Should I Quit My Job: Signs It’s Time (And Red Flags to Never Ignore)

Thinking about quitting? You've got company. In 2025, 38% of American workers are planning to leave their jobs, and that's up from 32% last year. The workload keeps piling up, wages stay flat, and most days you feel like just another replaceable part. Add in the fact that 72-82% of workers report moderate to very high stress, plus burnout that's gotten out of control across all age groups, and yeah, wanting out makes sense.

So let’s talk about it. This guide skips the unhelpful "follow your passion" advice and focuses on what actually matters. We'll look at the warning signs you should keep in mind while you stick it out a bit longer as well as the genuine signs it's time to leave. 

How do I know if I should quit my job?

Run through these five questions: 

1. Have I actually tried to fix this through talking it out, negotiating, or setting boundaries? 
2. Is this about the job or about my whole career? Would the same role somewhere else be better? 
3. Am I moving toward something good or just running away from something bad? 
4. Can I handle this financially for roughly six months? 
5. Will I kick myself later for not trying one more thing? 

If you think through these honestly and still want to quit, you're making a real decision, not just an emotional reaction.

Warning signs to quit your job because of stagnation

We all experience some form of stagnation every once in a while — it’s perfectly normal. But when it becomes chronic, it can drag down a career. So before we start throwing up red flags (which we will just below), let’s look at some useful indicators to keep in mind when trying to determine how severe your career stagnation is:

Boredom

Now, work isn’t always exciting, but when your responsibilities no longer feel challenging in any way, or when your daily tasks feel drearily rote and routine, this is a sign that you might be stagnating.

Low motivation

This is something that comes on bit-by-bit, but when it becomes chronic, you can spot it. If you find yourself wondering why any of your tasks matter, forcing yourself to care even slightly about meetings, or needing to drag yourself to work day-in, day-out, you might be experiencing the ill effects of a stagnating career.

Disengagement

This covers more than just sometimes feeling unenthusiastic about work mixers. It’s broader. Maybe you can’t generate any interest to explore trends in your industry. Maybe there are professional development opportunities out there, but they just don’t spark any curiosity in you, or you don’t even look for them. This sort of global disengagement can be the outcome of a career that’s stagnated for too long.

The stagnation red flags: when it’s time to look for something new

All of those qualities do matter, and when they last for too long, they can even turn into red flags. But let’s get into the ways you can know it’s really time you consider looking for a new job. See, these symptoms of career stagnation can have a real impact on your life.

Plateauing salary

Inflation is a thing. That means that, unless your pay is pegged to inflation, the salary you got when you first accepted your job offer actually has less purchasing power than it did when you started. If you haven’t gotten a raise in years, you’re functionally making less money. We’ll just underline it: that’s not a good thing. You deserve proper compensation, so if your salary has stagnated for too long, that’s a red flag that you should start thinking about a new job.

Skill obsolescence

If you’re doing the same thing every day, using the same tools, and not gaining new know-how, whether in hard or soft skills, then you might find yourself underprepared for a job search down the line. See, industries develop and evolve, and to stay attractive and competitive as a potential hire, you need to develop and evolve as well. If you’re not doing that in any shape or form, that’s a major sign you should consider new avenues.

Underperformance

Missed deadlines. Feedback that your work isn’t quite cutting it. Stupid mistakes. You used to be a top performer, but over time, the warning signs above might have led you to pull back, and now your performance is suffering.

If and when you want to move onto something greater, more inspiring, or less dreary, you might need to present a portfolio of work. And if your work is half-baked because stagnation left you uninterested and disenchanted with your tasks, you might miss out on that better opportunity. Seeing yourself send in work you know isn’t up to snuff? That’s a red flag.

Warning signs to quit your job because of toxicity

Now, some friction or difficulty at work is perfectly normal. Companies are built by people, and people are fallible. After all, who among us hasn’t accidentally slept through an alarm or forgotten to buy that one ingredient they really needed from the grocery store?

However, if you’re worried that you might be in a toxic workplace, there are a few indicators of toxicity. The key here is their duration and degree.

Miscommunication

This is something present throughout companies, and it’s an inevitable product of people being, well, people. If there’s an occasional misunderstanding, or if someone fails to fully clarify a point every once in a while, you’re likely just handling the normal realities of working with fellow humans. But if vital information is intentionally withheld, colleagues refuse to respond to clarifying questions, or if there is little to no communication across teams, you might be in a toxic environment.

Micromanagement

This is another indicator that only becomes worrying when it gets out of hand. If you’ve got a big project that’s of vital importance to the company, your manager can likely be forgiven for getting a little too hands-on. If, on reflection, you can see that your manager tends to respect you and give you the space to do your job, you’re probably fine. However, micromanagement can be a sign of toxicity at work when you feel like the vast majority of your decisions are second guessed, when your instructions are restrictive and patronizing, or when your work is regularly interrupted because management keeps checking in on you.

Negativity

Rough days happen. A project can hit irksome roadblocks. A company can have a not-so-stellar quarter. It’s perfectly healthy and understandable that people would respond to setbacks with negative emotions. Negativity only becomes toxic when it starts getting rampant: Casual conversations with your colleagues are mostly complaints, and there’s a general sense of dissatisfaction leading to low morale across the company, for example. If no one seems to find any satisfaction in their work, and if you find yourself slipping into chronic negativity about your job, you might be in a toxic environment.

Red flags: When you need to quit because of toxicity

While all the above are things to keep an eye out for, and they can indicate toxicity in a workplace based on their extent, they’re not the immediate red flags telling you that you really do need to get the heck out of there. But there are major indicators, too.

Bullying, harassment, and other hostile behavior

If your boss has yelled at you for a minor infraction, if you are the target of “jokes” at the expense of your identity, or if the feedback you get is more insulting than constructive, you seriously need to look at where you’re working. Hostility is one of the most overt signs of a toxic workplace, and rarely (if even ever) is a position worth the psychological damage that results from what is, essentially, abuse.

Unethical behavior

You should never be asked to do something that clashes with your moral code. Doctoring numbers for the sake of the business, pushing messaging that you know to be false, and engaging in practices that fundamentally exploit customers rather than provide a service or a product — none of it is worth it. If you’re at a company that is unconcerned about ethics, you should start looking at ways to get out. An organization that doesn’t respect laws and regulations won’t have compunctions about severely mistreating its workers, either.

High turnover rate

If the company can’t hold on to its employees, there’s a reason why. This could be poor work-life balance, disrespect from management, or just too much stress. Each departing worker will likely have their own rationale for their exit. If you’re getting an inkling that your work might be toxic, look at how well your company retains its workers. If people are leaving at an alarming rate, then they might know something or might have experienced something you’ve been thus-far insulated from. A large number of people abandoning the company is a strong indication you might want to follow suit.

But how do I know if my workplace is toxic or just stressful?

Stressful places have rough patches but still respect boundaries, recognize when you're working hard, and have your back. 

Toxic places? You'll see constant disrespect or bullying, leadership that models terrible behavior, punishment when you try to set boundaries, no psychological safety, zero consequences for people who behave badly, and problems that never get fixed no matter how many people complain. 

If Sunday nights make you feel sick, you're getting belittled regularly, or speaking up gets you retaliated against instead of heard, that's toxicity, not stress. Listen to your gut.

Warning signs to quit your job because of misalignment

Feeling like you and your job aren’t ideally matched is something that is bound to happen once in a while. After all, companies are built by people who come with all their quirks and unique backgrounds. With so many differing viewpoints interacting, it’s inevitable that a company won’t always feel like it’s necessarily right for you. But here are some warning signs to look out for that indicate the mismatch might deserve more attention.

Dissatisfaction

A sense of dissatisfaction can be a sign you and your work don’t match up, but only if this becomes chronic. Rough days happen, as do rough weeks, and sometimes you’re going to feel annoyed at that one thing that one person did. But if there are only rare days when you feel satisfied in your work, days when you can explain what you did with a sense of pride, then that’s a warning sign you might need to consider a change.

Lack of confidence

Often, a lack of confidence is a side effect of starting something exhilarating. After all, when you launch a new professional journey, you’re not going to have all the skills and knowledge you soon will. You’re not confident because you’re new to things. However, with time, this feeling should fade. If it never does (and you’re sure it’s not just imposter syndrome), that’s a warning sign that something’s not working out with your professional path.

Procrastination

This can be an indication of two underlying issues: disengagement and disempowerment. If you’re just uninterested in your work, then you might be tempted to put it off and put it off because it’s just dreary. Likewise, if you feel unequal to the tasks assigned to you, you might delay tackling them to avoid the discomfort that’s inherent in struggling with something you don’t quite know how to handle. In either case, if you find yourself procrastinating more and more often, this is an indication you should take a hard look at your career.

Red flags: When misalignment means it's time to go

Now, while the above entries are good pointers that you should take some time to evaluate if you and your current job are a match, the following are much more serious. If you find yourself wondering if you should quit because of an incongruity between you and your job, and you find that disconnect listed below, that’s a red flag you need to really start looking for a new path.

Ethical conflict

Let’s say you take a job at a philanthropic organization. Let’s say you discover that the funds you’re helping distribute to noble causes actually come from a company whose profits arose from aggressively pushing an addictive medication whose overprescription has led to a major public health crisis (to just come up with a totally random example). 

Your ethics might not allow you to look past the instigation of misery for profit even if that profit is directed to improving the world. While you may not be in this specific and very hypothetical situation, if you and your company differ on core ethical principles, that’s a red flag it’s time to look elsewhere.

Cultural friction

Each company has its own philosophy of what work culture should look like, and it might just not match up with yours. What we mean here is that you might find that a shared sense of values is absent. For example, the culture might expect you to be always reachable on your phone, and you might want to disconnect and instead see your kid’s trombone recital.

If you cannot play the specific game the culture expects you to, then you might find yourself struggling not only to live the life you want to, but also to grow professionally.

After all, if you’re seen as uncooperative or out of sync with how things are done, you might be seen as less worthy of promotion. If you find yourself chafing against your company’s work culture, that’s a red flag you should explore a career somewhere else.

Incompatible professional goals

The thing about this red flag is that it might only come out with time. In fact, starting out at a company, your aspirations and those of the company might match up perfectly. However, as you learn and you grow within your role, you might find that you’ve progressed as far as you’re going to get in that particular position. 

If your company doesn’t adapt to your maturing skills and knowledge to realign with your new ambitions, then your career can stall. It might not be the result of malicious forces trying to keep you down or anything as dramatic as that — you might just naturally hit a ceiling. But this mismatch can be detrimental to your future career. When your professional goals outstrip what’s on offer in your company and there’s no change forthcoming, then this is a red flag you should consider a switch.

See if a career switch is right for you

If you see yourself in any of these entries and want to check if it’s truly the time to make the change, we have you covered. Take our quick career-switch quiz here.

FAQ

What are the biggest signs I should quit my job?

The biggest signs you should quit are consistent toxic behavior, zero growth opportunities no matter what you try, work that's actively hurting your physical or mental health, situations where you're being asked to compromise your values, and pay that's way below market with no real path to fix it. When you're dealing with several of these at once, i.e., you’re underpaid, undervalued, and burnt out, you're probably better off planning a smart exit than holding out hope things will get better.

How much money should I have saved before quitting?

Most financial advisors say you should save three to six months' worth of living expenses before you quit without something lined up. Figure out your absolute minimum monthly costs for rent, utilities, food, insurance, and debt payments and multiply by six. Got dependents or work in a field where hiring takes forever? Push that savings buffer to up to nine months. This safety net keeps you from making panicked choices and gives you actual leverage when negotiating.

Should I quit even if I don't have another job lined up?

You should quit without another job lined up only if things are really bad like your health is actively suffering, you're dealing with serious harassment, or there are major ethical violations. In pretty much any other situation, job hunting while you're still employed gives you huge advantages: a steady paycheck, a better position to negotiate, no gaps in your resume, and the luxury of being picky. The 2025 job market is in this weird "low-hire, low-fire" mode that makes this even more important. 

Should I quit my job if I'm unhappy?

Quitting your job if you’re unhappy is a personal choice, and the question often requires deeper analysis. Figure out what's actually making you unhappy. Is it something fixable, like a bad project? Or is it something endemic to the job, like a toxic culture? If it seems fixable, try to fix it. If it’s irreparable, get out. It’s worth also examining your career as a whole: is it time to make a larger change? One thing to say: if you choose to leave, do it with a plan. Your wellbeing counts, but that includes being able to pay rent.

How long is too long to stay in one position?

There's no magic number for “too long to stay in one position.” Staying two to three years per job is pretty normal and shows you're not flaky. Going past seven years without promotions, new responsibilities, or learning new skills? That starts looking like stagnation. But if you're actually learning, moving up, and happy, staying longer is totally fine. The real question isn't about time, it's about whether you're growing or just coasting. If you've plateaued professionally and there's nowhere to advance, start looking around. It doesn't matter if it's been three years or 10.

Is it unprofessional to just quit?

If to "just quit" means walking out without notice or torching bridges on your way out, then yes, that's unprofessional. A proper resignation means giving notice (usually two weeks), handing off what people need to know, wrapping up critical projects or at least documenting where things stand, keeping relationships intact, and putting in a formal written resignation. Even if the place is toxic, leave professionally. Your reputation lasts longer than any job. The only exception: get out ASAP if you're dealing with safety issues, serious harassment, or illegality where staying puts you at risk.

Is it a red flag to leave a job after three months?

Leaving a job after three months can be a red flag, but it depends on why you left and whether it's a pattern. One quick exit in a career of longer stints isn't a big deal if you can explain it. But if you've got multiple three-month jobs? That looks like job-hopping, and it'll worry employers. If you do leave after three months, have your story ready: What you learned, why it wasn't right, and why your next move makes more sense.