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Analysis: If your job is driving you crazy or making you sick, leaving is better than staying even if the alternatives are not entirely clear

An arresting recent news headline was . In Japan, the term is used to refer to deaths from overwork, a phenomenon that is now as a worldwide problem, killing more than 700,000 people a year. If you're asking yourself 'when should I leave my current job?', a pretty good answer is 'before it kills you'.

What do academic experts and researchers have to say about the topic? Two researchers from the University of Southern California five reasons you should start thinking about leaving your job. First they suggested that it was time to look for another job when your current job provides few opportunities for growth or promotions.Second, you should start looking if your organisation is running into or pushing you towards ethical and legal problems. Third, they suggested leaving if you don’t like the direction leadership is taking. Fourth, you should leave when you no longer feel passionate about your work. Finally, you should leave your current job if it threatens your mental health.

All five of these are potentially reasonable suggestions, but the first four strike me as "rich people" problems. Leaving your job because there is not much room for growth, or because you have lost your passion for the job or because you disagree with corporate leadership are the sorts of concerns that haunt consultants and finance bros. However, these are rarely pressing concerns for the regular working man or woman.

For many working people, the decision to leave is often the result of some combination of push or pull factors. include poor working conditions, burnout, or a change in family circumstances, while pull factors include opportunities for better pay, better working conditions or more stable work elsewhere.

There is not a realistic path towards leaving your current job for most of us unless an acceptable alternative is available. However, there are times when it might be important to leave regardless of the alternatives.

First, you should leave your job if it is harming your health. Many jobs expose employees to injury, accidents or repetitive motion that can be hazardous to your health, including construction, agriculture, truck driving and mining. Others expose employees to unique risks, such as radiology technicians, dental workers or industrial welders, all of whom might be exposed to . You do not want to leave your current job by being carried out feet first.

Second, you should seriously consider leaving jobs that harm your mental health. Work-related anxiety, depression, sleep loss, and the like represent serious, and sometimes deadly risks. Jobs that expose you to , substandard working conditions, abusive supervision, workplace violence or bullying, sexual harassment and the like do serious long-term harm.

Furthermore, this harm can be difficult to isolate or detect, especially in jobs that expose workers to chronic stress, harm or harassment. Exposure to chronic harassment or bullying, even if each individual incident seems minor, can lead to , coronary heart disease and migraines. Workplaces that treat you badly can be just as deadly as workplaces that expose you to dangerous chemicals or working conditions.

Leaving a job can be difficult. Jobs may provide you with a paycheck, but they also provide an identity and structure. One of the reasons people (especially men) sometimes have is that losing a job can set people adrift. Jobs provide structure to your life by telling you what you should be doing and where you should be five or more days a week, and leaving a job, even a bad job, can deprive people of this structure. Nevertheless, there are clearly times when it is much better to leave than it is to stay. If your job is driving you crazy or making you sick, leaving is better than staying even if the alternatives are not entirely clear.

I gave the University of Southern California experts some grief earlier for concentrating on the problems which executives, consultants or finance professionals experience, but I agree fully with . If you are unhappy with your current job, talk with someone who can help you work out whether you are simply a bit unhappy with your current job or whether the job situation has become so toxic that you must leave. Many organisations provide referrals to counsellors or mental health professionals so talk to your HR department. Everyone will be unhappy at work some of the time, but it is time to leave if your job threatens your physical or mental health.