Resigning: how to realize it’s time for a change

Figuring out when to resign is not easy. There are workers who decide to change jobs at the first sign of dissatisfaction, and there are those who postpone the decision for months.

The question “why resign?” cannot be answered unequivocally, after all. The reasons can be the most diverse: from the most practical issues (such as the need to move to another city or the desire for a higher income) to psychological reasons (think, for example, of burnout, the syndrome of emotional and physical exhaustion caused by an overly stressful job)

But how to resign? How to take courage to resign? And what is the process to follow?

When is it best to quit?

There are numerous circumstances that may suggest to you that it is time to change jobs.

For example, when you feel unmotivated and have not been involved in your work activities for some time. If you wake up every morning with no happiness at the idea of going to work, if you no longer feel the passion you used to and don’t feel proactive, you probably need a change.

Another reason that may suggest the need to resign is a negative work culture and/or environment. Whether it is an aggressive manager, a dysfunctional team, or impossible-to-achieve goals, it matters little: when a work environment is “toxic,” it becomes difficult to recover and regain motivation. Therefore, do not feel obligated to stay if you are experiencing such a situation: in the long run it may wear you down, even going so far as to affect your personal life.

Those with ambitious career plans also tend to quit if they do not see opportunities for growth. It is normal to have a desire to improve one’s skills, to want to take on more responsibility, and to want to grow professionally. If you feel that your workplace no longer has much to offer you in the way of professional growth, it’s okay to start looking elsewhere.

Before doing so, however, the advice is to talk about this dissatisfaction with your manager so you can try to find a solution within the company. If this is not possible, once you have opted to resign, it is important to justify your resignation to your employer.

In other cases, however, it may be that a new opportunity comes directly to you and another company seeks you out. Evaluate the offers that have come to you, and make a considered decision.

If you feel the need to change jobs but are unclear about what you want or feel uncertain about how to proceed, Phyd’s experts are available to help you define your goals and become more aware of your abilities.

How do you resign?

With the enactment of the Jobs Act in 2017, the way to resign from employment changed: voluntary resignation, resignation for cause and consensual termination of employment became telematic.

How to resign online? You need to log on to services.lavoro.gov.it and log in with your digital identity (SPID) to start the procedure. The employer will receive the resignation letter directly in his PEC box, and so will the territorial office of the National Labor Inspectorate.

The notice of resignation depends on one’s industry and the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Most collective agreements stipulate that the notice period starts from the first or sixteenth day of the month.

This means, for example, that if you resign on the twentieth of the month, the notice period begins on the first of the following month. Whereas, if you give it a five, it starts on the sixteenth of the same month.

Finally, the length of the period depends on a number of variables, such as from seniority to type of contract. Depending on your job classification and industry, it can be as long as several months.