WEBVTT - Maybe it's just your job

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that you shouldn't leave the workforce when

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<v Speaker 1>you just hate your job. While leaving the workforce is

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<v Speaker 1>one way to solve that problem, it is entirely possible

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<v Speaker 1>that there is a better job out there if you

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<v Speaker 1>choose to leave the workforce. That should be something you

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<v Speaker 1>are running to. You don't want to be running away

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<v Speaker 1>from something else. So I have heard from a few

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<v Speaker 1>parents recently, generally mothers who had left the workforce for

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<v Speaker 1>a while to stay home with their kids. They had

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<v Speaker 1>been miserable in their jobs and had young children, and

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<v Speaker 1>so staying home seemed like a reasonable and socially acceptable option.

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<v Speaker 1>A few months into the gig, they realized they didn't

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<v Speaker 1>really want to be stay at home parents long term.

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<v Speaker 1>They turned out to have big professional ambitions. The problem

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<v Speaker 1>was the old job, not paid work. In general, I

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<v Speaker 1>have seen the same thing in the past with people

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<v Speaker 1>going to graduate school. Someone in a career rutt decides

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<v Speaker 1>to go back to school, only to realize that school

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<v Speaker 1>is a long and hard project. Now, don't get me wrong,

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<v Speaker 1>I am all for going to graduate school or staying

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<v Speaker 1>home with your kids. If that is what you want

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<v Speaker 1>to do, maybe you can picture the exact career you

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<v Speaker 1>want in the future and you know for sure that

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<v Speaker 1>a certain degree is necessary to get there. Maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>have been dreaming of being a full time parent for

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<v Speaker 1>years and it is finally a financially viable option. If

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<v Speaker 1>that describes you, amazing. But if you are contemplating grad

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<v Speaker 1>school or staying home with your kids primarily as a

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<v Speaker 1>way to have a legitimate sounding explanation for why you

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<v Speaker 1>are leaving your current job, well maybe time to think

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<v Speaker 1>this through. Grad School tends to be expensive, especially when

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<v Speaker 1>you consider what you pay intuition and the loss of

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<v Speaker 1>your previous salary. Grad school is often stressful as well

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<v Speaker 1>as for staying home with your kids again, you are

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<v Speaker 1>losing income, and, as any professional child care provider or

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<v Speaker 1>stay at home parent will tell you, taking care of

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<v Speaker 1>kids all day is hard, unrelenting work. If you are

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<v Speaker 1>choosing these paths, you want to truly be choosing these

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<v Speaker 1>things for their own sake, not as something that just

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<v Speaker 1>seems better than what you currently have. Because here's the thing.

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<v Speaker 1>If you hate your current job, you have a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of options besides leaving the workforce altogether. For instance, and

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<v Speaker 1>I know this seems obvious, you can get another job.

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<v Speaker 1>Very few people have truly optimized on the job front,

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<v Speaker 1>so don't assume that you will need to trade off

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<v Speaker 1>something you value in order to get something else. It

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<v Speaker 1>is entirely possible that you will find a better paying

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<v Speaker 1>job with more flexibility or work life balance if you look.

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<v Speaker 1>If you could find the time to apply to grad school,

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<v Speaker 1>you can find the time to research and apply for jobs,

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<v Speaker 1>have informational interviews, do career counseling, or whatever it takes

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<v Speaker 1>to figure out your next steps. If you would be

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<v Speaker 1>willing to quit entirely to stay home, maybe take some

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<v Speaker 1>PTO or even unpaid time off first to figure out

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<v Speaker 1>all the options that are out there. If you are

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<v Speaker 1>desperate to leave your job immediately but haven't found the

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<v Speaker 1>right new job yet, consider getting a temporary job or

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<v Speaker 1>take short term contracts while you look for your next

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<v Speaker 1>full time gig. Just be sure you think through health

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<v Speaker 1>insurance and have a solid emergency fund. Even if you

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<v Speaker 1>earn less in your transitional work than in the salary

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<v Speaker 1>job you leave, you are still pocketing a lot more

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<v Speaker 1>then if you left the work force altogether. Before you

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<v Speaker 1>decide to leave your job, you might also consider job crafting,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly if this isn't a good time for you to

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<v Speaker 1>find a new job, or if you've struggled to get

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<v Speaker 1>a new job that's the right fit. Try reframing your

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<v Speaker 1>current job. Can you focus on the aspects you enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>most and spend less time on what you don't like?

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<v Speaker 1>If you are working really long hours and experiencing a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of stress, is there a way you can dial back?

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<v Speaker 1>Pay attention to how colleagues with similar jobs who seem

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<v Speaker 1>less pressured navigate your workplace and see whether you can

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<v Speaker 1>learn from their examples. In many larger organizations, it might

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<v Speaker 1>be possible to move to a different department or team,

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<v Speaker 1>or to work with a different manager for a while.

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<v Speaker 1>You keep your seniority in benefits, but you might be

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<v Speaker 1>able to change your day to day experience a lot. Again.

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<v Speaker 1>If you want to go to grad school or be

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<v Speaker 1>a stay at home parent, those are wonderful choices, but

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<v Speaker 1>both can be challenging. If you want to take on

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<v Speaker 1>those challenges, be sure that you are actively embracing them.

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<v Speaker 1>You are running towards them, you are not choosing them.

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<v Speaker 1>Because that seems like a good story to tell for

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<v Speaker 1>why you are quitting your current job. The world of

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<v Speaker 1>work is larger than your current job, and if all

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<v Speaker 1>things consider, you'd like to continue to work for pay,

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<v Speaker 1>then no doubt you will be able to find something

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<v Speaker 1>amazing in time. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the moves of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeart media dot com. That before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I

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<v Speaker 1>look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>put action of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Ye