Should You Quit During the Great Resignation? Ask Yourself These 10 Questions

As a decision coach, I help people choose to quit (or not) all the time. People call me when they’re trying to figure out whether to leave a job, a location, even a relationship. Quitting is hard. People have a tendency to gravitate toward the status quo, preferring to stick with what they know.

When it comes to your career, quitting comes with big risks: That new dream job could turn out to be a nightmare, your savings may dwindle, or you could find yourself wishing you’d never left. But I’ve also seen that sometimes not quitting means you’re rejecting the possibility of an exciting new job, a thrilling career change, or the life you’ve always wanted—all out of fear. Figuring out what’s right for you is the tough part.

One thing is certain: Quitting is on a lot of people’s minds as we start to imagine a post-pandemic future. A survey by Prudential showed that 26% of American workers (and 34% of millennials) plan to look for new jobs once the pandemic is over. Other surveys have it at roughly half. And there’s a lot of buzz around “the great resignation” or “the great reshuffle” or “the talent tsunami” (pick your favorite name!) that’s coming as the economy recovers and workers start actively looking for new opportunities. In fact, it looks like it’s already happening, with voluntary quit rates reaching a two-decade high in April and May 2021.

COVID has made us reconsider our priorities. Some of my recent clients have quit jobs because they’ve been required to go back to the office but they don’t want to give up working from home, or because they’ve realized that there are way better options out there and that the job market favors workers more than it used to. Some have been disappointed by how their company treated its workers during this difficult time. Others are burnt out from balancing work and parenting. And still others have found that their ambitions have stagnated since the pandemic started and they’re looking for a fresh opportunity to jumpstart their career—or they’ve used the pandemic to rethink their career and have decided to take a different path entirely.

Thinking of quitting your job but not sure if it’s the right move for you right now? Let me help. Ask yourself these 10 questions to figure out whether you’re better off staying where you are or looking for something new. (And if you do want to start a search—or just see what’s out there—you can find open roles right here on The Muse.)