The question I receive most from my clients is: Should I quit my job or pivot to a new career? Whether you are discontent or not, asking yourself if you are getting the returns you want from your job is an important tool for long-term career happiness.
And there’s a great tool called return on investment or ROI that can help you assess and answer if you should stay or go. Before we further define and unpack ROI, let’s look at what people typically get out of working.
What are you actually getting out of your job?
Money is not the only reason people work, although it’s a primary driver. In no particular order, here are other benefits or “returns” from having a job.
Benefits like health insurance
Community
Self-esteem and confidence
New skills and knowledge
Perks like discounts on the company’s products
Title
Power
Professional Growth
Reputation
Security and stability
That being said, many workers also experience the following from their work:
Pay discrimination
Having to pay for benefits
Harassment, verbal abuse, bullying
Incompetent managers and a lack of job clarity
Long hours, dis-respect
So why do people stay rather than quit? Let’s answer that question through the prism of return on investment (ROI).
Understanding ROI
While ROI is commonly associated with financial investments or measuring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the business realm, its principles can be applied to our careers with remarkable effectiveness.
Forbes defines ROI as measuring the gain or loss generated on an investment relative to the amount of money invested. In simpler terms, ROI helps us evaluate the efficiency and profitability of our investments - and not just money.
The question to ask on a regular basis is, what are you receiving in return for your investment of time, creativity, intellect, energy, and trust?
What type of investments are made in your job and career?
Now, let's take a closer look at the investment you make in your career:
Time (how much time we spend at work and on professional development)
Money (how much money we are investing to be both good at our jobs and stay in our jobs)
Tuition
Continuing Education
ChildCare
Transportation
Clothing/ Uniforms
Energy
Mental Health (how much of our cognitive ability is being devoted to our jobs and careers)
Physical Health (how much stress and anxiety are taking a toll on our bodies)
Emotional Health
Spiritual Health
So, why should we care about ROI in our careers? Well, simply put, it provides us with valuable insights into where we're allocating our resources and what returns we're getting in exchange.
What’s important to you in your career or job?
In order to determine if your return on your investment in your job is paying off, you need to decide what you want out of it. If it’s more than money, benefits and a title, keep reading.
If it’s not, take a moment to determine what is important to you. When I first did this exercise, I came up with the following in addition to money and benefits:
Satisfaction and Fulfillment. I spend more time in my jobs than I do anything else, including sleeping and being with my family. It’s important to me that I'm satisfied and that I’m working “on purpose.”
Rapport based on Values Alignment. I’ve worked at places where our values were misaligned and it was misery. It’s important to me that there are enough shared values between myself and anyone or anything that I work with so we have a sense of camaraderie and belonging.
Freedom and Autonomy. I’ve recognized that I bring a lot to the table, so I want to be given the freedom and autonomy to do my work without being micromanaged.
A few other returns that my clients have identified:
Mentorship
Growth - both in the current job by adding on additional responsibilities (with requisite compensation) and opportunity for promotion
New knowledge and skills
Community
Generous family leave / vacation / days off
Why Care About ROI in Your Career?
When you use theROI tool in your job and career, you’re able to make strategic decisions about whether to stay in your role, leave or make a course correction.
By analyzing the ROI of various career-related activities, such as pursuing additional education, attending networking events, or taking on new projects, we can make more informed decisions about how to invest our resources for maximum impact.
Evaluating the ROI of our career endeavors also allows us to identify areas where we're seeing the most growth and where we may need to pivot our efforts. This self-awareness fosters continuous learning and improvement, which will serve you in any role.
Understanding the ROI of our actions helps us align our goals with our values and priorities. It ensures that we're investing our time and energy in pursuits that are meaningful and aligned with our long-term objectives. Frequently, we get caught up in the status quo, which feels like safety, or we’re chasing after someone else’s ambitions.
Additional Benefits of Using ROI in Your Career
One of my core values is efficiency, which ROI delivers on in spades. By regularly assessing the ROI of our career activities, we can identify inefficiencies and streamline our efforts towards activities that yield the highest returns. For example, in my last blog, I wrote about my client Joan who was tasked with making cold calls. It was inefficient based on the data of how much time she spent to tee up a prospective client saying “yes”, and it also did not align with her natural skills and talents.
ROI evaluation also helps us prioritize tasks and initiatives that contribute most significantly to our professional growth and success, allowing us to focus our attention where it matters most. This level of focus is a key determinant to career advancement.
Tracking ROI holds us accountable for our actions and allows us to take ownership of our career trajectory. It encourages a proactive approach to personal and professional development so you’re no longer waiting to get noticed or promoted.
What is Considered Good ROI in a Career?
Determining what constitutes a "good" ROI in your career is subjective and depends on various factors such as your industry, career stage, and personal goals. However, a positive ROI indicates that your investment has generated more value than it costs you, which is generally a positive outcome.
Case Study
My client “Blake” is 33 years old and makes $90,000 as a creative executive at a production company. He typically works about 60 hours per week and receives two weeks of vacation and ten days of holiday and sick leave. His job is challenging and he frequently finds himself overwhelmed with the amount of reading he must do on his own time (outside the 12 hours he’s at the office Monday through Friday.).
When Blake and I conducted the ROI exercise, he was still in the process of paying off $42,000 in student loans, was engaged to be married, spent an hour each day commuting, and was ready to be promoted.
In looking through his investment of time, energy, and intellect, he was feeling short-changed and was feeling like he should quit and find another job. He loved the people he worked with and, for the most part, the work itself. However, the combination of time in the car to get to his job and weekend and evening reading work was burning him out. He asked himself if his ROI was satisfactory and the answer came back as “no.”
Blake realized that he was longing for a greater return by receiving mentorship and clarity on, if not a promise of, advancement. It took a giant gulp of courage for him to speak to his boss about what he needed to feel satisfied. His boss agreed to provide greater mentorship but could not commit to a timeline for promotion because of the entertainment industry contraction.
Blake understood the marketplace situation and decided not to quit but to re-evaluate in six months after he made some adjustments to his investments in the job. He began to develop stronger boundaries around working in the evenings and weekends. He was nervous that it might impact the company’s impression of his ambition and worthiness for promotion, but he discovered that he could spend less time chatting with colleagues at the office and get more reading done during the workday. In evaluating how he was spending his time, Blake also realized that he needed to take fewer general meetings with writers. The return on investment was not high enough in terms of identifiable wins that would warrant a promotion. Blake chose to spend more time identifying intellectual property that the company could develop into film projects and tv series. As a result of making these changes, Blake felt more fulfilled and prepared to look for a new job if the promotion didn't come through in a time frame that he felt good about.
Bottom Line
Incorporating ROI evaluation into your career strategy can be a game-changer. It empowers you to make data-driven decisions, focus your efforts on activities that drive results, and, ultimately, maximize your career success. By understanding the principles of ROI and applying them thoughtfully to your career, you can chart a path toward meaningful growth and achievement.
Your career is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. So, why not use ROI to ensure that your investments are paying off dividends in the form of your unique professional fulfillment and success?
Journal Prompts
Here are five journal prompts to help you deepen your understanding of ROI and how it may support you in your career.
Reflect on your earliest memories of understanding the concept of a job. How has your perception of work evolved since then? How do you currently define the purpose of having a job in your life?
Consider the various returns you receive from your current job or career path. Make a list of both tangible and intangible returns, then reflect on which ones hold the most significance for you personally. Are there any returns that you currently prioritize over others? Why?
Take a moment to assess the investments you make in your career, including time, money, energy, and other resources. Which investments do you feel are yielding the highest returns for you? Are there any investments that you believe could be redirected to achieve better outcomes?
Think about what's important to you in your career beyond just financial compensation and benefits. Identify your core values and desires when it comes to your professional life. How aligned is your current job or career path with these values and desires? Are there any adjustments you could make to better align your career with what matters most to you?
Reflect on the story of "Blake" and his career evaluation through the lens of ROI. Imagine yourself in a similar situation where you're feeling unsatisfied with the returns on your career investment. What steps could you take to assess your situation and make informed decisions about your future career path? How might you navigate challenges such as seeking mentorship, setting boundaries, or advocating for your needs in the workplace?
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Should I Quit My Job?