The Great Resignation Is Not Only About Money
Whether you are fuming, leaving or in new work territory, there are other benefits to quitting.
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The Great Resignation has become a tidal wave of “quits” in America and is now spreading overseas. I often get caught up in whatever social norm is happening too late to ever really take advantage of it, but not in this case. At every stage on my journey over the past year, I was continually reflecting. One thing I learned is that I wasn’t wrong to leave. My work went against everything I needed in a career, scarring the story I told about myself.
At the end of October 2020, I quit my job half a year before the great resignation was identified. I took two months to recover then started a course for the qualifications I needed in my chosen sector. I also dipped my toe back into my old field as I was cautious about my prospects.
At the end of my training, I quite unexpectedly landed a job in my new field. As a bonus, it came in at four days a week, when I was only expecting to get two or three. This was something I am highly grateful for as it meant I could leave everything old behind.
On the anniversary of my own resignation, I share with you some benefits to leaving that have nothing to do with money. I understand that pay is a hot issue, especially in America, where poverty wages are the norm. But there’s so much more that shapes us around work, and often the only way to honestly reflect on any of them — finances included — is to get off the damned hamster wheel.
Here are my top five benefits from quitting a job and ultimately a career that I hated, and moving into work that has called me for years:
My desire to learn has returned
My new field, spiritual care, is rich in opportunities to develop, from the front lines of care to the halls of research and every peak body in between. I realized that while people often credited me for my knowledge and skills in my previous roles, the fact was I never purposefully pursued learning to better myself in my job. The handful of times that I did, I gave it maybe 30%.
Now I approach every day as an opportunity. My calendar is full of yellow slots- my…
