---
title: "Year-End: To Jump or to Stay?"
description: "The article discusses the decision of whether to change jobs at year-end, offering ten signs that indicate it's time to leave and seven situations where staying is advisable, emphasizing the importance of opportunity cost and self-awareness."
author: "高杰"
publisher: "New Distribution"
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published: "2017-12-17"
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# Year-End: To Jump or to Stay?

> The article discusses the decision of whether to change jobs at year-end, offering ten signs that indicate it's time to leave and seven situations where staying is advisable, emphasizing the importance of opportunity cost and self-awareness.

**Introduction**
"Going or staying both have their merits; success or failure is known in the heart." There is no right or wrong choice. Where there is a path, someone will walk it. When there is no path, giving up is the grace of "observing the world's warmth and coldness, idly watching the flowers bloom and fall in the courtyard"; giving up is the realm of "all prosperity and decline are dreams, forgetting worries and joys is Zen."

"Actually, I don't want to leave; actually, I want to stay. Stay to accompany you through every season. You must believe me; it won't be long before I want you to spend this life with me. Actually, I don't want to leave; actually, I want to stay..." The strains of Wakin Chau's "Actually I Don't Want to Leave" drift from the street, evoking sadness, melancholy, and helplessness. Left or right? Standing at the crossroads of the workplace, at year-end, is it "jump" or "stay"? Drowning sorrows in wine only increases sorrow; a wave of melancholy surges in the heart.

As the saying goes: **"A person moves to thrive, a tree moves to die."** **Human resources can only achieve rational allocation and maximum value through mobility.** Some are actively allocated, such as being headhunted or changing jobs; others are passively allocated, such as being eliminated, terminated, or laid off. So regardless of the form of allocation, one should not feel guilty about disloyalty or a sense of loss from being let go. The key is that when you should "jump" but you "stay," or when you should "stay" but you "jump," the opportunity cost is too high for anyone, and some may even change their development trajectory because of it. As a human resources practitioner for over a decade, at the end of the year, I want to offer some advice to everyone, hoping it will be helpful.

**The key to "jumping" or "staying" is to seize the opportunity. First, let's look at when it's time to "jump."**

**1. If you have been in your current position for more than 3 years without changes in job content or promotions, it's time to consider a change.** After more than 3 years at a company, the marginal benefit of your position typically diminishes. You've learned what there is to learn, become familiar with what there is to know, and the novelty has long worn off. Staying longer will only lower your morale and make you complacent. So perhaps it's time to seek change. Of course, those whose positions are steadily rising and who are constantly exposed to new fields and functions are not in this category. Don't worry too much about the continuity and completeness of your resume. Having served at a company for more than 3 years proves your stability; in today's society, this is not considered fickle. Even in the internet industry, staying at a company for 2 years is not considered frequent job-hopping. If a candidate has been at a company for more than 4 years, we begin to doubt their passion and ability to embrace change, which is actually a negative.

**2. If the company is poorly managed, frequently in deficit, and income is precarious, leave as soon as possible.** The relationship between employees and the company is usually one of shared prosperity and loss. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. If you don't want to sink with the ship, don't delay; leave quickly.

**3. If the company has chaotic management, internal strife, and lacks an atmosphere for doing business.** The boss doesn't act like a boss, employees don't act like employees, there's no order, everyone is fragmented, and factions are everywhere. In such a company, it's better to jump.

**4. If you are sure you are not one of those with high aspirations but low abilities, and you have real life pressures, such as mortgage, car loan, raising children, or supporting elderly parents.** If the current company cannot meet your income needs in the foreseeable future, it's also worth looking at outside opportunities.

**5. The comparison effect.** That is, compared to friends, colleagues, or classmates of similar aptitude and level, you feel you have clearly fallen behind in the workplace. At every reunion, you are ashamed to mention your income, company, or position, or you simply don't want to attend. If you don't want to show off like Xia Luo, then start with yourself and change platforms.

**6. Your direct supervisor is terrible.** They don't support you, always nitpick, give you a hard time, give chaotic orders, lack competence, suppress you, don't take responsibility, and you can't escape them in the foreseeable future. If you don't want to live in a twisted state, remember: there are plenty of fish in the sea; if it doesn't work here, go elsewhere.

**7. If you have no interest in your current job and every day you dread going to work like taking medicine, change quickly.** A career spans decades; enduring without interest is unimaginable. Of course, having interest doesn't mean you can do everything comfortably. Comfort is unreliable in work and certainly not your goal. If you want to earn money or achieve a goal, there is no comfort. Having interest means you give yourself a good reason to accomplish something, you are willing to constantly challenge yourself for a goal, overcome various discomforts and difficulties, and finally, at the moment of reaching the summit, you can enjoy the thrill of looking down at all the other mountains. So whether you have interest is not based on intuition or momentary whim, but through continuous tempering, various entanglements and pains. If you still can't accept a job after that, then it's not too late to change.

**8. You used to be important in the company, involved in everything, but suddenly you find yourself marginalized: meetings no longer include you, your responsibilities shrink, leaders rarely communicate with you, and even when they assign work, it's clearly perfunctory.** At this point, be careful; it may be a precursor to involuntary departure. If you haven't been there long, don't care too much about the severance pay; workplace reputation is more important. Rather than being pushed out, it's better to leave gracefully.

**9. Limited development space.** The workplace for the post-80s and post-90s is one that pursues personality development. When you feel there is little left to learn and limited room for advancement, first objectively assess whether your judgment is accurate—are you too impatient, not settling down, or is the opportunity cost indeed rising? If it's the latter, consider changing jobs.

**10. Cultural conflict.** This conflict is a deep expression; some may not articulate why, but they always feel out of place. People who have worked in foreign companies for a long time often find it hard to adapt to the management style of private enterprises; those accustomed to high-tech companies find it hard to adapt to traditional industries; managers who grew up in market-oriented companies rarely fit into state-owned enterprise atmospheres, and vice versa. These are all manifestations of cultural conflict. We can summarize them as differences in values, behavioral patterns, management mechanisms, interpersonal relationships, etc. When such conflict occurs, it is generally difficult to reconcile, and the only option is to leave.

Among the above "ten reasons to jump," if you have three, you should seriously consider changing platforms; if you have five or more, don't hesitate—staying longer may lead to depression.

**If you don't have the capital to "jump," staying is your best choice. In the following seven situations, it is recommended to be cautious and cherish what you have.**

**1. If you have been with your current company for less than 12 months, it is recommended to carefully consider changing jobs.** Although our time is fragmented in the internet age, your career resume cannot be fragmented. Resumes with three or more job changes within two years are usually immediately thrown into the trash by HR. So unless you have an irresistible reason, we generally do not recommend changing jobs within the first year. For the internet industry, the minimum interval between job changes should be more than 12 months; for traditional industries, it is recommended to be at least 2 years.

**2. If you haven't figured out what you really want and are just dissatisfied with the status quo, it is recommended to think it through before deciding to go or stay.** No one is completely satisfied with their current job; there are always flaws, whether in income, platform, or team. But career planning is not a game. Blindly looking for a new job before clarifying your goals often solves problem A but creates problem B. You won't feel settled anywhere, leading to continuous job changes and a messy resume. It is recommended to make an objective and comprehensive analysis of yourself and the market, prioritize goals such as income increase, promotion, learning new knowledge and skills, determine which are must-haves and which can be compromised, and then search for a suitable next employer.

**3. If the company is on an upward trend and there is room for personal growth, even if attractive outside opportunities tempt you, it is recommended to carefully consider changing jobs.** After all, in the workplace, "familiarity is better than novelty." You are familiar with the current system and environment. Moving to a new unit means starting from scratch, with many unknown risks. From an opportunity cost perspective, caution is still advised.

**4. If you are merely driven by comparison, feeling anxious because classmates and friends are doing well, and thus want to change jobs, it's better to calm down for a while.** When someone is not doing well, they tend to look for external reasons—blaming the platform, industry, boss, product, etc.—while ignoring internal factors. Others' success may not just be due to their company; more likely, internal qualities are at play. If you don't adjust yourself and only seek a platform that fits you perfectly, it's like climbing a tree to catch a fish; you may end up the same wherever you jump.

**5. If you just want to earn a bit more money, changing jobs is not recommended.** Income growth is a comprehensive and slow process. In a highly market-oriented environment, it is mainly related to your overall quality. Although we don't need to label it "accumulate steadily and release suddenly," once your abilities are sufficient, income will naturally rise. Focusing too much on immediate gains while neglecting self-accumulation makes you a sprinter—explosive but lacking endurance. Those who start early but arrive late are common in the workplace. I agree with the saying: those who ultimately earn big money are not the smart ones, but some who seem a bit foolish but are good at persevering.

**6. If your life situation is likely to undergo major changes in the coming year, it is recommended to adopt a conservative strategy regarding job changes.** For example, having a child, getting married, reuniting with a partner in a different place, or treating a major illness. Career choice is also a major change. Generally, you shouldn't overlap two important events in the same period because they can have complex interactions, causing your energy to be scattered and decision-making to be confused, leading to neglect of one for the other. Unless it's absolutely necessary, it's better to handle them in stages.

**7. If you are acting out of momentary anger or to vent, it is recommended to wait until your mood calms before considering a job change.** You might have been scolded by your boss, received a low performance score, missed your year-end bonus expectations, or promises weren't kept, so you resign in anger, often without a new job lined up. But looking back, you may feel satisfied, but what next? Various forums and social circles may applaud your decisiveness, but the gas company, water company, phone company, and landlord won't charge you a cent less because of your bravado. And when you have no fallback, the next job becomes a necessity, and you might step into another quagmire. So be objective, rational, consider the overall picture, and choose your best path.

**"Going or staying both have their merits; success or failure is known in the heart." There is no right or wrong choice. Where there is a path, someone will walk it. When there is no path, giving up is the grace of "observing the world's warmth and coldness, idly watching the flowers bloom and fall in the courtyard"; giving up is the realm of "all prosperity and decline are dreams, forgetting worries and joys is Zen."**

Gao Jie, founding partner and senior consultant of Zhenmou Junlue Enterprise Management Consulting; researcher at Beijing Guanghua Vision Enterprise Management Consulting Center; formerly HR director at Hebei Yiling Pharmaceutical Group, HR director at Ping'an Health Group, and other senior HR positions in large listed companies; specializes in enterprise HR system construction and performance appraisal model design.

Source: Zhenmou Junlue (ID: gejunzhenygzt)

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