You’ll be surprised how going to a job that you no longer love is very similar to going to school when you hate your form teacher or, worse, he hates you. Here’s the checklist.

1. You feel dreadful on Sunday nights, and worse on Monday mornings

Monday blues suddenly feel oh-so-real because you no longer are motivated to go to work or, worse, you are actually scared to go to work because of the toxic people there.

Kind of like how you used to pretend to be sick every Monday because you wanted to skip P.E class and avoid that horrible P.E teacher who never understood why your stubby legs couldn’t carry you very far in Standing Broad Jump.

2. You start to enjoy taking MCs

Oh, your throat feels a little dry? Take MC. Oh, your eyes hurt a little? Take MC. Oh, you snagged your favourite shirt? Take MC. Anything to get you off work, really.

3. You count down every day, every hour

You can’t wait for morning tea break, then lunch hour, then tea break, and finally the time when you can get to pack up and head home. And to speed things up even more, you take 15 toilet breaks.

4. You are bored all the time

You count down the minutes every day because you are bored and no longer have any interest in your job or even in your colleagues. If you’d rather be surfing the net or simply staring into space – or at your blank Word doc – it’s not that you’re lazy but you are bored with your job. 

5. You no longer talk about your work

You know how they say in public relations that a negative reaction is better than getting no reaction? The same applies to your job.

Most of us love whining and complaining about our work and that’s only because we still feel we are a part of it or it’s a part of us. And then there are those of us who feel so disengaged that we don’t even bother to talk about it anymore.

6. Nothing you ever do is (good) enough

It’s like trying to win over your girlfriend’s snobbish parents. Your boss is never pleased with your ideas, your colleagues veto your suggestions and even your intern is starting to give you that “really, meh?” face.

7. You don’t have any kakis left in the office

No, it’s not childish to feel like you need to leave your job because your cliques have all left. We are social creatures, after all.

If you are no longer making friends at work and feel disconnected with the new people who are coming in, it’s also a sign that your time is up (well, unless you are the CEO who’s making a lot of moolah from company shares).

8. You are reading this and agreeing with at least one of the signs

Google “resignation letter template” now.

This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.