The average career slump lasts 4 to 5 years.

Most people stay unhappy at work far longer than they realise.

In my experience, 4 to 5 years is the average time people will spend feeling unhappy about their careers.

I’m talking about that persistent sense of low-grade dissatisfaction, feelings of ambivalence about work, or a slow extinguishing of your flame.

You aren’t dying of misery yet. You’ve secured flexible hours that afford you time to do school drop off or pick up, even if the cost of that flexibility is poor boundaries. You get paid reasonably well for what you do, even if the figure hasn’t gone up as much as you’d like. You’re a solid performer, known for doing good work, even though you’ve had zilch investment in your growth and learning since you joined four years ago. You like your colleagues, even though there aren’t enough of them to manage the workload, and you don’t see them that often these days.

You’re one of the lucky ones! Things could definitely be worse. You can sit tight a little longer. Wait until the need to escape grows more urgent.

Now add the following thought pattern to the one above, because the two often go hand in hand.

You aren’t clear on your career options, let alone your career goals. Options? You don’t have any. Or you have too many. How will you know which move is the right one? What will people say? You’d be foolish to move on!

What if you leave and things are worse??

Soon enough - sooner or later - those whispers of discontent turn into silent screams. If you’re wondering if things could be better somewhere else, they probably could. But in the absence of abject misery or a clear vision of your ideal destination? You’ll likely stay put.

When we’re hardwired to seek safety and groomed to show gratitude, it’s no wonder people stay stuck in soul-sucking, joy-sapping, going-nowhere jobs longer than they should 👿‍♀️

If this sounds familiar, it’s worth asking yourself:

How long do I want to keep waiting before things change?