How I knew it was time to quit my stable 9-5 job
Summary
TLDRIn 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
- π Today's the day one, eternity later I did it, I quit my job as a hospital social worker.
- π€ This video is not about encouraging everyone to quit their jobs, but rather providing useful insights on making such a significant decision.
- π‘ Quitting a job is a huge financial and emotional decision, and it requires careful consideration of many factors.
- π The decision to quit was not made overnight; it involved a lot of back and forth weighing the pros and cons.
- π One important question to ask is what does the long-term career advancement look like in your current job.
- πΈ Another critical factor is the financial trajectory and whether it aligns with your personal financial goals.
- π§ Consider how your job is affecting your mental health and if it's worth the impact on other areas of your life.
- βοΈ Evaluate the work-life balance your job allows, particularly in terms of energy, not just time.
- π£οΈ Ask yourself if the job brings out your best self, and if not, it might be time to move on.
- π 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
π€ 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.
πΌ 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.
π 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.
π 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.
π± 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Quitting
π‘Job Security
π‘Career Advancement
π‘Mental Health
π‘Burnout
π‘Financial Trajectory
π‘Work-Life Balance
π‘Therapist's Question
π‘Validation
π‘New Opportunity
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
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