Should I quit my job without another one lined up

redandwhitestripes

Your quote
'Every weekend I get the Sunday night blues, every day I dread going into work and at night I can't stop thinking about work. I then get stressed out and take it out on my kids and hate myself for doing it. At work I panic every time the phone goes or I get an email, through fear of what may await me on the other end.'

I feel for you , I really do.
This is exactly how I feel in my job - I also have a 4 hour daily commute thrown in.
Differences are I am mid 40s with no wife or kids.
I have savings for about a year but still can't make the very scary decision to resign without a job. My mental state is not very good so I wonder if i would be making the right decision and I keep churning over the same thoughts in my head.

I applaud you for taking the plunge.
How do you feel now?

duchy

I quit a job that was making me miserable.
I used to feel physically sick at the thought of going to work . It was an industry I loved and a position I excelled at but my boss was dreadful , with hindsight she had MH issues .

I felt I couldn't quit as I was a single parent but I had a weekend away and away from work, son and was with friends in an entirely different environment I realised that I felt like me again and not the stressed lump of tenseness I had become. I never went back, it took six months before I worked again because I had lost all my confidence and took several months before I could even apply for jobs. I do believe had I stayed I'd have had a breakdown. My next job I'm in my ninth year with the company. The one thing I'd say to the OP is don't look for the perfect job ,it doesn't exist , but be very clear on what your must haves and your can compromise areas are when job hunting.

Scorpio33

Just an update for completeness.

I did quit, I also had therapy.

It was the best thing I did.

I actually managed to find a new role before I left the old one. I had 6 weeks off between the two roles and I am now in my new role and I have realised that it was the old job.

I am so much happier now, things have been the best for years.
Horrible jobs and horrible bosses make your life a living hell, make you question your own abilities and make you doubt everything about yourself.

If anyone else is reading this and is in the same position: quit. Life is too short.

FBaby

I did wonder about you! Thank you for coming back and providing an update, especially great news. Very pleased for you.

purplegrape

That's fantastic news, well done! :beer:

I also quit my job and started contracting in November. Whenever I meet with old colleagues I realise it's definitely the organisation and not me that made that job not work. Despite a tight few months with funds I am so much happier.

I'm just about to start a job working at a local charity in a role I've always wanted to try - if I'd not quit I'd never have even considered it.

I agree - if the numbers add up - quit!

Deep_In_Debt

OP - glad to hear you made the decision.

I quit my well paid job in London in 2014 without another job to go to. Went temping locally for a while and now permanent in a job from Jan last year.

I've taken a huge drop in salary but can afford to live and have a quality of life and my mental and physical health has improved.

Andrew_Ryan_89

Well done Scorpio and others. I was also in a very similar situation, earning close to £50k and on paper had the perfect job. However, the isolation, backwards and frustrating nature of the company really dragged my energy down and brought me into depression. I also sort therapy which to my surprise helped.

I thought it was me being !!!! at my job why the performance was not there and the general pressures of life why I was borderline suicidal. Turns out 90% was the job. Now that I am quitting, even without having another job lined up, I feel so much better. My motivation has gone up enough to at least apply for jobs where before I was literally counting down days to where my life insurance policy will pay out if I committed suicide.