Below is an extract from a The Conversation article, by Professor Anthony Klotz, published on June 2, 2026.
Actor Emily Blunt was recently asked for advice for young women who hate their jobs. Her response – to quit and pursue what you want or love to do, even if it earns no money – generated polarised reactions.
Many people bristled at the financial impossibility of following this advice. Others rightly pointed out that this question is too complex to be answered in a brief interview reply.
At any stage of your career, it can be challenging to know why, when and how to quit. These decisions are especially tough when considering leaving your first “real” job. You’ve never made the leap, and the stakes can be high.
Thankfully, there are signposts that can help. These come in the form of jolts: events that cause us to stop and rethink our relationship with work. As an organisational psychologist, I’ve spent the past 15 years studying how people quit their jobs, including the jolts that lead them to look for the exit door.
Jolts are typically (but not always) negative events. They may happen directly to us at work, but can also come from events in the lives of those around us – for example, a major work failure, a small slight from your boss, or the departure of a well-liked coworker.
While they can happen any time, they are especially common in the first year of a new role, in moments where you realise that the reality of a job doesn’t line up with your expectations. Outside of work, good or bad news in your personal life can also jolt you into reevaluating the time and energy you’re investing in work.
The key question is: when is a jolt an insignificant moment of doubt, and when does it signal a real problem that needs addressing?
Determining the answer requires perspective that comes from separating yourself from the emotional aftermath of jolts. So, when they happen, it’s typically best not to respond right away, but instead have a plan to revisit them at a later time.
By scheduling a recurring check-in on your relationship with work, perhaps every three to six months, you’ll free yourself from the pressure of having to think through every jolt immediately – which can be a recipe for discontentment and burnout. In “batching” your jolts, you’ll find that many fade away over time, allowing you to see the ones that signal a real problem in your relationship with work.
To determine whether a jolt points to a real problem, it helps to mentally zoom in and out of your relationship with work. Is the cause of the jolt an everyday drain on your positive energy? Has it revealed that your job is no longer fulfilling its purpose in the broader scheme of your career?
Finally, think about all of the positive aspects of your job, and ask yourself: does this problem outweigh them? If the answer is yes to one or more of these questions, then it’s worth taking action.
