, I got a few questions about whether to change jobs in the last few weeks.

Here’s my take.

First, let’s get the red flags out of the way: A toxic work environment. The Muse lists 9 signs of a toxic workplace in this article:

1. No boundaries
2. Lack of trust between colleagues
3. Blame
4. Individuals treat each other with contempt
5. Interpersonal relationships are not healthy
6. Sink or swim mentality (and not support)
7. Gaslighting
8. High turnover
9. Regular physical stress symptoms

Consider whether you're better off elsewhere if you see any of these signs in your workplace.

But beyond these red flags, the decision is up to you.

So how do you know whether it’s time to quit your job?

I see this often: High performers are kept in their current roles. They are so good in their job that they are overlooked for promotions or horizontal moves.

If you are not given the opportunity to develop new skills and improve your contribution to the company, you might be ready to move on.

Coaching questions:

• Be honest with yourself: Does your boss know your ambitions and goals? Or are you expecting them to “see you”?

Suppose you have talked to your boss about your goal to take up a new role or craft your current role differently (“job crafting”), and nothing is happening within the timeframe you agreed to (irrespective of whether there are no opportunities or not willingness). In that case, you might be better off elsewhere.

We all want different things from our professional lives. Only you can determine what “professional growth” means to you - is it honing a technical skill, freedom to make decisions within your realm, or applying a variety of (new) skills?

Once you know what growth means, you can look for signs that you’ve outgrown your job.

Let me share mine with the hope they might spark some thoughts for you: Where I once was learning from my boss as a mentor, I noticed a shift: I’ve learned everything I needed to learn from them. My once exciting to-do list was the same, mundane list of tasks I needed to do. It felt all the same with no new input. And I slowly started daydreaming of alternative work scenarios.

Coaching questions:

• What does professional growth mean to you?
• Looking at your current professional setting: What made you decide to embark on it in the first place? Have these conditions changed? Or has it been fulfilled? What has changed?

We can outgrow a role, but we can also outgrow our identity. Our identity is the core of what drives you right now in your life. It is fluid, shifts as you age and enter different life seasons. Our identity changes as we accumulate experiences and events in our life.

Coaching question:

• In a quiet, relaxed moment journal on the following questions: How do you want to live your life right now? What’s different to a few years ago? Does your career fit with that ambition?

That’s a big one for my clients in do-good roles. You’re in a job you once loved and that does good, but the spark rubbed off. It’s not as fulfilling for you anymore.

You might think you’re ungrateful or feel even guilty for thinking that. It might even leave you feeling… so, what now?

And yet, we’re diverse individuals. What you were passionate about in the past, might not light you up in the present or in the future. That’s ok. Allow yourself, your passions and your interests evolve.

Coaching question:

The simple answer is: If you’re no longer invested in your role or passionate about your career, you won’t be executing your best work, and your work will suffocate you.