Rage quitting during lockdown is likely to be via a heated email or phone call. Photo / File
Rage quitting during lockdown is likely to be via a heated email or phone call. Photo / File
Rage quitting - that's impulsively and angrily walking out on your job - is fast becoming a thing according to a new poll.
With many New Zealanders still working from home, rage quitting takes the form of slamming down the phone or firing off an email rather than yelling "I quit" before storming out of the office.
However it's done it is happening more often, a LinkedIn survey has found.
The poll of 100 workers by Skills Consulting Group found a third of those surveyed have recently either quit in a rage or are preparing to do so.
It also revealed it wasn't just "workers" who are feeling the rage. It is those in management too.
Jane Kennelly, general manager of wellbeing at Skills, said the building pressure of lockdown such as working at home with children meant coping skills were exhausted.
"Essentially, our fuses are just shorter," Kennelly said.
"When your fuse is short, that interaction with a manager or that request from a colleague that didn't go well has the knock-on effect of pushing your buttons more than it normally would."
Instead of being in the normal work environment where you can walk away or talk to a colleague, people snap, Kennelly said.
"And next minute, you're thinking; 'that's it, I quit!'."
Kennelly said the fact people felt like rage quitting more often right now is due to the combination of all the stresses people are under.
Jane Kennelly from Skills Consulting has tips to avoid the growing issue of "rage quitting". Photo / Supplied
"It includes the extra pressures that come from trying to work from home while juggling home-schooling children, limited activities and spontaneity, and then managing our lives in lockdown," she said.
"People just don't have the resilience right now to keep things in perspective."
International research shows it's not just Kiwi workers rage quitting.
Polls in the UK and Australia also show the practice has become more common - with working during lockdown a pressure point.
A study in the UK found although rage quitting seemed impulsive it was the end result of dissatisfaction or issues that had built up over time.
In countries such as New Zealand with low unemployment and a spike in job listings, people felt there were other opportunities if they quit.
Kennelly said despite frustrations, rage quitting should be avoided.
"Making these sorts of big rash decisions isn't good on a number of levels," she said.
"First and foremost, once you've calmed down from the moment of quitting in rage, there can be a feeling of deep regret."
Kennelly's tips to avoid rage quitting
Take a deep breath. Just like when sending a frustrated email, step away from it, count to 10, and calm down before you send it.
Try to separate yourself from the situation that has frustrated you and look at it from another angle. Is the manager who snapped at you under major stress? Is the client at breaking point because their boss is putting pressure on them at their end?
Can you afford to quit? Will you regret it? Thinking might be really hard in the heat of the moment – but if the reality is that you will regret it, then keeping this in mind might help you hold back from "rage quitting" and let you think things through more clearly.
Talk to someone else you trust about your feelings of frustration. Getting a different perspective will help.
