One Jolt Can Make You Quit Your Job. Are You Ready?
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Chances are you've thought about quitting your job. Everyone has or will at some point in their career. Some are closer to the brink than others. You might be happy, or at least settled, in your current job but occasionally think, "Hey, I can do that," when you see someone land a new position. Or you might be the person who can't leave the office or arrive at home carrying a cardboard box without someone asking if today was finally the day.
Whether or not you are miserable or poised to grow into something new, you are one event away from deciding if you should quit.
Anthony Klotz calls these events "jolts," and he wrote a book about them titled A professor of organizational behavior at University College London, Klotz is credited for predicting The Great Resignation in 2021, and his research explores why and how employees resign.
Six Types of Jolts
Klotz has observed how, for more than a century, organizational psychologists have explained turnover for two reasons: a push toward quitting, where the negative parts of a job add up over time, and a pull away, where positive opportunities for other jobs or careers are appealing enough to leave.
That seems logical. But digging further into the research, Klotz found that the push/pull only explains half of the voluntary turnover. Quitting is the result of one single event, or jolt, and Klotz and researchers in recent decades have identified six types of jolts:
- Direct jolts are negative events that happen to you at work. They include major events that make you question if you can still do the job effectively, such as a budget reduction or curriculum change. Or it could be an interpersonal incident like an insensitive remark, an unfair interaction, or feeling dismissed.
- Sideways or collateral jolts stem from events that befall your coworkers, most often when someone else quits and that affects you.
- External or crossover jolts come from outside the job. Something might happen in your personal life that makes you rethink your relationship with work.
- Honeymoon or specialized jolts strike during the most common time for quitting across organizations: the first year on the job.
- Distant or remote jolts are events that don't affect us directly but influence the way we think about work, like the way the pandemic made people question how they spent their time or how social or political movements and natural disasters might result in existential thoughts.
- Positive jolts come from all the good things that happen, both the big and the mundane aspects of life.
How To Prepare for a Jolt
As a guest on , Klotz explained that people can be misled by jolts.
"Jolts are these moments where we question what's going on with our relationship with work, 'Am I on the right path or am I not?,'" Klotz said. "These can be really confusing, and you're not really sure what to make of it."
All but the last jolt on the above list are negative. You wouldn't necessarily want them to happen to you, but sometimes they might be what you need to get out of a job you've outgrown or in which you've become complacent. Think of all the tenured professors or middle managers who stay at their campus because they are secured in "velvet handcuffs" and are too comfortable or risk-averse to consider leaving.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't be prepared for a jolt that's coming.
As Klotz acknowledged on the podcast, it's easier nowadays to take immediate action if you have a bad Tuesday and start applying for jobs or going on social media to burn bridges. Examples include or changing your LinkedIn profile to #OpenToWork while you are still employed.
Doing nothing, letting your emotions subside, and healing with time from a jolt, especially a minor slight, might be the best course of action. But going about your job on autopilot or allowing resentment to fester can also be damaging when more jolts occur.
You must be prepared to address a jolt. That might ultimately mean quitting. But Klotz recommends scheduling time for reflection and noticing if something is off. For higher education, the perfect time is before each semester.
Semester Check-Ins
Go through each of the potential jolts and ask yourself these types of questions. What would you do if:
- Your budget was cut in half (direct jolt),
- Your boss left (collateral),
- Your spouse quit their job or your parent needed more care (crossover),
- You take a new job and what new challenges might arise (honeymoon),
- Another college like yours across the country closes (remote), or
- You were offered a promotion (positive)?
Having these check-ins does three important things:
First, they "shrink the size of work in your life," a phrase Klotz used on the podcast. When a jolt occurs, it can feel all-consuming. Regular reflection creates distance, helping you evaluate the situation with perspective instead of reacting in the moment.
Second, they create what Klotz calls a "self-jolt." Rather than waiting for an unexpected event to force a decision, you intentionally reassess your goals, challenge your assumptions, and explore opportunities you might not have otherwise considered. Many entrepreneurs launch businesses after a setback, but you don't have to wait for adversity to rethink what's next.
Third, if you ultimately decide to leave, they help you quit thoughtfully rather than impulsively. Because you've already reflected on your priorities and possible paths forward, your decision becomes part of a deliberate career strategy instead of a reaction to a single bad day. That's a story future employers will appreciate -- and one that could even lead you back to an institution you once left.
Bottom Line
Career transitions are rarely defined by a single event. They're defined by how prepared you are when that event occurs. Stay curious, keep investing in yourself, and you'll be more equipped to navigate the jolt -- not because it will be easy, but because you'll have the tools and perspective to turn it into your next opportunity.
