How I knew it was time to quit my stable 9-5 job

Summary

In this reflective video, the creator shares her journey of quitting her job as a hospital social worker. She emphasizes the complexity of the decision, considering factors like job security, prestige, and the emotional toll of her role. The video offers four pivotal questions to help viewers evaluate their own job satisfaction and life balance, ultimately deciding to pursue a path that aligns better with her values and mental health.

Takeaways

• 😃 Today's the day one, eternity later I did it, I quit my job as a hospital social worker.
• 🤔 This video is not about encouraging everyone to quit their jobs, but rather providing useful insights on making such a significant decision.
• 💡 Quitting a job is a huge financial and emotional decision, and it requires careful consideration of many factors.
• 🔄 The decision to quit was not made overnight; it involved a lot of back and forth weighing the pros and cons.
• 📈 One important question to ask is what does the long-term career advancement look like in your current job.
• 💸 Another critical factor is the financial trajectory and whether it aligns with your personal financial goals.
• 🧠 Consider how your job is affecting your mental health and if it's worth the impact on other areas of your life.
• ⚖️ Evaluate the work-life balance your job allows, particularly in terms of energy, not just time.
• 🗣️ Ask yourself if the job brings out your best self, and if not, it might be time to move on.
• 👍 The decision to quit led to finding a new opportunity that is a better fit, allowing for growth and better work-life balance.

Q & A

Why did the speaker decide to quit her job as a hospital social worker?

The speaker decided to quit her job due to various reasons, including job dissatisfaction, burnout, lack of career advancement opportunities, and the impact on her mental and physical health.

What were the four main questions the speaker considered before quitting her job?

The four main questions were: 1) What does the long game look like if I stay in this job? 2) How is this job affecting my mental health? 3) How much work-life balance does this job allow me to have? 4) Does this job bring out my best self?

How did the speaker feel about the job title and the validation she received from others?

The speaker liked the validation and respect she received from others when she told them she was a healthcare worker. It boosted her ego and made her feel good about herself.

What did the speaker realize about the financial trajectory in her job?

The speaker realized that the financial trajectory in her job was not aligning with her goals. Despite stability, the salary increase was minimal and not keeping up with inflation, effectively reducing her income over time.

What impact did the job have on the speaker's mental health?

The job had a significant negative impact on the speaker's mental health, leading to burnout, low energy, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and poor physical health.

How did the speaker's job affect her work-life balance?

The job consumed 85-90% of the speaker's energy, leaving very little for other activities she cared about, such as spending time with loved ones, pursuing hobbies, and taking care of her health.

What question did the speaker's therapist ask that helped her decide to quit her job?

The therapist asked, 'Does this job bring out your best self?' This question helped the speaker realize that her job was making her irritable and unhappy, leading to her decision to quit.

What positive experiences did the speaker have during her time as a hospital social worker?

The speaker met amazing, compassionate, and hardworking colleagues, grew in confidence, and developed leadership skills despite the challenges she faced.

What new opportunity did the speaker find after quitting her job?

The speaker found a new opportunity in social work that she enjoys more. It offers better growth prospects, is more intellectually stimulating, and provides greater flexibility and work-life balance.

What advice does the speaker give to others considering quitting their job?

The speaker advises others to consider their career advancement, financial trajectory, mental health, work-life balance, and whether their job brings out their best self before deciding to quit.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 The Struggle of Quitting a Job

The speaker begins by sharing their personal experience of quitting their job as a hospital social worker, emphasizing that this video is not meant to encourage everyone to quit their jobs. They acknowledge the complexity of such a decision, involving financial and emotional considerations. The speaker reflects on their own internal debate about whether to stay or leave, considering the job security, stable income, and prestige they would lose. They also mention the hard work invested over four years and the societal respect they received as a healthcare worker, which made the decision difficult. The video promises to share four pivotal questions that helped the speaker decide to quit, with the first question focusing on the long-term implications of staying in the job.

05:01

💼 Career Advancement and Financial Realities

This paragraph delves into the speaker's contemplation of their career trajectory and financial future within their job. They discuss the limited career advancement opportunities, which would have led to a management role that did not interest them, essentially a dead-end. The speaker also shares a wake-up call regarding income, discovering a colleague's relatively modest salary increase despite years of service, and the implications of capped income with only a 1% raise per year. This financial trajectory did not align with their financial goals and highlighted the issue of income stagnation due to inflation, leading to a decision that the job was not worth the sacrifices in quality of life.

10:04

😓 Impact of Job on Mental Health

The speaker candidly discusses the severe impact their job had on their mental health, leading to burnout and symptoms akin to depression, such as low mood, energy, and irritability. They reflect on how burnout affected their daily life, including social interactions and decision-making abilities, and how it manifested physically with pains that disappeared post-quitting. The paragraph underscores the importance of considering the job's effect on mental health and its spillover into other life aspects, questioning whether the job's compensation is worth the toll on one's well-being.

15:05

🔄 Work-Life Balance and Personal Growth

The speaker explores the concept of work-life balance, highlighting the energy demands of their job and its impact on their personal life. They express dissatisfaction with the limited energy left for self-care, relationships, and hobbies after fulfilling job responsibilities. The paragraph also touches on the speaker's personality change due to job stress, becoming irritable and unpleasant, which affected their personal interactions. The speaker encourages viewers to consider the job's effect on their energy and personal growth, and whether it allows them to be the best version of themselves.

🌱 Growth, Reflection, and Moving Forward

In the final paragraph, the speaker reflects on the positive aspects of their experience, such as personal growth in confidence and leadership, and the inspiration drawn from passionate colleagues. They clarify that they did not quit to become a YouTuber or start a business but found a new opportunity that better aligns with their needs for growth, intellectual stimulation, and work-life balance. The speaker expresses excitement for the new challenges and the improved mental health prospects, inviting viewers to share their thoughts on job quitting and expressing gratitude for the overall experience.

Keywords

💡Quitting

Quitting refers to the act of leaving one's job or position voluntarily. In the video, the speaker discusses their decision to quit their job as a hospital social worker, explaining the thought process and the various factors that led to this decision, such as job satisfaction, financial stability, and mental health.

💡Job Security

Job security is the assurance that an individual will retain their job without the risk of becoming unemployed. The speaker mentions job security as one of the reasons they hesitated to quit their stable position, despite being unhappy with the job.

💡Career Advancement

Career advancement involves progression up the career ladder, typically leading to more responsibilities and higher pay. The speaker evaluates their potential career advancement as a hospital social worker and realizes they have no interest in the higher management roles available, contributing to their decision to quit.

💡Mental Health

Mental health refers to the state of one's emotional, psychological, and social well-being. The speaker discusses how their job negatively affected their mental health, leading to burnout and depression, and how this realization was pivotal in deciding to leave the job.

💡Burnout

Burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion often caused by prolonged stress or overwork. The speaker describes experiencing severe burnout as a hospital social worker, which significantly impacted their energy levels, mental health, and overall quality of life.

💡Financial Trajectory

Financial trajectory refers to the expected progression of one's earnings and financial status over time. The speaker highlights the limited financial growth in their job, noting that their salary would eventually cap, which contributed to their decision to quit in search of better financial opportunities.

💡Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is the equilibrium between time spent on work and personal life activities. The speaker reflects on the poor work-life balance in their previous job, where work consumed most of their energy, leaving little for personal interests and relationships, prompting their decision to quit.

💡Therapist's Question

The therapist's question is a pivotal moment in the video where the speaker's therapist asks if the job brings out their best self. This question leads the speaker to realize that the job negatively impacted their personality and overall happiness, solidifying their decision to quit.

💡Validation

Validation in this context refers to the recognition and respect the speaker received from others for their job as a healthcare worker. Despite enjoying this validation, the speaker ultimately decides that the drawbacks of the job outweigh the benefits of such external approval.

💡New Opportunity

New opportunity refers to the speaker's new job or career path after quitting their previous position. They mention finding a new role that aligns better with their strengths, offers room for growth, and provides better work-life balance and intellectual stimulation.

Highlights

The speaker quit their job as a hospital social worker and emphasizes the complexity of such a decision, acknowledging it's not a simple path to living the dream life.

Quitting a job is a significant financial and emotional decision that requires careful consideration.

The speaker struggled with the decision to quit, weighing the pros and cons over several months.

Job security, stable income, and prestige were factors that made the decision to quit difficult.

The speaker's hard work over four years and the fear of it being wasted contributed to the hesitation to quit.

Validation and respect received as a healthcare worker were ego-boosting but not enough to justify job dissatisfaction.

Four pivotal questions were instrumental in the speaker's decision to quit their job.

The first question pondered was the long-term career trajectory and personal interest in potential future roles.

A lack of interest in higher management roles indicated a dead-end in the speaker's career path.

The second question involved financial considerations, including income ceilings and the impact of inflation on earnings.

The realization of minimal income growth despite years of service was a wake-up call for the speaker.

Mental health impacts of the job, including burnout and its spillover effects on life, were critical considerations.

The speaker experienced physical health issues and mood disturbances as a result of job stress.

Work-life balance was evaluated, considering the energy consumed by the job and its effect on personal life.

The job's energy demands left little energy for personal interests and relationships, affecting overall life satisfaction.

The final question from the speaker's therapist was about whether the job brought out their best self, leading to a decisive moment.

The job had a negative impact on the speaker's personality, causing them to become irritable and unpleasant.

Despite the challenges, the speaker reflects positively on the experience, appreciating the personal growth and the inspiration from colleagues.

The speaker has moved on to a new opportunity that better aligns with their values and offers more flexibility and growth.

Transcripts

today's the day one

eternity later huh I did it

I quit my job as a hospital social

worker no I promise you this is not

gonna be one of those videos where I

tell you that if you don't like your

stabilize my job and it's taking away

from your life then you should just quit

and finally live the life of your dreams

we're actually trying to be useful with

this video and for most people quitting

your job is not that easy it's a huge

financial and emotional decision and

there are a lot of things to think about

before making that leap quitting my job

was not a decision that I came to

overnight there were a lot of reasons

for me to stay but there were also a lot

of reasons for me to quit and for months

I was going back and forth on should I

quit should I not quit I don't want to

be here but I like the stable income

this job feels meaningless but I like

the prestige personally the thing that

was making it hard is for me to quit

other than losing the job security the

stable income and the prestigious job

title was the fact that I had been

working my ass off for the past four

years to get to where I was and it felt

like if I were to just throw that all

away by quitting that all of my hard

work would have just gone to waste also

I feel like when you tell people that

you're a healthcare worker you're like

automatically respected and people's

reactions are usually something along

the lines of wow that is such a tough

job I could never do what you do we need

people like you and to be honest I kind

of got off on that like I I liked the

validation that I got from people when I

told them what I did for work it was

totally an ego thing okay I I admit it

despite all that though my final

decision was still to quit and looking

back on those few months leading up to

me quitting I can see that there were

four questions that I was pondering that

made it very clear that quitting my job

was the best decision and I'm gonna

share those four questions with you in

this video so that you can ask them to

yourself because if you clicked on this

video you're probably also thinking

about quitting your job so hopefully by

asking yourself these questions that'll

also help help you to make your final

decision and make sure you stick around

until the final question because it's

actually a question that my therapist

asked me and as soon as she asked me it

I immediately made up my mind about

quitting my job once and for all the

first question to ask yourself is what

does the long game look like if I stay

in this job no I think there are two

things that are really important to look

at when considering the long game the

first being career advancement typically

all jobs are associated with some sort

of career ladder where the higher up the

latter you go the more of a leadership

role you take on and the more money you

make personally if I continue to climb

the ladder that I was on as a hospital

social worker that would have meant that

I would have taken on a management role

where I would be managing employees

looking at data and essentially sitting

behind a desk answering emails all day

and that did not interest me in the

slightest I would have rather run a

double Marathon but because I had no

interest in any of the roles above me in

the ladder that I was on that

essentially meant that I had hit a dead

end with that role and I really did not

like the idea of that I'm not someone

that can stay stagnant I have to be

growing and learning and progressing at

all times but I want to be learning and

growing in ways that are worthwhile and

meaningful to me and with the role that

I was in that was just not it so before

you start climbing the career ladder

that you're currently on just because

you're currently on it I really invite

you to think about what would your

day-to-day tasks look like as you move

up that ladder and is that something

that you even want is that something

that even interests you and if it's not

and you also don't like the idea of

being in a dead-end job then it might

also be time for you to move on and find

something else that's a better fit for

you the second thing to consider when

looking at the long game is money let me

tell you about a moment where I had a

huge wake-up call so in Ontario Canada

where I live there is something called

the Sunshine List and the Sunshine List

is a list that gets updated every year

of all public workers that make over six

figures annually and this list discloses

all of these people's incomes and the

entire public has access to this list

and on this year's list I saw the name

of one of my colleagues who's been

working

longer than I've been alive at the

hospital and I have so much respect for

her and when I saw her income on this

list I realized that she was making only

about

15K more than I was as a brand new grad

and to me this made absolutely no sense

like she should be compensated so much

more so how race has worked with that

job was after he'd been working for a

certain number of years your income

would be capped and the only increase in

your income that you would get after

that would be a one percent raise every

year to account for inflation inflation

was like nine percent this year so if

you're only getting a one person raise

to account for inflation like how does

that the math is not mathing even in a

normal year when the economy is not on

fire inflation is still on average two

to two point five percent every year so

if I were only going to be getting a one

percent raise every year to account for

inflation that would essentially mean

that I would be taking a pay cut every

year and that pay cut would be getting

bigger the longer and longer that I stay

there now this financial trajectory

while it did offer stability it did not

align with my financial goals I really

didn't like that there was a ceiling on

my income and I definitely did not want

to be making less money every year like

I would rather deal with the instability

no some people might be okay with having

that ceiling on their income if that

means that they're going to get a stable

paycheck benefits and a pension and

there's absolutely nothing wrong with

that either and I'm sure that my

colleague that's been working for like

over three decades is gonna get a sick

pension as she should and I get that a

pension is supposed to be like delayed

gratification and I'm not asking for

instant gratification but I would also

like some

medium gratification either way if

you're also considering quitting your

job it's really important to look at the

current Financial trajectory that you

are on in your current job and if that's

something that you're okay with and if

it's something that aligns with your

personal goals and values and maybe if

you're not ready to quit your job

entirely it might not be a bad idea to

look into the possibility of negotiating

a raise or a bonus if that's something

that your workplace offers now

personally I was at a point where even

if I was offered a bit of a raise or a

bonus it still would not have been worth

it for me to stay in that job for what I

was giving up and that brings us to the

next question to ask yourself if you're

also considering quitting your job which

is how is this job affecting my mental

health I don't think it's a surprise

that I burned out hard working as a

hospital social worker and I actually

made a whole video on my whole burnout

recovery process if you're interested in

checking it out I'll link it somewhere

here but now that I'm out of that

situation I can look back on that time

and see that my mental health was so bad

like it's one of those situations that

you don't realize how bad it is until

you're out of it and something I'm aware

of now is that burnout is really akin to

depression in a lot of ways a lot of the

time you're experiencing the same low

mood low energy irritability difficulty

sleeping difficulty thinking and

concentrating and I do believe that our

modern Workforce is designed in a way

that makes people a lot more prone to

burnout and I mean they don't call

Millennials the burnout generation for

no reason and if your job is causing you

any level of burnout chances are your

burnout is probably having spillover

effects into other areas of your life

personally I was dealing with the lowest

energy that I have ever had in my entire

life like I started napping and I don't

nap like I think I've taken four naps in

my entire adulthood and all of them were

earlier this year when I was working

this job and my low energy also took

away from me wanting to do things that I

would normally enjoy and find fun like

going out and seeing my friends and I'm

really sad to say that I was not able to

show up as a friend as much as I would

like to this past year something that I

also learned is a symptom of burnout and

depression through this whole experience

is difficulty thinking and one of the

ways that shows up is an inability to

make decisions and my inability to make

decisions got me stuck in

unhealthy situations because I could not

make the decision to get out of them and

guess what one of those things was that

I couldn't make a decision about

you guessed it quitting this job and my

physical health took a toll too because

of my poor mental health at the time I

ended up getting these incessant pains

in my neck and my shoulders that just

magically went away after I quit this

job I also was not sleeping well at all

and I don't think I was eating properly

either because I couldn't feel my Hunger

cues because of how stressed I was so

overall my mental health was not doing

well and this time ramifications in a

lot of other areas of my life my health

my relationships my enjoyment of life

and the amount that I was being paid in

return for all of this without question

was not worth my quality of life and I

think it's really important for any of

us considering leaving our jobs to think

about what impact is this job having on

my mental health is that having any

other impact in other areas of my life

and is it worth it and if the answer is

no

my friend it is time for you to move on

the next question to ask yourself is how

much work life balance does this job

allow me to have work is not just the

eight hours a day five days a week that

you spend at work it's also the time

that you spend revolving your life

around work getting ready for work

traveling to work traveling back from

work running any errands after work

because you won't have time tomorrow

because you'll be at work and it's also

not just the time that you spend for

your job it's also the energy that you

send for your job which is even more

important and valuable than your time

the energy that you have left outside of

work is going to play a much bigger role

than the time that you have left outside

of work and determining how much

work-life balance you have let me

explain so if you have a very draining

energy demanding job such as working in

healthcare Chances Are by the end of the

day you are just spent and even if you

had time to go out and see friends or do

something that you would normally enjoy

with the six seven hours that you have

before you go to bed you might not have

the energy to do that with those six

seven hours and you might just want to

go home and watch Netflix on your couch

and sleep instead and chances are you

probably should if you have to go back

to the hospital the next day now there's

absolutely nothing wrong with that

lifestyle where your job takes up most

of your life and for some people that

works really well for them but

personally for me I don't prefer to give

as much of my energy as I was to my job

my job was easily consuming

85 to 90 percent of all of my energy and

that meant that I only had 10 15 left to

give to things that I actually care more

about things like taking care of my

health spending time with the people

that I care about doing things I enjoy

like reading and writing and making

these videos my energy is a very limited

precious resource and I need to be very

selective of how and where I'm spending

my energy and how much of it I'm

spending on any given thing and with

this job because it was consuming the

vast majority of my energy that meant

that my work-life balance was terrible

so if you're also thinking about

quitting your job I would really invite

you to think about how much work life

balance does your job currently allow

you to have in terms of your energy not

your time and are you okay with that and

are you okay with the energy that you

have left to give to the other areas of

your life and depending on your unique

situation it might not be a bad idea to

see before quitting your job can you

negotiate any more flexibility in your

current job so that it's not taking up

as much of your energy like can you see

if there's the option that you can work

from home or have flexible work hours

but if that's not possible for you and

you are really looking to have some more

work-life balance and then it might also

be time for you to move on now this next

question is actually a question that my

therapist asked me and as soon as she

asked me it I immediately made up my

mind that I am going to quit and that

question is does this job bring out your

best self I did not realize how much of

a raging I have inside me until I

started this job and like I'm usually

pretty decently warm and friendly person

but at this job I became a complete

monster I'm surrounded by idiot I have

asked you thrice now get

I was the most irritable annoyed

frustrated version of myself and I

really did not like her she was Snappy

everything pissed her off and the thing

that bothers me the most about this cage

in my personality was that this work

version of myself started showing up in

other areas of my life and I could feel

myself being

objectively unpleasant and because of

that I started thinking that I shouldn't

hang out with anyone because I didn't

want to subject them to my

unpleasantness we spend so much of our

day and most of the best years of our

life working so might as well make it an

experience that we're excited and

enthusiastic about and that brings out

the best in us so I really invite you to

ask yourself this question and it might

also be the last thing that you need to

help you make your final decision also

I'm realizing that this video was

sounding really negative and I don't

want this video to deter anyone from

pursuing a career in social work or

healthcare because a lot of positive

came out of this experience for me too

first of all healthcare workers are some

of the most amazing people you will ever

meet they are just some of the most kind

compassionate most hard-working

passionate people that you will ever

meet and I met so many people that I

respect so much and who inspired me with

how much passion they have for the work

that they do and I also did grow in a

lot of ways that are really important to

me and I can definitely say that I'm

much more confident as a person now and

a lot of that is because I was forced to

be a leader in this role and I'm usually

more of a follower and I'm usually a lot

more shy but now I have no problems

being more directive and assertive when

I have to be overall I have no regrets

at all about this job and I'm really

happy that I was able to have this

experience I was just at a point where I

had gotten everything that I could out

of this job and it was clear that it was

not a good fit for me and that it was

time to move on to something else now

this is the part of the YouTube video

where I'm supposed to tell you that I

quit my job to be a full-time YouTuber

or start my own business or something

and this is not the case for me right

now maybe one day it will be but for now

I am still passionate about social work

and I do want to keep practicing as a

social worker and I have found a new

opportunity and I gotta say I'm enjoying

it a lot more I think it is a much

better fit for me and my personality and

strengths there is a lot more room for

growth both financially and career-wise

it's much more intellectually

stimulating so I'm looking forward to

having that healthy challenge and it

does allow for a lot more flexibility so

I'm looking forward to having more work

life balance and having more of my

energy back and I think that's gonna

make the world of a difference for my

mental health health and how I feel

overall I'd love to hear your thoughts

on this topic of quitting your job it's

like one of my favorite conversation

topics these days so let's continue this

conversation in the comments and in the

meantime I hope you're staying healthy

and safe and I will see you next time

bye