People often stay in a job despite having negative job attitudes, low engagement and failing to identify with their organisation's culture. Why? They probably fear change, and never consider the benefits of a career switch.

In order to help you decide whether it may be time for a career change, here are five critical signs, based on psychological research, that you would probably benefit from a career switch:

1 You are not learning Studies have shown that the happiest progression to late adulthood and old age involves work that stimulates the mind into continuous learning.

2 You are underperforming If you are feeling stagnated, cruising in autopilot, and could do your job while asleep, then you’re almost certainly underperforming. Sooner or later, this will harm your resume and employability. If you want to be happy and engaged at work, you are better off finding a job that entices you to perform at your highest level.

3 You feel undervalued Even when employees are happy with their pay and promotion prospects, they will not enjoy their work unless they feel appreciated, especially by their managers. Further, people who feel undervalued are more likely to burnout and engage in counterproductive behaviours, such as absenteeism, theft and sabotage.

4 You are just doing it for the money Although people tend to put up with unrewarding jobs mostly for financial reasons, staying on a job just for the money is unrewarding at best, and demotivating at worst.

5 You hate your boss As the saying goes, people join companies, but they quit their bosses.

Of course, these are not the only signs that you should pay attention to. There are many other valid reasons for considering a job switch, such as work-life balance conflicts, economic pressures, firm downsizing and geographical relocation. But these reasons are more contextual than psychological, and somewhat less voluntary. They are, therefore, less likely to lead to decision uncertainty.

– (Copyright Harvard Business Review 2015)