Wrong Deal
Reading. The exchange feels unfair. Ask plainly before you decide.
This quiz sorts what is driving the question. It does not tell you to leave or to stay, and it does not know your contract, your finances or your health. The runway figures in the worksheet are arithmetic, not financial advice; check them with someone qualified. If you are being harassed or discriminated against, this quiz does not apply; talk to HR, an employment lawyer or, in the UK, ACAS.
Your lowest score is The Deal. The pay, the hours, the location or the terms feel unfair for what you give, and there is probably something you want changed that you have not yet asked for. This quiz calls that reading Wrong Deal. The work and the relationship may be fine. The exchange is not.
Of the four readings, this is the one a single conversation can change, and it is the conversation people put off. Leaving over a deal you never asked to change means you will carry the same silence into the next negotiation.
Before you ask, get the facts straight. What do similar roles pay in your market? Which part of the deal matters most to you: the money, the hours or the terms? What would you accept? A request with a number and a reason is a negotiation. A complaint about fairness is a mood, and a mood is easy to wave away.
Then make the ask once, clearly, in a meeting booked for it. If the answer is no, ask what would have to be true for it to be yes, and by when. That answer is your data point. A no with a path is a different job from a no with nothing behind it.
The rules for deciding. Stay employed while you search, because a job in hand is your strongest position in any negotiation. Set a six month check on any promise you are given. Ask which choice you would regret less in ten years. And resign to a plan, not to a person.
What to do this week. Write the request in one sentence: what you want changed, by how much, and why. Then book the meeting. If the deal is fine on paper and still feels wrong, something else may be holding you, and the golden handcuffs test sorts money from meaning.
What to do with this result
If you do not manage people
The ask. Book a meeting for it, not the end of a status update, and say it in one breath: I would like to talk about my pay. Based on what I deliver and what similar roles pay, I am asking for this figure, from this date. What would you need to see to agree?
The three columns. Leave, if the answer is no with no path, and the gap matters to you more than the work and the people. Stay and act, if there is a yes, or a no with a date and a condition. Stay and wait, if a review cycle or a budget decision is already scheduled. Write down your column and the date you will check it.
The free leadership style quiz shows how you lead, which is part of the case for what you are worth.
If you manage people
If you manage people, check what your reports have not asked for. Many people leave over a deal they never raised, and a manager hears about it for the first time in the exit conversation. Ask each report once this quarter: is there anything about your pay, hours or terms we should talk about? You will not be able to fix all of it. You will know before the resignation letter does.
The one on one meeting builder makes that question part of the agenda rather than a special occasion.
If you are leaving to start or run something
If you are leaving to start or run something, be honest about the deal you are walking into. Early on, a founder's own pay is usually the last cost covered, and the hours are rarely better than the ones you are leaving.
The runway rule. Add up what you spend in a month, at home and in the new venture. Divide the money you can set aside by that figure. The answer is how many months of costs you have covered. Decide the number of months you need before you resign, not after, and write it down.
The CEO Mastermind is a room of people who have made that trade and can tell you what it cost.
Next step
If this is a legal matter
Harassment and discrimination at work are legal questions, and a quiz cannot answer them. In the US, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission explains what the law covers and how to file a charge at eeoc.gov. In the UK, ACAS gives free, impartial advice at acas.org.uk. An employment lawyer can tell you what applies to you. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
The other results
- Wrong LensSome of the friction may be coming with you. Test that first.
- Wrong WorkThe work no longer fits. A new boss would not fix it.
- Wrong BossThe work fits. The relationship with your manager does not.
About this result
This is one of 4 results from the Should I Quit My Job Quiz: the work, the boss, the deal or the mirror, a free tool that shows the score without an email. Aggregate figures are at the statistics page once 30 completions have been reached. More free tools are at the tools shelf.