How Often Do You Fantasize About Quitting?

Here’s a weird question for you: How often do you fantasize about quitting — and what would you do instead? How has it gone when you actually have quit previous jobs?

I started thinking about this because I saw a story in Fortune (via MSN) that “nearly half of employees say they dread coming to work at least once a week.” Been there!

For my own $.02… I remember fantasizing so much about quitting one of my first jobs (as an editorial assistant at Family Circle magazine) that I can still remember being in the elevator lobby on the magazine’s floor and feeling a sense of dread as I used my keycard to enter the office. This was before I could quit, but it seemed like daily I would fantasize about going to the editor-in-chief and saying definitively, “I QUIT!”

It’s been so many years now, but whenever the thought “I should just quit” pops up in my head, that’s the mental imagery I get — being about to enter the FC office and feeling dread, mixed with the power fantasy of quitting dramatically.

The hilarious thing is that even though I couldn’t wait to quit that job (and go to law school), my actual resignation was super emotional. Tears may have been involved, along with lots of expressions of gratitude? I have, of course, blocked that part out except for the immense shame that I was so emotional during the resigning. (And now I look back on the job fondly!)

{here’s our last discussion on crying at work}

(If you’re curious, I’m really happy being a full time blogger… I have no plans to quit at present or even fantasies of quitting…)

How about you, readers — how often do you fantasize about quitting your situation? Do you fantasize about quitting your job, or quitting your entire career? How detailed in your head does it get — what you’ll do instead, how you’ll resign your job? Will you go out in a blaze of glory and tell them everything wrong with the job? (We actually don’t advise quitting in a blaze of glory… but this is your fantasy!)

Psst: Here’s how to write a resignation letter, what to say in a goodbye email, and the best practices for giving notice.

Stock photo via Stencil.