Year-end performance conversations are around the corner. For some, it’s a formality. For others, it’s a wake-up call. Whether you’re a candidate contemplating a move or a hiring manager planning 2025 talent strategy, this is the moment when everyone quietly asks the same question:

“Is this still working?”

If you’ve been ignoring that little voice, here are five reasons it’s time to stop.

1. You’re Performing, But You’re Not Progressing

Most people don’t quit because they’re doing poorly, they quit because they’re doing well but going nowhere.

If you’ve been hitting targets, carrying teams, or delivering results without meaningful growth, the market will reward you more than your current role ever will.

• Candidates: Don’t confuse stability with opportunity.
• Hiring Managers: If your high performers are plateauing, don’t wait for a resignation letter to fix it.

2. Your Compensation Hasn’t Caught Up With Your Contribution

Let’s be honest: 2025 was a year of “next cycle” promises. Next cycle becomes next quarter. Next quarter becomes “budget constraints.”

Meanwhile, your skill set has appreciated faster than your salary.

• Candidates: A move might be the only way to reset your market value.
• Hiring Managers: If you’re underpaying talent, someone else is budgeting to steal them from you.

3. You’re Being Measured, But Not Recognized

As performance reviews roll in, many professionals discover the same thing: they’re being evaluated on metrics but rewarded with silence. Recognition isn’t a perk, it’s a retention strategy.

• Candidates: If your impact is invisible internally, it won’t be externally.
• Hiring Managers: Praise is free. Replacing talent is not.

4. Your Workload Has Quietly Doubled (But Your Title Hasn’t)

Restructurings. Hiring freezes. “Temporary” extra responsibilities.
If the scope creep has become a sprint and no one’s offering a finish line, it’s time to re-evaluate.

• Candidates: You’re not obligated to do the work of two people for the pay of one.
• Hiring Managers: Overloading your team today becomes your turnover problem tomorrow.

5. You’re ready for 2026, but your company is still in 2019

Some organizations still think hybrid work is a trend, digital skills are optional, and culture is a ping-pong table. The future moves quickly. Employers who don’t evolve lose people who do.

• Candidates: If you’ve outgrown your environment, your next employer is already waiting.
• Hiring Managers: The talent market punishes companies that refuse to upgrade how they operate.

5 Reasons to Quit Your Job: The Bottom Line

Quitting isn’t about failure, it’s about alignment. Sometimes the bravest career move is simply admitting the chapter has ended.

And for hiring managers? This is your chance to create the chapter top performers want to stay in.

Ready to See Where You Stand?

Check out the latest key findings from our 2025 Global ETF Salary Survey to benchmark your worth and power up your next negotiation. The trends are clear. And the opportunity? It’s yours, if you ask.