How to deal with the fear and uncertainty when quitting a job

Resignations can be one of the most difficult challenges in your career. Someone may choose to quit their job for a whole host of reasons. You might be taking the first step towards a career change that will bring you closer to doing what you love. Sometimes, quitting a job might be necessary to avoid a toxic workplace or to develop your career in ways that might not be possible in your current role.

You might ask yourself, ‘Did I make the right decision?’ ‘What am I going to do next?’ 

It’s important to remember that you aren’t alone in these fears. According to a 2024 poll of 12,000 UK workers, around a quarter (24%) plan to move jobs within six months. 

Whatever the motivation behind handing in your notice, the uncertainty of this decision can cause a lot of stress and anxiety—especially if you don’t have another role lined up. As a career coach, I regularly hear from clients who grapple with the fear of changing jobs. In this post, I will share three tips on managing anxiety when resigning.

Tackling the ‘why’

Quitting a job is not a decision that should be taken lightly. For many people, the stability of regular income, pension contributions, and bonuses outweighs the risk of resignation. But behind every urge to quit are legitimate reasons. Balancing the need for change against the certainty of the status quo can trigger those feelings of anxiety. 

To help manage this and decide whether to take the plunge, it is a good idea to ask yourself a few important questions about your current role to understand the situation better and unpack some of those heavy emotions. 

You might ask yourself:

• What exactly triggers those negative feelings at work, and can something be done about them?
• What values are important to me but aren’t being honoured in my current role?
• What would I be losing if I quit this job?

Find time to step back from those feelings and consider whether quitting your job is the best decision for you.

Visualise the future

Without a plan, quitting your job can feel like a huge step into the unknown. But leaving behind a toxic role or a job that isn’t serving you can often be the catalyst for change your life needs. 

This is the time to envision your life after this job and picture yourself in the future without fear or limitations. Is there a ‘dream job’ you’d rather be doing instead? You may ask yourself what you would do with your life if money was no object. 

You can use this opportunity to get creative. Some people love to work with vision boards as a way of mapping out their future. Others may use their imagination to visualise the future in their own mind and specific details in this vision. 

When you reframe the anxiety around quitting a job as an opportunity to dream big about the future, the situation becomes one that invokes excitement rather than fear.

Focus on your strengths and values

Gaining the self-confidence to make decisive changes for the betterment of your life is the ultimate goal of coaching. When it comes to career changes, you can gain self-belief from acknowledging what you bring to the table as an employee. Remember that you were once hired for your job because of your talent and ability, and another employer will see this in the future.

When examining what’s missing from your current role, reflect on your values and how they could be better served in another role. For example, if you want to help others but aren’t fulfilling this passion currently, consider a potential career change that brings this passion into play.

It’s also important to focus on your greatest strengths, and how you can cultivate these qualities in a new role. The CliftonStrengths assessment is a useful tool for understanding what you’re good at and how to apply these abilities in your life.

By harnessing your greatest strengths and understanding how they fit into a new role, you can begin to visualise a future career path that is filled with hope and optimism rather than fear and uncertainty.

If this content resonates and you would like support with a similar topic, let’s connect and have a chat.