Take This Job and Shove It: When Quitting Is the Only Answer

Everyone knows that the best way to leave an old job is to start a new one. But there can come a point when no job, no matter how financially necessary, is better than the last one. And despite all the good advice about lining up new work, stockpiling emergency funds and avoiding rash decisions, some people do discover that the devil they don't know is better than the one they do.

It's hard to predict your breaking point, particularly when work-oriented platitudes can cause self-doubt. Technically speaking, there probably is another possibility to exhaust. Maybe you've given your work situation only a "pretty good shot" as opposed to your best. Maybe your efforts amounted to merely 109%.

For many people, there's no flashing sign that says "turning point" ahead, just plenty of bootstraps that need pulling up and yourself that needs dusting off. That's why even terrible office events are sometimes only the second-to-last straw.

"I have never in my life done 'the best I could do,' " says Tim Orr, an ad executive who spent six years in a job he couldn't stand before ultimately becoming self-employed. "I know full well I could always have tried just a little bit harder." A noncompete clause prevented him from working for another local agency, so he spent a great deal of time trying to improve his job situation. He even read books on psychological disorders in an effort to decode his boss.

It also doesn't help that the line is fine between perseverance and banging your head against a wall.