To stay or not to stay at your current role? How to weigh the pros and cons

You may be wondering whether to keep your job or look for another. That is not always an easy question to answer. While one of the primary concerns is the amount of money you make each year, that is not the only consideration, and it is not always the most important. Here are several factors that might come into play as you decide whether to stay in your current position or seek another.

Salary

Earnings do play a significant role in many employees’ decision to get a different job. They typically want to earn more money or work fewer hours, and there may be important reasons for those goals, such as being a single parent or managing heavy financial burdens. However, if that is not the case, below are other considerations to be made.

Benefits

Health care benefits are nearly as important as salary for many employees due to their own or family members’ health issues. Having a baby, dealing with chronic illness, or experiencing a catastrophic injury can be very expensive without medical insurance. Life insurance is another, although usually lesser, benefit often sought by employees. If something happens to them, they want to leave their families an insurance policy that will help to care for their financial needs at least temporarily. Earning more money but receiving reduced benefits is not always an acceptable trade-off. Decide which is more important as you think about getting a different job.

Environment

The way employees treat each other and how management interacts with everyone is another strong indicator of employee satisfaction on the job. When people do not get along in a workplace where gossip, rumours, or even bullying abound, you may be eager to transfer to a different job site where coworkers demonstrate mutual respect, and the supervisor provides support and encouragement that helps you do a good job. A stress-filled environment from heavy workloads and short due-dates can also pressure someone into looking for another job. If you work under a high level of pressure frequently, you might decide to apply elsewhere to escape the stress and unreasonable demands of your current position.

Duties

Sometimes we just don’t like our job. It didn’t turn out the way we expected, or the responsibilities have changed, and we no longer feel comfortable doing the work. The day drags on, and we can’t wait for the work day to end because the work is demeaning, demanding, or unrelenting. Maybe you’ve been transferred to another department where the job is harder or even slower, and you find it difficult to stay focused. If your workload is unenjoyable or difficult, that may be a clear sign you are ready to search for a position elsewhere.

Opportunities

Over time, you may expect recognition for going above and beyond in your position. Possibly, you have been promised a promotion or a bonus that did not materialize. Perhaps additional training was mentioned that would enable you to work faster or accomplish more at your job, but that, too, has not been provided. Performance incentives that were announced last year have not been implemented. Raises are not forthcoming. Layoffs loom on the horizon. Overall, you feel undervalued and unrewarded for your diligence and dedication to the company. You envision your future without much hope of financial growth or job development. You may be doing the same job for decades with little to show for your commitment and loyalty. If you feel defeated and lackluster about potential personal or professional growth, you may be ready to move on.

Meaningfulness

Possibly the most telling criterion of whether you should stay in your current job or start looking for another position is whether you are content each day at work. Everyone has an occasional bad day, but if you feel that your work contributes value to the company or to the community, or to the customers it serves, then you are likely to be more or less satisfied with your position. But if you feel as though your work does not make much of a difference to the company, you might want to find a job where your efforts are recognised and rewarded.

Ask yourself these questions, and then decide what to do.