Are you happy in your work or could it be time for a change? Perhaps you feel your ‘get up and go’ has got up and gone?

We all have days like that, but it’s not always easy to know if you simply have a case of the Monday morning blues or whether your dissatisfaction is deeper rooted.

We’ve compiled a list of indicators to help you work out if you really do need to move on to a fresh challenge or if you just need a coffee and a doughnut.

1. It’s Harder to Get Up in the Morning

One surefire way to know if you need a new job is if you dread getting out of bed. Of course, we all have mornings where we want to pull the covers up over our heads and pretend the world doesn’t exist (especially if you’ve had a late night) but you shouldn’t feel like this every day.

What is it about the day ahead that is so hard to face? Is it the work itself, someone you work with or just the commute? Identifying the issues will help you understand more about yourself and what you do or don’t want when looking for a new job in events.

Related: 14 Fantastic pieces of event career advice

2. You No Longer Share Your Company’s Vision

Sometimes people grow apart and sometimes employees and companies grow apart, too. Maybe when you started, your events agency was a small company with just a handful of employees and an informal atmosphere, but now it has grown and is becoming increasingly corporate? Perhaps you disagree with your company undertaking contracts in a country with a repressive regime? Or maybe you just simply don’t believe in the direction the company is headed? Whatever it is, if your opinions are misaligned with those of your employer you’re not being true to yourself or the company.

3. You Can’t Get Along with your Boss or New Colleagues

While you shouldn’t expect to be best friends with your boss, you should be able to expect leadership given in a respectful manner. If your employer belittles you, berates you or is otherwise making you miserable, you don’t have to (and shouldn’t) stand for it.

Likewise, if a colleague is causing you problems and you have discussed the situation with your manager to no avail, then it’s down to you to make the decisive move. Be sure to make your reasons for leaving clear in your exit interview.

Related: How to get your dream job in events

4. You’ve Stopped Learning or Feel Bored

Stagnation is one of the main reasons people lose passion for their jobs. If you feel you’re doing the same old thing day in, day out and crave a change, the first step should be to have a meeting with your boss. Find out what opportunities there are for career advancement or new responsibilities you could take on. If there is nothing available and nothing to work towards then the only option to freshen your stale career is to look for a new job.

5. You’re too Stressed (and it’s Affecting your Private Life)

Events can be stressful, but while it’s normal to feel stressed in the run up to a major event, it should not become consistent. If you feel stressed every day – and take that stress home with you after work, over the long term this will have an impact on both your physical and mental health.

If you feel the stress is becoming unmanageable it’s vital to take action before you reach breaking point.

Related: 7 Signs you were born to work in events

6. You’ve Stopped Hitting your Goals (and don’t Care)

If you’ve lost the passion for your job it can be hard to hide it. You tune out during meetings, spend increasing amounts of time surfing social media instead of working, and put minimal effort into your work.

If you allow this situation to continue you risk damaging your long-term job prospects. While your employer might not expressly say negative things about your performance when giving you a reference, what they don’t say can speak volumes. Make sure you move on before your employer flags up any performance issues.

7. Your Achievements don’t get Recognised

If you feel undervalued and receive no recognition despite working hard and doing a great job, then it’s definitely time to seek a new opportunity.

Recognition is a key part of motivation and if your efforts are consistently ignored you will undoubtedly begin to lose motivation.

If you give up and stop putting the effort in, it might be your poor performance that ends up getting recognised by your boss! In this way, believing that you’re not doing a good enough job to be recognised can actually be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Related: How to survive and thrive as a freelance event planner

8. Your Ideas don’t get Heard

Being able to contribute ideas and help shape the activities of your department is an important aspect in feeling like a valued member of the team.

If you find no one listens to you or they don’t respect your opinion you may start to question your worth, which will start to affect your performance. Don’t be made to feel insignificant. You will be able to find another company where your contributions are appreciated.

9. You’ve Stopped Having new Ideas

It’s one thing not having your ideas heard, but not having any ideas at all is another cause for concern. If you feel your inspiration has deserted you it might be because you’ve been doing the same thing for too long.

Experience equips you with valuable knowledge, but carrying out the same tasks every day is not necessarily conducive to creative thinking.

To get your creative juices flowing you’ll need a mental shake up, which a new job can offer you.

Related: 10 Gifs that perfectly illustrate what life is like for EventProfs

Conclusion

If you identify with any of the above situations it’s definitely time to take action, although leaving your job might not be the only solution. Talk to your manager and see what steps could be taken to improve your current job.

If it really is a stalemate, then don’t suffer any longer. Start preparing your C.V. and see what opportunities await you. Good luck!

 Have you ever been unhappy in your work? How did you fix the problem? Please share your experiences with our community.