The cons, and pros, of quitting your job

Hey,

It seems appropriate, seeing how I'm beginning this new blog during a spate of redundancy, that I start it off with an old post from the last blog. It rings as true now as it did back then, although obviously situations have changed, but it's still an interesting take on quitting the daily grind! 

Have a gander, and feel free to challenge me on any of the bold statements I've made; After all, what's the internet without an argument these days!

S

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We've all thought about it. Don't deny it. At some point or another, when work has pushed us to the limit, we've all thought about quitting our job.

It sounds like quite a simple idea in the grand scheme of things – quit, move somewhere hot and sunny and live out the rest of your days in all encompassing bliss and happiness. However, there are always limitations and restrictions – most notably money, and the fact that a cheap, remote island in the tropics is surprisingly difficult to come by nowadays. As such, most people keep on dreaming whilst toiling away at their desks and counting down the hours until the weekend. However, there are occasional people who have jacked it all in, taken their chance and temporarily quit employment for their own varied reasons. I am one of those people.

Now before this article goes any further, I need to make it very clear that this is not an attempt to brag about my wonderful life or cast aspersions on my old employer. Far from it. This article is an attempt to explain, from a personal viewpoint, the cons and pros of a decision that people don't tell you about before you hand in your resignation letter. Having been unemployed, (or freelancing as I like to call it), for three months now, I feel that I am able to offer some guidance to anyone considering making a similar move. However, please remember that these are my own views, and should by no means be considered as certified career advice – dear God, I can barely look after myself, so you shouldn't use me as a guide (but I'm flattered that you'd consider it!)

So far, I'm afraid, my experience has been primarily negative. This isn't to say that I regret the decision overall, it's just that the whole experience has proven to be far tougher than I expected it to be. From the outset, the biggest issue I've faced is what to do next with my 'career'. Resignation certainly isn't the sexiest thing to put on your CV, and in my case it's all I have, as I didn't have a next step or new job. I simply chose to leave my current career and decide what to do once the dust has settled...

Well, three months down the line, I am no clearer as to what I want to do, or where I want to go. I, of course, have a dream job that I'm aiming for, but it's proving far harder to achieve this dream than expected, and I have found myself needing to consider alternative options to keep the money rolling in.

In London, I've found that the opportunities and choices available to someone reconsidering their career are incredibly overwhelming. You find yourself walking past every cafe, office, shop and skyscraper wondering what it'd be like to work there and whether you'd enjoy it/be any good at it. In a city like London, that's a terrifying prospect. Within a week, you have more career plans than you know what to do with and you end up rocking back and forth on the sofa, panicking about how to apply for approximately 1,782 jobs a day. Trust me when I say this – make career decisions before you leave your old career. Whilst choice is a great thing, too much simply proves to be a headache.

As briefly mentioned before, the most obvious con for most people is money. There isn't much that I need to say about this, as it's all fairly obvious. The simple fact that savings don't last forever, especially when you're trying to continue living a normal life, and that after a while, you will come to treat your bank balance with the same fear that it instilled in during university. *Shudder*

I've also found myself frequently getting frustrated with the time it takes for anything to happen. Trying to land your dream job is not, unfortunately, a case of shooting off a quick e-mail and starting work the next week. Everything takes time, especially if your previous experience isn't translatable to your new career path, and your plan to be re-employed within 2 months can take a nosedive if you're not careful. 

No doubt right now that you're rolling your eyes and muttering 'I could've told you that', which is fair. I'm sure you could have done, and most people I know did. However, there are several negative aspects of this decision that I wasn't expecting to have to deal with that have become regular issues.

One of these is the sense of loneliness that comes from spending large amounts of your day home alone. Whilst you may or may not get on with your work colleagues, they do provide you with a guaranteed socialising opportunity five days a week. Whilst it may not be the most enthralling conversation you've ever had, it's something I've come to really miss. Spending upwards of eleven hours on your own every day means that your flatmates or partner get assailed with a host of questions and demands for attention from you the moment they walk through the door. Although this may be charming at first, it soon wears off, especially if all they want is peace and quiet and a tub of ice cream after a long day. I admit that as a FOMO HOMO, my need for interaction is higher than most, but I should think that anyone would get lonely after three months of staring at the same four walls. Yes, I know that you can get out of the house and go do things everyday, but unless you're a master of talking to strangers, you will struggle to replicate the same level of social interaction that a workplace offers, and that can become very isolating at times.

You may also find yourself beginning to worry about what people think about you and your 'choices'. Yes it's your decision and you only have yourself to worry about, but that doesn't stop you getting concerned about what other people are saying about you behind your back. Now I don't mean this in terms of resentment or jealousy, but more in the case of what they really think about your move. Whilst they may openly celebrate your brave decision, do they secretly discuss how you've shot yourself in the foot and made a terrible choice? Hopefully not! However, isolation and loneliness can manifest itself in funny ways, meaning that you don't necessarily always think about things logically.

Aside from humming 'All By Myself' everyday, the lack of an routine can be surprisingly tough to get used to. You may promise yourself that you'll still get up at seven am every morning, spend nine hours job hunting and then go to bed at a decent time, but trust me when I say that this will quickly go out the window unless you have serious self control. The lure of an extra hour in bed, or a quick twenty minutes on the Xbox, soon turn your dedicated plans into a guilt laden afternoon of staring at your laptop and willing yourself to sum up the energy to send off another application.This sort of career decision requires you to be driven, with real 'get up and go', and if you don't have this, you can find yourself really struggling to get yourself going each day. The same also goes for inspiration and joie de vivre – you may not realise it, but these feelings can quickly dissipate if you don't have a daily direction and aim, meaning that you can find yourself starting to wonder if you're getting depressed when you don't have the drive to get out of bed every morning. Not fun – trust me.

It sounds ridiculous to hard working Londoners, but the amount of time you have to yourself can be surprisingly daunting. When you're working, the idea of having whole days to yourself sounds like a wonderful fantasy. In reality however, time slowly becomes less of a friend and more of a resented family member that you have to put up with. Whole days of freedom aren't as fun when your friends aren't available to hang out with you, especially when the weather isn't on your side. Once you've done your daily chores and tasks, you can find yourself staring at the clock and wondering why on earth it's only 11am and how you're going to fill the rest of the day. Now before you raise your voice in retaliation, yes I do know that London is FULL OF THINGS TO DO. However, once you start getting concerned about money, and the weather draws in, you can find yourself wanting to do less and less of these THINGS. In addition, London is a fantastic city, but too much choice, much like with a career, can find you feeling baffled and confused about what to do each day, resulting in you choosing to do nothing.

Now don't get me wrong. Whilst this post has been decidedly negative so far, there are some fantastic positives to taking the plunge and quitting your job. The freedom to do what you want, when you want, without demands on your time or colleagues who make you repeatedly bash your head on the desk is one of the most amazing feelings that you can have. I've found that it shines from every part of you, and friends commenting on how well you look and how much happier you appear to be is an amazing confidence booster. In addition, the ability to go home for a weekend, surprise a friend with lunch, or do something as simple as joining that dance class you've been putting off going to for three years is liberating. It helps remind you that life is for living (if you'll forgive the cheesy statement) and that your life, and its associated happiness, is far more important than you previously realised. It also means, if you're so inclined, that you can wander off each day and sit in a cafe and watch the world go by (yes, I'm one of those people, but I don't have a Mac, so I can't be that bad...right?!)

In all honesty, if you're able to deal with the outlined negatives and still smile, then taking a career break, or simply quitting your job, can actually be an incredibly positive thing. Taking the time to focus on yourself and what you want to do, although tough, can be rewarding. I'm certainly glad that I made my decision as it was the right thing for me.

If you want to make the leap into unemployment, however temporary or long-term, and chase whatever dream you have, then I urge you to think long and hard about it. The decision isn't one to take lightly, and no matter how much you plan for it, you will find yourself questioning your decision at some point and wondering what on earth you're doing with your life. I'm afraid that it's part and parcel of the process. As I say, there are some amazing positives to take away from it all, and if you're self-driven enough, you can do anything you want with it. Just make sure you've got the back-up funds, just in case...

S

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