Are You Ready To Quit Your Job?

Maybe YOU Should Fire THEM...

Women often stay in jobs too long," says Mary Lou Quinlan, author of Time Off for Good Behavior: How Hardworking Women Can Take a Break and Change Their Lives (Broadway Books). Here, her five signs that it's quitting time.

You're having "sick dreams." Do you fantasize about breaking your leg just to get out of work? Every day isn't supposed to be a dance of joy, but when bodily harm is preferable to enduring one more snore-inducing meeting, look for the nearest exit.

You're getting no love. Two or three people who joined the company after you did, or who are less qualified, have been promoted ‑- and you're still empty-handed. Maybe they're more cutthroat than you are. Maybe your boss just likes them better. Or maybe the only way you're going to move up is to get out.

Your self-esteem is taking a dive. You start feeling small, like your input doesn't matter. You're a cog, a faceless drone. It's a short trip from resentment to anger, and then just shutting down. Leave while you can still salvage some of your confidence.

You're burned out. Days start and end in the dark. You spend weekends catching up on what you couldn't fit in during the workweek. Does your boss work even harder than you do? Do you want to have her life one day? You can't change a company's culture, but you can change companies.

You're unpopular. No one CCs or IMs you anymore. Tell your boss you'd like to be in the loop and want more responsibility on certain projects, then knock yourself out to prove you've got what it takes. If your boss hems or haws, fire up that résumé.

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