Most working people have asked themselves the question at some point in time, "why am I doing this?".
Danish management consultant Alexander Kjerulf has published a list of the 10 reasons he believes people stay in 'bad' jobs.
Here's how he sees it:
#1 "Things might get better"
#2 "My boss is such a jerk but if I quit now, he wins."
#3 "I'm not a quitter."
Kjerulf quotes the cases of Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Tiger Woods, Reese Witherspoon, John McEnroe and John Steinbeck. Not a bad half dozen achievers, that. All of them, he says, dropped out of Stanford.
#4 "I'll never get another job"
#5 "If I quit I'll lose my salary, status, company car, the recognition of my peers, etc."
As Kjerulf says, nothing really good comes easily. There is a price to be paid. But - what is the bigger cost of doing nothing?
#6 "Everywhere else is just as bad"
#7 "I've invested so much in this job already"
"I'm reminded of how Nigerian email scammers sucker in people. At first it's a small investment, but then the amounts grow and grow. At each step the victim is reluctant to stop because that would mean losing all the money he's spent so far."
Quit anyway, advises Kjerulf. Staying on is just throwing good time after bad.
#8 "I'll lose my health insurance."
#9 "My job pays very well"
#10 "Quitting will look bad on my CV"
How many of the above could you mentally tick off as true? Maybe it's time for a change!
* Alexander Kjerulf is the author of Happy Hour is 9 to 5, a practical guide to making yourself and others happy at work. He publishes his thoughts on his website.
