Good Reasons for Leaving a Job (and When to Stay Put)
Good reasons for leaving a job include pay, growth, respect, flexibility, and fit. Learn what counts, what does not, and how to explain it well.
CAREERS & JOBSWORK-LIFE BALANCEACTIVE INCOME
Garrett Duyck
11/6/20261 min read
Page Summary
Good reasons for leaving a job include persistent low pay, no path to advance, disrespect or toxicity, conflicts with health or family needs, relocation, and clearly better opportunities. Pew Research Center’s 2022 reporting on workers who quit in 2021 found the top reasons were low pay, no advancement, and feeling disrespected, with flexibility, child care, benefits, hours, and relocation also showing up often. Workers who changed jobs often did better afterward, especially on pay, advancement, flexibility, and work-family balance, but benefits could still get worse.
A good leaving decision is specific, durable, and hard to fix without changing employers. A weak reason is usually reactive, like a bad week, boredom you have not tried to address, or outside pressure. The article also explains how to leave well, how to frame the reason in interviews, and how to decide whether another job or a business is the better next step.
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Disclosure
Garrett Duyck is not a licensed financial advisor, CPA, or investment professional. Nothing on this site is financial advice. All content reflects his personal experience and independent research as an employee building wealth for his own family. Always do your own research before making financial decisions.
About the Author
Garrett Duyck is the founder of CheatCode Wealth™ and a full-time W-2 employee who has spent building wealth for over 15 years without starting a business. He and his wife paid off $175,000 in combined student loans in three years, then built $50,000+ in annual passive income through dividend investing, selling options, and income-producing assets while raising four kids. His financial writing has been ranked in the top 80th percentile of more than 31,700 bloggers on TipRanks with over 5,000 followers across different platforms.
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