Should you change jobs or try to improve your current job situation?
By Ken Pelczarski, Contributing Editor | TLT Career Coach May 2025
Review these common reasons for considering a job change.
There are many degrees of satisfaction or dissatisfaction you could be experiencing in your current job. You may be feeling highly optimistic, totally hopeless or somewhere in between.
The million-dollar question if you are dissatisfied is whether you should look to change jobs or attempt to improve your current job situation. It will primarily depend upon how many and what kinds of issues you are having with your employer as well as the importance of these issues.
I am a firm believer in making the most of your current job situation before actively looking to find a new employer. It is important not to be reactionary and to conduct a serious evaluation of what needs to change for you to become largely satisfied in your current position.
Let’s look at many of the most common reasons for considering a job change.
In the list below, I rate each of these dissatisfaction reasons from 1 to 10 (10 being most difficult) according to the difficulty level in your ability to affect changes in a positive direction with your employer.
•
Lack of recognition/appreciation (level of difficulty to affect change: 9). It is extremely important to most individuals to have their work appreciated. A failing grade for the employer in this category may alone be enough for an employee to begin an active job search. There could be hope for change if the poor treatment and lack of recognition from management is not deeply rooted. Discuss with management the implementation of various ideas such as achievement awards, an employee of the month program, bonuses or gifts for outstanding accomplishments and more frequent performance reviews.
• No personal growth or new responsibilities available (level of difficulty to affect change: 6). Most employees do not want to be doing the exact same work five years from now without new learning or personal growth. It is often possible to have responsibilities added to your current role. Arrange to discuss your personal growth goals with your boss, including what types of responsibilities interest you. You may also achieve desired personal growth by successfully requesting a transfer to a different department or applying for an internal job posting.
• No ladder to climb (level of difficulty to affect change: 9). You may be looking for more than just personal growth within your current role. Your employer may be too small or not have an organizational structure to accommodate “climbing a ladder.” Your main hope in this case is that the employer has explosive short-term business growth or can restructure in a way that a new role can be created above your current position. If you are in a technical role, you may want to discuss with your employer the possibility of creating a “technical ladder.”
• Passed over for a promotion (level of difficulty to affect change: 5). It can be discouraging to be passed over for a promotion for a job you strongly desired. There still can be hope for you moving up in the company, though, if you simply lost out to another highly qualified individual or if management was not aware that you wanted the job. Arrange a meeting with management to discuss the reason that you were not promoted. Make sure they understand your desire to be promoted and to what type of position. Discuss also what you need to do to earn this promotion, including obtaining additional education.
• Looking to move into a leadership role (level of difficulty to affect change: 6). You may be looking for a leadership role with direct reports instead of just new responsibilities or a general promotion. You may have previously been such a leader or you may be pursuing your first leadership position in which you are directly managing others. Either way, your employer must believe in your leadership ability before you are placed in such a position. Schedule a meeting with management to make sure they think you are well-qualified and to inform them of your leadership career goals. You can then measure the chances of obtaining a leadership position in the short term against achieving your goal by switching employers.
• Unreasonable/difficult boss (level of difficulty to affect change: 5). A bad boss can make your work life miserable. There are many ways that a person can be a difficult boss. You should have a decent chance of improving your relationship with your boss if the issue simply involves establishing better means of communication. It may be a near hopeless situation, however, if your boss is conducting business unethically or is sabotaging your work in some way. If you have evidence of ethics or sabotaging issues, you can certainly approach top management to see if they are aware of these issues and if they are supporting your boss. If issues with your boss are relatively minor, you will need to determine how much they are affecting your daily job satisfaction, and if your performance may look subpar in the eyes of top management.
• Unrealistic goals and expectations from management (level of difficulty to affect change: 4). You may never satisfy management if you are working with unrealistic goals and expectations. If you are working for management that you consider to be fair, you likely just need to arrange a meeting to set new achievable goals. In the end, if you believe that management is setting nearly impossible goals, you are probably wise to begin searching for a new position.
• Minimal communication from upper management (level of difficulty to affect change: 6). It is generally viewed as a big positive when upper management is consistently engaged in communication with all levels of employees through personal contact, regular meetings, memos and attendance at company events. However, it is not necessarily viewed as a negative if there is minimal communication from upper management, unless it is a small company where consistent contact at all levels is expected. The point is that minimal communication will usually not affect your job satisfaction much.
• Low morale among the workforce (level of difficulty to affect change: 9). When there is widespread low morale, you are probably feeling it as well, and there are obviously major problems in the organization. You will not be able to change how all your co-workers are feeling, so you need to worry mainly about your own job satisfaction. Pinpoint the major issues that are causing your dissatisfaction. If there are only one or two issues to be resolved, it is possible that you can work these out with your employer.
• Too much travel (level of difficulty to affect change: 7). This is a straightforward issue that may be difficult to resolve. First, determine how much travel you are willing to do. Second, present your travel requirements to your employer, not as an ultimatum, but as a strong preference that would make you happier in your job. In the end, you will likely need to look for a new position with another employer unless your position is re-structured, or you are transferred to another role in the organization.
• Desire for hybrid or remote work (level of difficulty to affect change: 6). Employers learned how to effectively employ many workers in remote positions out of necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The remote trend continued to grow for a couple of years afterward but has now leveled out. If you are in a role that is customarily office-based, you may have a tough time convincing your employer to make it a remote position. It is much more common these days to negotiate a hybrid arrangement in which you spend one to two days per week working from home. If this type of arrangement is important to you and your employer refuses to comply, you may need to search for a new opportunity.
• Too long of a commute (level of difficulty to affect change: 9). There may not be many options available if you live too far from the office. The main possibilities would be working primarily from home in either your current position or in a new role or working from an office closer to home (if the company has one). Otherwise, you may need to search for a new opportunity.
• Looking to relocate to a specific area (level of difficulty to affect change: 9). The bottom line here is that you will need to change jobs unless your current employer has an office in your desired location or will set up a remote working arrangement for you. Depending upon your role in the company, this is certainly possible if you are a highly valued employee.
• The company is not competitive in its field (level of difficulty to affect change: 8). Chances are that you cannot do anything by yourself to make your company more competitive. If your employer is experiencing a decline in revenue and profitability, the main thing you can do is to find out if this will be a continuing trend. Arrange a meeting with management to discuss their strategies for turning things around. Offer your ideas for business growth and see if you are on the same page as your employer. You may need to change jobs if you have fundamental disagreements with management on business strategies and you do not see light at the end of the tunnel.
• Lack of a company growth plan (level of difficulty to affect change: 6). If your employer has been doing just “okay” and you view the business as stagnant, be sure to speak with your boss and other management as necessary about company plans for further business growth. If you consider yourself to be a “mover and shaker” and a high achiever, it is especially important to get a handle on whether your employer is progressive enough for your tastes.
• Rumors of the company being for sale (level of difficulty to affect change: 9). It will be difficult to determine whether to stay with your employer when you are in the dark regarding important information. The best you can do here is talk to people in your company and your industry to assess the odds of your company being acquired. It is also very important to learn the identity of the acquiring company if possible. You may want to be patient and stay put if you believe your job situation will likely be the same or better after a potential acquisition.
• The company has recently been acquired (level of difficulty to affect change: 9). After an acquisition has been made, it can take months or longer for the dust to settle. It will take time to learn about the new company culture as well as possible management changes, downsizing, restructuring or changes to your position. What you can do is get ready to present your credentials and accomplishments to new management in case you need to justify your position or formally interview internally. Be sure to update your resume and documentation of your achievements with the organization. You can then be ready to interview externally as well.
• New ownership/management that does not understand the business (level of difficulty to affect change: 9). If your employer has gone through recent management changes or been acquired, there is not much you can do to educate them in the short term. You will need to assess how this will affect the company’s competitiveness and profitability. As a result, if prospects do not look good for business stability and growth, it may be time to search for a new opportunity.
• Your employer has had recent layoffs (level of difficulty to affect change: 8). Your employer is obviously struggling if it has had a series of layoffs. You may have survived the downsizing thus far, but it would be advisable to sit down with your boss and other management to obtain an honest evaluation about your future with the organization. You may want to stick around for a while if the company is simply leaner and still a competitive force in the industry, especially if you are a key player in influencing further growth and stability.
• Management has unethical ways of doing business (level of difficulty to affect change: 9). This would seem to be a no-brainer regarding your decision to leave the company. Once you have discovered evidence of impropriety, confront management in a professional manner. There is likely a slim chance that ethics will return but you may want to stay for a while if you deem their promise to change as credible.
• Unsafe work environment (level of difficulty to affect change: 9). One of the most basic needs for human beings is safety. If you have uncovered unsafe practices from your own experience or from learning about past serious safety issues, this needs to be confronted with management right away. The only satisfactory resolution in this case is for immediate action to be taken to restore a safe work environment. Depending upon the level of health or injury risk you perceive, you may want to take a leave of absence or simply find a new employer.
• No support for technical society participation (level of difficulty to affect change: 3). This issue should be relatively easy to resolve with your employer. It is possible that the company has not supported technical society participation in the past. Attempt to come to an agreement that you will selectively attend presentations and conferences, and report back the value and benefit that you received. The worst that could happen is that you end up paying to attend these events and then persuade your employer in the future to support your participation. This is not usually an issue that would affect a decision to stay with an employer.
• No support for continuing education (level of difficulty to affect change: 5). Formal education is an item that is ideally negotiated when joining the company. Seminars, webinars and education courses are usually negotiated along the way. If your employer is continually rejecting support for all forms of continuing education, they are standing in the way of your personal growth and reducing chances for you to move up in the company. If your employer does not believe in continuing education, it may be time to search for a new opportunity.
• Subpar benefit package (level of difficulty to affect change: 7). Certain benefits can be negotiated, although it is customary to do that at the time of joining the company. Your need for certain benefits may have changed along the way because of new personal circumstances or due to the position that you hold. It never hurts to ask for things such as additional vacation time or more expense reimbursement for excessive travel. In the end, if you are receiving significantly less benefits in areas that are important to you, it may be time to search for a new opportunity.
• Earning a lower salary than market value (level of difficulty to affect change: 5). Resolving salary issues with your employer can often be surprisingly easy. It can also be difficult depending upon internal equity issues and your ability to justify the request for a raise. You can easily fall behind the market value in salary for a variety of reasons: 1.) you have been receiving small annual increases for many years with your current employer, 2.) you started employment with this company at a salary below market value or 3.) you have had a high level of success and have not received merit increases. If you are earning a salary substantially below market value, schedule a meeting with your boss and present documentation of your special accomplishments. In addition, display your research from several sources regarding average salaries in your field for your type of position and your level of experience and education. You may end up deciding to stay with your employer anyway because of overall job satisfaction despite earning a lower-than-average salary.
It is frequently a tough call regarding whether to switch jobs, especially if it is a mixed bag of positives and negatives with your current employer. You need to look at a variety of factors in the big picture when considering a job change such as your short- and long-range career goals, your recent job history, the likelihood of a new job being long-term and the level of risk you are willing to take. In the end, it may even come down to a gut feeling as to whether an attractive new job offer is significantly better than your current job situation. In the end, you must decide what is most important to you.
Ken Pelczarski is owner and founder of Pelichem Associates, a Chicago-based search firm established in 1985 and specializing in the lubricants industry. You can reach Ken at (630) 960-1940 or at pelichem@aol.com.