Knowing when to change from a job you enjoy?

Associate
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Hello,

Long time lurker here, but thought i'd ask some advice :) I've been in the same job now for 12+ years, decent pay and honestly pretty stress free life. So why on earth would I risk making that worse by moving jobs!?

Thinking deep, I'm not sure it feels a challenge any more and while I could easily just continue the rest of my working life being pretty comfortable and enjoying it to a point, it would be at the cost of not really being pushed or feeling the need to develop (can't progress more there). If I was to change, stress/pressure will probably increase but at probably close 50-80% more pay. I'm lucky this would not be a money motivated decision, to a point - but that would obviously be a nice boost.

Anyone got any advice? Have you stayed in the same job for life and regretted it? Should you change just for the sake of change and not doing the same thing forever? Should you just chase the money and retire sooner? Is it really worth the risk of not enjoying a new job when you were fairly well set previously?

It's such a difficult decision!
 
Soldato
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I'm in a job I'm very bored of that doesn't pay well at all and I do have a bit of resentment towards them, especially as I went for a job interview that I just missed out on and the pay was 40% increase, which looking around seems to be the norm if I was lucky enough to move jobs. Even if I was on good money as the other jobs that are about the fact I'm really bored is enough of an easy decision for me to move. I'm in my mid thirties so I have easily more than 30 years left of work in me so I want to be happier in my career.
 
Soldato
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Only reason I'd leave a job I enjoyed would be for more money or more spare time.

And if I was already earning enough to do the things I wanted to in life, then the money aspect wouldn't be a strong reason.
 
Caporegime
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Well, the fact you're questioning it now perhaps is a good indicator that you should explore/consider other opportunities. You mention it doesn't feel like a challenge anymore and you don't seem to think you can develop any more - is there any scope to progress upwards in that case within the organisation you already work for - can you take on a bit more responsibility there?

I mean you can get that feeling in some jobs after just a couple of years - you've learned the role well enough that you're super productive at it, stuff that might have taken you all week perhaps takes half the time... at that point, you might want to consider supervising/mentoring others or taking on more responsibilities in terms of the work you do.

At 12 years you probably know not just a heck of a lot about your role but about the organisation in general, other roles etc.. and are a well-known person perhaps you should be given more say in how things are run, if that's applicable or a possibility.

Re: exploring (external) opportunities, no harm done in seeing what else is out there, attending interviews etc... (conditional on you doing this discretely), you can always say no, perhaps the roles you do find don't compare to your current one - you don't have to move... Alternatively, it's often a good idea to interview every so often regardless, even if you're not looking, as firstly you get an idea of what you could earn elsewhere and/or how easy it would be to move and secondly you might actually stumble on some great opportunity.
 
Caporegime
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Hello,

Long time lurker here, but thought i'd ask some advice :) I've been in the same job now for 12+ years, decent pay and honestly pretty stress free life. So why on earth would I risk making that worse by moving jobs!?

Thinking deep, I'm not sure it feels a challenge any more and while I could easily just continue the rest of my working life being pretty comfortable and enjoying it to a point, it would be at the cost of not really being pushed or feeling the need to develop (can't progress more there). If I was to change, stress/pressure will probably increase but at probably close 50-80% more pay. I'm lucky this would not be a money motivated decision, to a point - but that would obviously be a nice boost.

Anyone got any advice? Have you stayed in the same job for life and regretted it? Should you change just for the sake of change and not doing the same thing forever? Should you just chase the money and retire sooner? Is it really worth the risk of not enjoying a new job when you were fairly well set previously?

It's such a difficult decision!
You should ideally only change a job that you are secure and happy in to further your career or make your quality of life better. Clearly, a 50-80% payrise would not be "changing jobs for the sake of it", it would be for a significant increase in compensation and potentially responsibility and the stress associated with that.

Your final set of questions are far to vague and almost impossible for anyone else to answer. It all depends what YOU want from your life and your career.
 
Associate
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Thanks for all the replies, some really helpful points. I think from what's been said the fact I'm asking the question means it's probably sensible to properly look at options.

At 12 years you probably know not just a heck of a lot about your role but about the organisation in general, other roles etc.. and are a well-known person perhaps you should be given more say in how things are run, if that's applicable or a possibility.

One thing that bothers me, is losing that. You're totally right after that long you've got great relationships and are very effective. A change obviously means starting from scratch, dropping to that unknown newbie. But if it gets boring, it gets boring.You mention taking on more responsibility etc, not an option sadly, basically gone as far as I can go in the company.

One thing I would say is I've never regretted leaving a job, but have regretting staying in the same job too long.

Thanks, that's my concern, I think I'm probably at a career mid-point, and I either move now or stick with it for good. I worry that in 30 years I would look back and regret not getting all the extra (currently unneeded) dosh, meeting new people etc. But it could just as easily go the other way, it would be much easier if for example I didn't like it rather than just becoming less challenging.

How old are you? How near retirement are you?
36, so essentially 1 job since Uni and been lucky it worked out well and progressed well etc.
 
Man of Honour
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One thing that bothers me, is losing that. You're totally right after that long you've got great relationships and are very effective. A change obviously means starting from scratch, dropping to that unknown newbie
When you change employers (not necessarily roles with the same employer) this is inevitable, you just have to suck it up. In my experience there is roughly a six week period before I start to feel productive at a new company, until that I feel like a bit of a charlatan, with loads of people rushing around trying to get stuff done around me using alien terminology. At times I've worried that people might think I'm a bit of a waste of space because you spend so much time asking questions or saying you haven't done XYZ before. I was with my previous employers for approximately five, eight and six years respectively, long enough that in all of them I was considered an expert in at least some areas, knew the right people to speak with about most things. Two months into my latest company I still feel I have a lot to learn, a niggling feeling in my stomach that I'm going to drop the ball on something just due to lack of specific knowledge rather than aptitude. But things improve week-on-week and I know from the prior experiences that I will get there eventually if I remain there long enough.

Bit of a tangent but it's one reason why I think it's a bit of a nonsense that people typically get paid the same when they first start a job as they do six months down the line, considering they are adding way less value.
 
Associate
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I was in a slightly different position to the OP here. Job was "comfortable " in that I could theoretically have stayed forever but I would never have gotten any further than I was , no pay rise except yearly pittance everyone gets, I had colleagues who were stuck in a rut and hoping to just stay until retirement because they feared unemployment .
I studied for a qualification for a different industry with far more scope for moving upwards or just earning more money without a lot more responsibility. Got a basic job using the certification.
I'm looking for a better job within this new industry ASAP
 
Caporegime
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I recently changed company for 25% more money and basically hate it. Really stressful, excessive work load, and an unhealthy team culture (mainly thanks to the manager, who is a very strange and unhelpful woman, and incredibly paranoid about everything).

She spends most of the time bleating about how great our predecessors were and how she should be called an FD but isn't (I can see why tbh). She also calls us out when she doesn't like what we've produced in front of dozens of other people from other parts of the business on a Teams call.

This is a FTSE100 company and it's a bit embarrassing / shocking to think the company puts up with it.

I don't regret pushing myself and I wouldn't want to go back to my old job as I was tired of it and the company, but I want out already and I've only been there 6 months.

The money's good but the stress isn't worth it. I think about work all evening and weekend now, whereas before I could completely switch off and enjoy family life.

So careful what you wish for.
 
Last edited:
Man of Honour
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Yeah it's difficult, looking back now the most 'relaxed' job I had was when I could comfortably complete my work in a 37.5hr week (including a bit of time for surfing etc), walking distance from the office, working primarily with a good team of smart people and generally enjoying what I was doing. Switch off from work outside working hours and even the pay wasn't THAT bad for role and location, had recently bought a house with comfortable mortgage payments etc, but of course I wanted more and I don't regret wanting to progress in my career (different role in that company as a stepping stone to a bigger company/role).

I guess realistically, unless you get lucky you should expect jobs to get harder/more stressful as you climb the ladder, even if the reasons for that stress sometimes seem unnecessary like bad managers or whatever. Although that doesn't preclude some low level jobs being stressful as well, my first job out of uni I started on £10k/year and it was awful, compounded by not developing many obviously transferrable skills.
 
Soldato
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I'd take lower pay, stress-free and lack of being pushed over a higher-paying stressful job any day of the week.

Work-life balance and all that, you've no idea how a stressful job messes with it and the money isn't worth it.
 
Caporegime
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I'd take lower pay, stress-free and lack of being pushed over a higher-paying stressful job any day of the week.

Work-life balance and all that, you've no idea how a stressful job messes with it and the money isn't worth it.
I guess it depends how you define "stress". Some stress is fine, some jobs have some pressure that comes with more responsibility and a higher salary. That is normal. Would you really want a job that is completely stress free with zero pressure? Sounds boring and unsatisfying.

What is important is that your job doesn't get too stressful and that you don't work too long hours. If your free time and/or mental health is being significantly impacted by your work then that is obviously not good... but it really does depend what field you work in.

At the same time, just because you get a higher salary doesn't mean that your job will always be significantly more stressful. If you know your industry and have built up a good level of expertise then a job should also start to get more comfortable as you progress. I just changed jobs to a different field but where I can use a lot of my expertise from my previous role (which is why I was hired) and it got me a promotion and should not lead to significantly more stress than my previous role.

In summary: your mileage may vary and there are a lot of variables that contribute to job stress and satisfaction so don't limit your progression based on the fear that new roles will always be more demanding and stressful in a negative way.
 
Soldato
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I guess it depends how you define "stress". Some stress is fine, some jobs have some pressure that comes with more responsibility and a higher salary. That is normal. Would you really want a job that is completely stress free with zero pressure? Sounds boring and unsatisfying.

What is important is that your job doesn't get too stressful and that you don't work too long hours. If your free time and/or mental health is being significantly impacted by your work then that is obviously not good... but it really does depend what field you work in.

At the same time, just because you get a higher salary doesn't mean that your job will always be significantly more stressful. If you know your industry and have built up a good level of expertise then a job should also start to get more comfortable as you progress. I just changed jobs to a different field but where I can use a lot of my expertise from my previous role (which is why I was hired) and it got me a promotion and should not lead to significantly more stress than my previous role.

In summary: your mileage may vary and there are a lot of variables that contribute to job stress and satisfaction so don't limit your progression based on the fear that new roles will always be more demanding and stressful in a negative way.

To me, a stress-free job is one without excess stress. One that I can walk away from at the end of the day and not think about it. I've done jobs with full days at work, come home, have food, tuck the kids in and then log in from home to carry on. Bad managers are another stress to avoid.
 
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