Decision To Leave: If Your Job Has No L.E.G.S., It's Time To Go
Run Through This 4-Item Checklist Before Putting In Your 2-Week Notice
“Just give it time, we'll see who's still around a decade from now.” - Drake
Indecisions, Indecisons…
I'll admit, I'll admit it: unlike Sam Smith, I'm bad at goodbyes. Downright awful, even. From romantic relationships to professional partnerships (and everything in between), I've got an embarrassing track record of failing to leave before the love is lost. Here's a handful of lowlights:
My separation anxiety once had me turn a blind eye to a partner's rampant cheating for several months after I found out;
My father complex had me reluctantly pledge loyalty to a demanding boss while I was early into a debilitating burnout cycle, only to flame out spectacularly;
My famine mindset had me endure a freelance client's abuse, which rapidly devolved into litigation and lasting bad blood;
My survivor's remorse had me rekindle a toxic friendship, just to fall out the same way all over again;
My sunk cost fallacy had me go all-in on a failing venture and lose my life savings.
(All true stories, by the way.)
A recent post by my brave friend Gloria Eid inspired these confessions of being consumed by commitment bias. Also known as the "escalation of commitment," commitment bias describes the tendency to remain committed to past behaviors, even when they produce adverse outcomes. It explains why I put up with many hapless situations in my career, like dead-end jobs and bully bosses: I tend to be loyal to a fault—my Achilles' Heel, the product of traumas, naivety, and insecurities.
Though I cringe through these disclosures, I know I'm hardly alone regarding the confusing indecision to leave.
When Works Stops Working
Emerging from the chaos of the past three years and change, professionals at all levels—from front-line employees to senior executives—find themselves floundering through an unraveling work paradigm in which the only constant seems to be constant change. We're dealing with everything, everywhere, all at once: rapid transitions to-and-from hybrid & flexible work configurations, spiraling economies, extreme weather events, persistent technological disruptions, rapidly shifting public behaviors & expectations—you name it.
In an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world, clinging to a job seems wise—even if it no longer serves us.
And boy, are we underserved.
If I told you there was an 85% chance you'd get bitten by a shark, would you still wade into the water? And if I told you there was an 85% chance you'd get hit by a car, would you still cross the road? What if I told you there was an 85% chance you'll be disengaged at work (Gallup has repeatedly concluded that 85% of the global workforce is disengaged at work)? Knowing this, would you still choose to spend ~90,000 of your best hours (~10.2 years of your life) at work?
If your answer is yes, I understand. You and I have been conditioned to accept workplaces that don’t work for us. I call this "The Normalization of Dehumanization." And it comes with all sorts of mental acrobatics to justify it, such as:
"It's a cutthroat industry."
“I can’t leave them hanging.”
"I just need to put in the time."
“This is the best that they can do.”
"They're grooming me for a promotion."
I see such escalations of commitment reflected in the hard data, with rising levels of stress, burnout, mental health issues, and disengagement, all against the backdrop of stagnant wages, union busting, rising costs of living, and delayed retirements.
In short: work sucks, and we're stuck.
A New "Worth It" Equation
There's something to the idea of the pandemic as a short circuit that broke the flow of "business as usual." Author Arundhathi Roy beautifully expressed this idea by describing COVID-19 as a "portal," writing:
"Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway, between one world and the next."
The portal opened up by the pandemic has offered us glimpses of a better future of work, of "rehumanizing" workplaces that transcend the reckless pursuit of shareholder value at the expense of employee well-being.
Employees have a new "worth it" equation that values time, health, family, and purpose over work. They're not the same people who went home to work in early 2020. And the twin phenomena of "The Great Resignation" and "Quiet Quitting" demonstrate a rejection of the status quo.
In our "new abnormal," it seems that when work stops working, so do employees. This is deeply encouraging as someone eager to usher in an age of human-centric workplaces.
The following guide is for anyone who doesn't love their job and flirts with the idea of putting in their two-week notice. At most, this guide might help you identify what must be true for you to stay. At the very least, it will clarify whether or not it's time to pack it up and go.
Ready?
The L.E.G.S. Framework
To decide if you should leave your job, ask yourself:
"Does this job have L.E.G.S.?"
In other words, are you LEARNING, ENGAGED, GROWING, and SAFE in your job? Let's break these elements down:
LEARNING: You're gaining new skills, insights, and experiences.
ENGAGEMENT: You're feeling fulfilled, interested, and motivated.
GROWTH: You're seeing progress via raises, promotions, responsibilities, etc.
SAFETY: You're mentally, physically, and emotionally secure.
Should I Stay, Or Should I Go?
The presence of L.E.G.S should directly influence your decision to leave, with actions including STAY, PERSIST, PLAN, SEARCH, and GO—
STAY (4/4 L.E.G.S.): You're in a thriving, proudly people-first organization. It's a great place to work. Here, you have a partner-like relationship with your manager, who is invested in your career. Celebrate what you have. You should stay here.
PERSIST (3/4 L.E.G.S.): You're in a striving, mostly people-first organization. It has the essential components of a great company. But its well-intentioned leaders have a few blind spots. Help them to help you by making the missing L.E.G.S. element a priority.
PLAN (2/4 L.E.G.S.): You're in a surviving organization that's losing its way by deprioritizing its people. If you believe your leaders are well-intentioned, you can chalk this about-face up to fear. But if things don't turn around quickly, start making plans to leave.
SEARCH (1/4 L.E.G.S.): You're in a dying organization. Turnover is high, leaders seem clueless, and processes are bottlenecked. Here, you're a low priority. And it's unlikely that things will change. Start searching for your next job.
GO (0/4 L.E.G.S.): You're in a zombie organization. And no buzz, profits, or breakthrough innovation will revive it. Management gave up on its employees a long time ago. If you stay, you'll stagnate. You should leave as soon as you can.
Getting Your L.E.G.S. Back Under You
If your organization isn't dead or dying, and you hope to improve your situation by prioritizing missing L.E.G.S. elements, here are a few suggestions:
Prioritize Learning
Supplement your learning with books, courses, podcasts, conferences, etc.
Find a mentor who can show you the ropes.
Create an Individual Development Plan (which can include the above).
Prioritize Engagement
Re-asses if your purpose aligns with your organization's purpose. If not:
Connect with front-line staff & customers to learn if/how your work matters.
Consider that you might be experiencing burnout, and need to heal.
Prioritize Growth
Make your progression within the organization a priority for your leader.
Have frequent and structured meetings with your leader to chart your growth.
Consider going on a "Tour of Duty" with other teams or companies.
Prioritize Safety
Inquire with other employees if they're also experiencing diminished safety.
Escalate your concerns to a leader and/or your Human Resources department.
If you're highly unsafe, leave and/or report concerns to the authorities.
NOTE: I'm all for taking risks if you have sufficient permission space. In the past, I've willingly accepted roles where I knew full well that some elements of L.E.G.S. were missing. Taken to an extreme, it's possible to be in an organization with only one element (usually safety) and to supplement the rest outside of your job through a purposeful "portfolio" of work, hobbies, and other interests. It's risky but possible. However, as I alluded to in the previous section, if your safety is violated, it’s a deal-breaker. Unsafe workplaces are as dehumanizing as they come.
Permission To Leave
I watched in awe in one of my first jobs as a woman nearing retirement received a quarter-century anniversary award. Knowing that someone could tough it out at one job for 25 years was inspiring. But it was perplexing to know that the lady openly hated her job and was only in it for pension and benefits. For 25 years!
My traumas, naivety, and insecurities have informed my tendency to catastrophize the consequences of leaving. Whenever I've given notice in the past, I've braced for impact, expecting the other person to say, "You're dead to me!" or "You'll never work in this industry again!" Except it never happened. And even if it did, it would only confirm that the organization was deprioritizing its people.
Take it from someone who studies failing organizations for a living: organizations that don't put people first are doomed to fail. And a lot sooner than you think— McKinsey predicts that, by 2027, 75% of the companies currently included in the S&P 500 will tumble into the chasm of time.
If you're down to your last L.E.G.S., it’s best to leave; Go where you're celebrated, not tolerated. If your job has no learning, engagement, growth, or safety, it's time to go.
P.S. Gloria Eid is teaching a class on how to quit with grace—check it out.