Are you a quit stay?
Well, RS it's not great. A quit stay is someone who has mentally quit their job but they keep turning up for work.
This person might well have been enthusiastic once. However, repetition, lack of challenge and just plain boredom has taken the fun out of work. A quit stay could also be the result of a poor manager or too many changes of manager. Not having any input or control over your working life could also grind you down into a quit stay.
Whatever the case, the quit stay has usually wandered down the path of indifference over a long period of time to find he or she is now just going through the motions.
Organisational psychologist David Peake's name for the quit stay is a "survivor". While it sounds better it's actually the same thing.
I heard David speak at the annual Recruitment & Consulting Services Association's annual conference in September.
The "survivor" or "quit stay" has actually moved on from whinging and trying to fix things - they don't see the point. This person will do just enough to keep their job and not enough to come to anyone's attention. The quit stay will turn up to work five minutes before the boss and leave five minutes after.
Life's too short to be a quit stay. Don't quit on the spot though. Look around for a training option to give you a new lease on your professional life or at least look for a new job.
As a reader Suzanne told me: "I want to get out while I still have some sparkle." That's a great way of putting it. The longer you stay in a dead end job the worse you feel. By the time you finally jump - or get pushed - you're so flat, angry, bitter or lacking in self-confidence that you're like a little black cloud going into job interviews. If you think you can hide it, good luck to you.
I urge people to start thinking about a career strategy and looking for another job before they get desperate. However, for those who have left it too long to avoid letting it impact on their normal personality, take heart. If you're aware of it, you can do something about it.
Don't focus on all the reasons why your present job is mind numbing. Stop obsessing about all the various "monsters" at the office, your incompetent boss and so on. Take stock. Focus on your skills, experience, career dreams and job seeking campaign. Do some research. Put some thought into what you actually like doing and what you don't. Start browsing jobs just to see what is out there. Don't stay - quit but find a new job first.
By Kate Southam, Editor of careerone.com.au
