5 Ways to Know if It’s Time to Leave Your Job

Written by Lucy Maeve, Transformational Coach

Lucy Maeve, a former J.P. Morgan salesperson turned trauma-informed coach, empowers high achievers to transform their stories from perpetual questioning of 'Is this it?' to living authentically meaningful lives. Featured in The Telegraph, The Times, and the BBC, her work resonates with those hungry for deeper meaning."

As someone who quit a six-figure career to dive into the unknown, I know that deciding to leave a job is one of the toughest choices an overachiever can ever face. Is it just a phase? Would it be better if I moved internally? Am I hoping for too much? Maybe I’m just having an existential crisis… but still, is this all there is?

So much of our identity can be tied to our work, our self-worth, and even our relationships. Walking away can feel like a daunting, impossible leap.

But staying in a role that isn’t truly aligned will eventually drain the life out of you, so how do you know when it’s time to go?

Five signs it might be time to move on and what you can do to move forward

1. You feel unfulfilled no matter what

Life isn’t always perfect, and neither is work. It’s normal to go through phases of feeling uninspired in any area of life, including your job. But if you’ve spent months or even years feeling drained at the thought of going to the office, life may be nudging you in a different direction.

For me, the wake-up call came after bonus day when I was working in investment banking. Despite a six-figure bonus, I lay on my yoga mat that evening, salty tears streaming down my face, feeling nothing but a deep, unshakable emptiness. Instead of happiness or gratitude, all I could think was, Is this really all there is? This isn’t the life I want.

When the work, the promotions, and the salary, everything you’ve been told will make you happy and successful, stop fulfilling you and start to feel more like a burden, it may be time to ask yourself some deeper questions.

2. Your job is depleting your physical and emotional energy

Burnout doesn’t always come with flashing alarms. Often, it creeps steadily into your life until exhaustion and heaviness become your new normal. If you feel perpetually drained or emotionally brittle, no matter how well you meet your deadlines, something isn’t right.

I remember waking up many mornings consumed by a serious case of the blahs. At the time, my therapist told me I had dysthymia, a persistent low-level depression, which, in retrospect, stemmed from years of denying what I truly wanted in life. That, combined with constant issues with my skin and bladder, were signs that my body was trying to tell me something wasn’t right.

Your health is your most valuable asset. Is the way you’re currently living supporting that?

3. Success doesn’t feel like success anymore

Early in our careers, many of us define success by external standards, higher salaries, better job titles, more power. But as life shifts, our values often do too. The success you once craved might now feel shallow or meaningless.

I hit this point after my 30th birthday. I had built a dream life on paper, a six-figure salary, a flat in Zone 1, and the admiration of friends and family. And yet, as I stood on Primrose Hill staring out over the city, I was gripped by the realization that none of it felt meaningful. I wasn’t living life for myself, I was living it to meet everyone else’s expectations.

If you’re climbing the career ladder only to find yourself asking, Is this it?, it might be time to redefine what success means to you.

4. You’re living for others, not yourself

How often do we stay in jobs because we’re afraid of what others will think? Because we want to make our parents proud or because we don’t want friends to question our choices?

Sometimes, fear of judgment or disappointing others keeps us stuck in a life that doesn't resonate at all with who we are.

I held onto a lucrative but completely misaligned job for years because my identity was so tied to the salary and the status that came with it. I worried about letting others down and projecting an image of failure.

But catering to other people’s expectations at the cost of your own happiness isn’t sustainable. Your life is yours alone, and if you’re constantly sacrificing joy and fulfillment for approval, it’s time to ask yourself what you truly want.

5. Your intuition is screaming at you

Here’s the thing with intuition: it doesn’t speak in rational lists of pros and cons. It whispers. It nudges. Sometimes, it screams. That knot in your stomach, that lump in your throat, that anxiety you can’t quite explain; it’s often your inner voice trying to be heard.

For me, I couldn’t hear my intuition until I intentionally slowed down and created space to reflect. I found this clarity during a yoga retreat in Italy when someone pointed out how “brittle” I seemed. That single word unlocked a floodgate of feelings I’d long buried. Day by day, I realized my inner struggle wasn’t with the job itself but with living a life that wasn’t mine.

The more I listened to my intuition and allowed it to guide my decisions, the clearer my path became.

The key to clarity? Take time for yourself

Deciding to leave your job isn’t something you can “think” your way through. It’s not an intellectual problem to solve; it’s an emotional one that requires introspection, healing, and silence.

Sometimes, it’s not the job that needs changing but our relationship to it. Sometimes, it’s not the job that needs changing but other aspects of life that need re-evaluating. And sometimes, just sometimes, it’s just the job. But until we slow down and take enough space to hear what is actually true for us, it’s impossible to make an aligned decision.

It all clicked for me when I prioritized slowing down. I stopped pushing, stopped pretending, and gave myself the space to feel. Stepping back from the noise of daily life allowed my inner voice to surface.

Because the truth is, no one can tell you when it’s time to leave. That answer is already inside you, and you just need to find the stillness to hear it.

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Read more from Lucy Maeve

Lucy Maeve, Transformational Coach

Lucy Maeve is a trailblazer in empowering high achievers to rewrite their narratives and embrace authentic living.

Drawing from her own journey away from a successful finance career, Lucy incorporates insights from trauma-informed practices and breathwork inspired by mentors such as Gabor Mate and Layla Martin. Her expertise, featured in The Telegraph, The Times, and the BBC, helps clients rediscover their true selves.

Based in Cape Town, Lucy's passions include (bad) dancing, ocean waves, and indulging in Lindt Orange Intense chocolate, all while striving to ensure no soul is left uninspired.