To quit or not to quit?

Quite ancient seems to be an idea that has accompanied many of us for years – if you don’t work in a company for one year, you will ruin your CV.

There are two aspects of the changes taking place in the labor market that are worth highlighting:

📍 Quiet quitting is understood as performing your tasks with due diligence, but not engaging in work beyond what we agreed with the employer. Employees, taking care of their mental health and balance in life, no longer intend to treat work as a life goal. They withdraw from the front line, they do not want to participate in the life of the company outside of working hours. Their lives go on elsewhere. They want calm, reliable work, clear rules, and not crossing borders.

📍 Another aspect is the expectations of employers regarding the organizational culture being built. The bar is set quite high, and failure to meet expectations may result in e.g. job resignation. What’s more, if I don’t like my boss, if I have trouble asking for a raise, if what I’m doing doesn’t give me absolute satisfaction – I quit. And so, within a few years of our professional career, it may turn out that we have worked in five companies, in each of them not longer than 6-9 months.

What does a CV mean for an employer?

The employer, of course, is looking for specific competencies on the market. But he also cares about minimizing the risk. He needs people he can rely on. Those who, in a crisis situation, will sail with the company into turbulent waters, and even a storm, and will be able to navigate (this thesis was put forward by Simon Sinek). This crew will be paid more by the employer, because the competencies expected in a crisis situation are possessed by those who have faced difficulties before, not giving up the storm jacket when the wind increased.

Is it worth staying longer and fighting, even if we see that difficulties are piling up? Or maybe it’s a waste of time and energy that we can invest elsewhere? This can be a big dilemma.

Monika Ciesielska
President at IMSA Search Global Partners. An experienced consultant in the recruitment of the management staff, including board members, and a leader of the recruiting team in the IT/Tech area. Enthusiast of digital transformation of HR processes. Podcaster at "Skrzydlaty HR" and "Top Leaders Club".
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