When Is It Time to Say Goodbye?

On several occasions during our professional career, there comes a key moment to say goodbye. The reasons can be varied: strategy changes or the failure to make changes within a company, work environment, lack of understanding, the boss or owner of the company, or in the worst case, having little connection with what is being commercialized. If this happens, you shouldn't delay it. It requires full emotional maturity to know that it is time to leave. Delaying it can bring even more complications, and sooner or later you will have to face it.

As Gustavo Cerati said in one of his songs: "Being able to say goodbye is growing." But for some, it is an unbearable moment.
Facing these two options, you have the possibility of delaying the decision, even if the employment relationship has already come to an end during that time, or leaving with your head held high.
It is likely that this goodbye will come accompanied by different feelings, fears, and even pain. Nobody said it would be easy. But when you are conscious that this relationship has stalled and that no matter how hard you tried it didn't flow, that there is no longer a way to get promoted or generate changes in the company, that you feel restricted in your creativity, that there are no pros but cons from a professional standpoint, the best thing is to have the courage to step away. That is also dignity. It is even a way of realizing the emotional maturity you have acquired and that rationality in making decisions that over time will give you positive results and great satisfaction.

Signs that it's time to say goodbye

1.- There is a feeling of permanent dissatisfaction; you no longer find meaning in it, even if you did before. Upon having that feeling of not achieving satisfaction, of there being no reasons to stay. "The person no longer looks for reasons to stay, but instead fills up with reasons to leave; they see only the negative side, begin to look at other horizons, have other expectations, and that is an indication to close that circle."
2.- Less productivity: In your work, you are no longer growing, you no longer enjoy it as much as before; you no longer have that productivity or that feeling of moving forward. "It's time to evaluate whether you're not putting in the effort as you used to, or as needed, or if it's really time for a change. You have to look at those aspects. There are people who have to leave or change jobs just out of routine, and there you have to be careful because you are the one who creates the routine and you are capable of changing it"—routine is not a signal. "What one must do is evaluate why the routine started, how to change it, what I need to do now. Nor is it changing just for the sake of changing, but having a clear idea of what you are looking for, where you want to direct your career." Many dissatisfactions occur because people don't know what they want, and they jump from one job to another.

Benefits of saying goodbye on time:
1. Feeling better.
2. Being consistent with ourselves.
3. Taking care of ourselves, being on our own side.

What is the best way to say goodbye?

1.- Be honest with yourself and with the situation. 2.- Don't tell yourself lies like "let's wait and see if it gets better," "let's wait and see what happens." If you aren't honest, you won't see the possibility of closure and will live dissatisfied or miss great opportunities. Remember that life gives you opportunities if you are really looking for them. 3.- Don't close yourself off thinking that the devil you know is better than the devil you don't, because in fact, in life you have to take certain risks. Those risks will not give you the certainty of the known, but they will make you happier and help you learn new things. That is the payoff. 4.- It looks harder than it is, but it's not. Making an exit might seem harder, but when you are ready, you know what's good, what's bad, you've already seen other possibilities, you will look within yourself for the qualities that will help you find new things. It's about dreaming a little more. 5.- Overcome fear. Don't believe that ending a work relationship will automatically help you find a better or worse company; they are all different. It's important to feel satisfied and happy. Fear makes us perfectionists.

What happens when we don't say goodbye on time in a work relationship? There is a fairly large frustration in one's sense of life; people feel that they aren't truly themselves. If you can't resolve an issue, there is a feeling of helplessness that increases over time; we can get used to anything, even what hurts us, and that shouldn't be the case. If we aren't growing, if we no longer have the sense of purpose we started with, it is necessary to learn to say goodbye, and it is painful, especially if you have been with a company for a long time. Generally, people think they have invested a lot in a company, but waiting too long will make it harder, more complicated.

What are the consequences of not saying goodbye on time at a job or company? When you no longer feel passion, joy, challenge, or enjoyment in your work, it is important that you consider the possibility of looking for a job that does give you that kind of energy.
Opportunities are lost because the labor market expects to have young people most of the time. Experience in what you are good at is lost. A person can be good at something they don't like, but they could be even better at something they love. You have to know how to direct that professional path; out of necessity, some people accept everything, even what they don't like. That is why it is important to be clear about what you want to achieve professionally. Many people stay in dissatisfying jobs because they don't know how to search or don't know their professional profile well; they haven't structured it. They work, but they aren't aiming at anything specific. In the job market, success lies in having a specific profile, stepping up your career. If you don't, you stagnate—sure, you receive a salary, but you won't have a different position after 15 years; you will remain with the same job as always.