect a large part of the business. This is also a way for the company to start giving your work to other employees who will be there for a while.
4. You Receive Less Important Assignments
In addition to limiting your amount of work, managers who know you will soon be let go will stop giving you large-scale, high-level assignments. By doing this, they are both ensuring that none of your work will be left over after you leave and that your performance issues won’t affect an important part of the business.
5. You Feel Overwhelmed Despite a Light Workload
If you are starting to feel overwhelmed but notice that your workload is comparable (or much lighter) than fellow employees, this could be an indicator that you aren’t a great fit for the position. While this one is less of a red flag that people are considering letting you go, it is a way to tell if you aren’t exactly cut out for the job. A good way to amend this is to try to stay on top of your work by making priority lists or put in a few extra hours a week.
6. You Remain at Your Job Level for a Long Time
One of the best pieces of advice a jobseeker receives is this: if they are at a position for two or more years without any upward motion or change in title, then it is probably a good idea to look for another job. This indicates that you aren’t being challenged appropriately, and that perhaps there isn’t much of a future in this position. This is also an indicator that the higher-ups don’t have much faith in you over the long-term.
7. You Start to See Other Employees Taking Over Your Work
If you start to notice that other employees are working on similar projects as you, then this could mean your manager has assigned it to them to prepare for your departure. Similarly, if a colleague outright asks you details about how you complete your projects (when they haven’t shown much interest before), this could mean that they are preparing to take your work over soon—a red flag that you might be considered expendable.
8. You See More IT or HR Restrictions
If you start to notice that you’re locked out of certain servers or accounts (when you weren’t before), then this might be a sign of preparation for you being fired. Sometimes the first place this is seen occurs with VPN or remote access. If you suddenly aren’t allowed to access admin files or your email account when you aren’t in the office, then your privileges may have been revoked. This is usually step one for the IT team to ensure information safety when an employee leaves.
9. You Are Allowed to Slack Off
If you start to see less interest in your tardiness, whereabouts or general performance, then this could be a sign that your employer is “cutting their losses.” In other words, if they are going to let you go within a couple of weeks, they might not be concerned if you show up late or if you take a super long lunch break. While this might seem nice, it could mean your days are numbered.
10. You Aren’t Invited to as Many Team Meetings
Finally, if you notice that your meeting invites are decreasing and you see that subsets of your team are still attending the same general amount of meetings, then you could be on the shortlist to be let go. This is, again, a way for an employer to wean you off of forthcoming projects as to make the transition smoother. Similarly, if you are a part-time employee and you are being assigned to fewer and fewer shifts, your time at the company could be coming to a close.
