When is the ‘right’ time to quit your job?

If you leave a job too early, you risk looking impatient. On the other hand, staying too long can lead to stagnation, burnout or resentment

- Geetika Sachdev

By Thursday afternoon, Rohit Sharma already knew how his Friday would end. The content lead at a Mumbai-based advertising agency would be on back-to-back calls, clearing last-minute escalations, and logging off exhausted well past 9pm. The weekend offered little respite. By Sunday evening, the familiar heaviness returned. “I stopped recognizing myself,” the 38-year-old says. “I was snappy with my team, perpetually tired, and constantly thinking about quitting. But I was also scared of what would happen if I did.”

Across the country in Bengaluru, Ananya Nair faced a different dilemma. For the 34-year-old brand manager at a global FMCG company, everything was “right” on paper: a good salary, a swanky office, and international work trips. Yet, she felt hollow. She recalls, “I would sit in meetings wondering why I was even there. The only time I felt alive was on weekends, cooking and filming recipes for Instagram.

Two professionals, two very different jobs. Both confronting the same question: Had their roles run their course?

The decision to quit is one of the hardest career decisions to make. If you leave too early, you risk looking impatient. On the other hand, staying too long can lead to stagnation, burnout, or resentment.

THE SLOW BUILDUP

For most, the decision to quit doesn’t arise from a single bad day. It’s the result of a slow accumulation of fatigue, frustration, and disconnection. Overwork is often the first sign.

Sharma recalls waking up each morning dreading the day ahead; not because of one impossible boss or multiple deadlines, but because the rhythm of his work had become unsustainable. “I wasn’t performing badly,” he says, “but I was permanently exhausted.”