Deciding to quit your job is not easy. Between doubts and the fear of making a mistake, many hesitate for a long time. A psychologist then suggests a quick method to see things more clearly.
Leaving your job may be obvious for some, while others go around in circles for months without being able to make a decision. Behind this hesitation, there is rarely a single cause. Salary, working conditions or the atmosphere count, but they are not always enough to explain the discomfort that sets in. It is precisely on this point that psychologist George Sik, specialist in psychometrics applied to the professional world, focuses.
According to him, job satisfaction largely depends on a deeper factor than visible benefits. “When it comes to job satisfaction, it is very likely that our values – professional or personal – are not fully satisfied”he explains. In other words, what gets stuck is not necessarily what we do, but what this work represents. This idea is consistent with a well-known logic among employers, who are looking for profiles aligned with their culture. “Just like companies that hire candidates who match their values, happy employees work for companies where, on a daily basis, their values are respected.”
This notion of alignment allows us to understand why certain situations remain bearable despite tensions or imperfections; sometimes be careful of toxic use that you don’t always guess. “If your top five values are met, or even four out of five, you will likely be happy with your job, even if there are daily tensions or problems,” inform the specialist.
Conversely, when this balance no longer exists, warning signals appear…. We must not risk burnout even if retraining exists. “However, if only three or fewer of your values are met, it is highly unlikely that your professional situation will ever improve, and it may be time to move on.” A reading grid allowing you to get out of vague thinking and concretely assess your situation.
The test proposed by George Sik is based precisely on this logic. It involves identifying five words that sum up what really matters at work, based on the moments when you felt best. These words must be positive and linked to what really motivates: creativity, autonomy, stability, ethics or even security. Once these benchmarks have been established, you just need to confront them with current reality and check how many are really present in your daily professional life.
Note that when a job is regularly described as “uninspired”, “boring”, “repetitive” or “exhausting”, it is generally not a bad week, but a well-established malaise. The tone used, too, says a lot: often saying “if I can hold on a little longer…” shows, for example, that we are dealing with the situation rather than really choosing it. Conversely, when a position corresponds to what matters to you, it not only provides satisfaction, it brings rhythm, momentum and a form of clarity to your daily life.
