As the old saying goes: People don’t quit their jobs; they quit their bosses. While this may not happen to all workers 100% of the time, it’s a common situation shared by many.
On the other hand, some professionals tend to be proactive in their careers, most especially when preparing for a promotion or a career change. At times, you may be preoccupied to spot some changes around you, including how your boss treats you at work.
Now, you might be wondering about these two things:
- How do you know when it’s time to leave a job?
- Can your boss tell you to quit?
While you’re looking out for signs that you’re ready for a new job, you might not notice that your boss is doing something to make you quit right away. Bosses might do this for a variety of reasons, and you shouldn’t disregard it. That said, look out for these top signs your boss wants you to quit.
1. Your daily tasks are being micromanaged.
Having a micromanaging boss who doesn’t give you room to breathe can be one of the most exhausting experiences you’ll ever encounter in your career. If you’re dealing with this kind of situation, you might feel that every move you’ll make is being watched and criticized. On top of that, you’re being required to document every single thing that you do. This can be a sign that your boss starts to lose trust in you and in what you’re doing at work.
2. Your boss is no longer assigning tasks that challenge you.
There will be times when you’ll feel unmotivated to be up to the challenge and go beyond what’s expected from you in your career. While that is highly possible, so is having a boss who’s not proactively collaborating with you to achieve your career goals. One example of this is when you don’t feel the impact your work brings either to the customers your company aims to serve or to your employer as a whole. To add, your boss doesn’t entrust certain tasks to you that would rather make your role more fulfilling. This is notably true if you went out of your way to ask for new opportunities to stretch your skills, but got denied or ignored by your boss.
3. Your boss isn’t actively helping you advance your career.
A common quality of good managers is when they commit to helping their direct reports craft their career plan and customize it to their individual career goals. This should be their way of helping you advance professionally. After all, you may experience a lack of upward mobility if your boss doesn’t get involved in helping you realize your growth potential. No matter the size of the business or organization, managers play a key role in ensuring their subordinates have clear expectations on how they can support each other. If this is something you can’t relate with since your boss “prefers” to overlook your growth, this might be one of the signs your boss wants you to quit.
Take Charge of Your Career
While these signs may be too much to take in or can be hard to accept, remember that you have the power to decide for your own career. As soon as you spot these signs your boss wants you to quit and you’re stuck in a situation wherein your career growth is hampered, you might have to take that courageous step to assess where you are and see where you want to go. You may choose to make proactive decisions on how you can improve your working relationship with your boss, search for ways how you can communicate your concerns, or even take on a new opportunity that may best suit your career needs.
Need other relevant blogs like this? Check out more of Bossjob’s career advice and job search tips!
