Wrong Work
Reading. The work no longer fits. A new boss would not fix it.
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 Work. You have not learned much lately, most of your week goes on work you are not drawn to, or the job has become something you do rather than something you care about. This quiz calls that reading Wrong Work. It is the reading where leaving most often solves the problem, because a new manager or a pay rise does not change what you do all day.
Check one thing before you trust it. Has the work changed, or have you? If the role drifted, through a reorganisation or a change of priorities, the work you want may still exist here, in another team. If you grew and the role stayed where it was, it will not grow back to fit you. That second case is a good problem to have. It means you outgrew something.
Wrong Work also has a stay and act version. Before you look outside, ask your manager one direct question: what would I need to show to work on something different here within six months? The answer tells you whether a door inside exists. It is common to leave for work you could have had by asking.
The rules for deciding. Stay employed while you search, because it is easier to find a job when you have one. Set a six month check on anything you try inside. Ask which choice you would regret less in ten years, since the work is the part of a job you spend the most hours in. And resign to a plan, not to a person.
What to do this week. Write down three tasks from the last month you would happily do again, and three you would pay to hand over. Take the list to your next one on one. If you wonder whether the next step is leading other people, the should I become a manager test asks it straight.
What to do with this result
If you do not manage people
Your next one on one. Say it plainly: I want to spend more of my time on this kind of work. What would I need to show to get there within six months? Write the answer down and send it back the same day.
The three columns. Leave, if the answer is that the work does not exist here and you have checked with one other team. Stay and act, if there is a path and a date. Stay and wait, if a change that would open the work is already scheduled and you know when. Write down which column you are in and the date you will look again.
If the work you want involves leading people, the free leadership style quiz shows how you would lead.
If you manage people
If you manage people, one of your reports may be reading Wrong Work right now without saying so. People rarely tell a manager that the work has gone stale. They start looking instead. Ask each report which part of their work they would keep and which they would hand over, and act on one answer per person this quarter.
The one on one meeting builder puts that question on the agenda. The 5 Minute Leader is the daily habit set for managers who want to catch it early.
If you are leaving to start or run something
If you are leaving to start or run something, Wrong Work is the reading where that can be the real answer, because the work you want may not exist as a job anywhere. Check that it is the work you want, not only the title of founder.
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.
If you want a coach while you build it, the executive coaching cost index shows what coaching costs and what to ask. The CEO Mastermind is the peer route.
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 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.