Wrong Lens
Reading. Some of the friction may be coming with you. Test that first.
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 Mirror. The friction you feel in this job looks like friction you felt in the last one, you find it hard to let a decision go once it is made, or you carry extra work nobody asked for and then resent it. This quiz calls that reading Wrong Lens. It means the question you are asking is not really about this job.
That is not blame. It is the most useful reading of the four, because it is the only one you can change without anyone's permission. The other three depend on a manager, a budget or a market. This one depends on you, which means you can start on Monday.
A clear line first. If you are being harassed or discriminated against, this reading does not apply to you. That is not a lens problem, and nothing on this page should make you doubt it. Use the legal resources at the foot of this page.
For everyone else, here is the test. Write down the three things that bother you most in this job. Next to each, write whether the same thing happened in your last job. If two of the three repeat, a new employer will give you a new desk and the same week. If none repeat, the Mirror is pointing at something smaller: a habit worth changing, not a reason to stay.
The rules still apply if you decide to go. Stay employed while you search, because it is easier to find a job when you have one. Set a six month check: a date when you look again at whether the reason still holds. Ask which choice you would regret less in ten years. And resign to a plan, not to a person.
What to do this week. Pick the one piece of extra work you carry that nobody asked for, and hand it back or stop doing it. Then watch whether the job feels different in two weeks. The am I the problem at work test goes one level deeper, and it will also tell you plainly when it is not you.
What to do with this result
If you do not manage people
The conversation to have first. Ask one colleague you trust: when I am frustrated here, what do you see me do? Listen to the answer without explaining it. Then ask your manager what would make the role work better from their side.
The three columns. Leave, if the three things on your list did not happen in your last job and none of them can change here. Stay and act, if the friction is a habit you can change within a month. Stay and wait, if a known change, such as a new manager or the end of a project, is already scheduled. Write down which column you are in, with a date to check it.
How you show up is a leadership question before it is a career one. The free leadership style quiz shows which habits you lead with.
If you manage people
If you manage people, the Mirror is also what your reports see. The friction you carry reaches them as the tone of your one on ones. And some of them are asking whether to quit right now. Gallup found that 42 percent of people who left voluntarily said the exit was preventable, and 45 percent had no conversation with their manager about their future in the three months before they went (Fortune on Gallup).
Ask each report this month what would make them stay. The one on one meeting builder gives you the agenda, and the conflict style assessment shows what you do when someone disagrees with you.
If you are leaving to start or run something
If you are leaving to start or run something, the Mirror matters more, not less. Your own company has no manager to blame, so friction that travels lands on your first hires. Test the three things on your list before you resign.
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.
Founders see their own blind spots fastest among peers who run companies. The CEO Mastermind is that room.
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 WorkThe work no longer fits. A new boss would not fix it.
- Wrong DealThe exchange feels unfair. Ask plainly before you decide.
- 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.