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By Jonathan Chevreau
Via Linked In comes this insightful article listing ten reasons to quit your job in 2015.
Click above link for the full article. I’ve reproduced the ten headings below, after which I make a few additional observations, based on my own transition in 2014 from employment (21 consecutive years of it.)
The bottom line is this is what Findependence (Financial Independence) is all about, and the raison d’être of this website. In fact, the cover of the US edition of my book on Financial Independence is very similar to the illustration to the left, except that the calendar date circled is Findependence Day.
As I note below, there may also be good reasons NOT to quit your job in 2015 but instead in 2016 or later. I wrote the original Findependence Day in 2008 but the day didn’t actually arrive until 2014, so you could say it was six years in the making. Sometimes, big life events need to be planned out that far ahead.
In any case, here are the ten reasons for quitting sooner than later:
1.) Work from Anywhere
2.) Do What You Love
3.) Make More Money
4.) Crush Boredom
5.) Express Yourself
6.) Gain Confidence
7.) Get Excited about Going to Work
8.) Explore Limitless Possibilities
9.) Be More Flexible
10.) Travel
Lots of food for thought there. I’d also add to point 3 about making more money that the odds are you can keep more of the money you do earn, since self-employment has tax advantages that don’t generally accrue to salaried employees. Similarly, there should be lower out-of-pocket costs, such as commuting and parking, snacks and lunches etc.
As I noted when I blogged from Turkey in October, the Internet and mobile devices certainly facilitate “working from anywhere,” all of which relates to points 1 and 7 to 10 above.
“My boss is a slave driver”
The article doesn’t single out avoiding having a particular boss but that’s certainly a fringe benefit. When you’re your own boss, you can quip “My boss is a slave driver,” assuming you push yourself as hard or harder than any external boss would.
Of course, as many entrepreneurs have noted, business owners actually have multiple bosses: every client is in effect a boss and it can seem at times that so are suppliers, bankers and anyone else you depend on. Still, the freedom to decline assignments is a luxury few full-time employees enjoy.
But does this all add up to quitting your job in 2015? I’d have to say “Not necessarily.” If you’re in debt and have extensive financial obligations, just up and quitting may have severe consequences. If you’re debt-free and “findependent,” leaving a full-time job is a lot easier, particularly if it’s accompanied by severance or Employment Insurance. (Note that you may not qualify for EI if you abruptly quit: much better if you can engineer being laid off!).
Don’t forget that there are many good things about traditional employment. This is the second time I’ve been self-employed (the first was between 1984 and 1989) and both times I soon observed that the first thing you miss are paid vacations and sick days. Consider too the many benefits like health and dental plans and group insurance, and employer contributions on CPP or Social Security.
Think long and hard before acting, and plan in advance
As for the softer concepts like passion, confidence, creativity and the like, I suppose it’s all true but you don’t have to quit a job to enjoy those. Focused time spent on nights and weekends to creative projects, night school, and weekly events like Toastmasters, can all provide those things without having to quit your job.
As with anything, you need to plan well in advance. If you enjoy your work, have a congenial boss and compensation, by all means investigate entrepreneurship but check with your spouse and family and your financial adviser to see whether quitting in 2015 is realistic or even advisable. It could be that 2016 or 2017 might be better in your circumstances.
If on the other hand, you hate every moment at work, your boss is the proverbial jerk, you’ve not had a raise in years, and you are generally unappreciated, clearly you have little to lose and much to gain by taking the plunge sooner than later.
If you need help to motivate yourself to quit there are various blogs and podcasts on the subject. One is this from Freakanomics on the upside of quitting. Or try this one or just Google “quit blogs” or “quit podcasts.”
