Walking away seems easy. Sometimes it is, depending on the situation. When it comes to your job, walking away may not be so simple. Jobs are difficult to find nowadays and leaving your current job without a backup plan can impact your life in a negative way. You may be lucky, and find a job immediately, or you may not be as lucky, and find yourself struggling. It could be months or years before an opportunity presents itself.

When I started out in the workplace, I left a couple of jobs without worries. I was single and living with mom. My responsibilities were nothing compared to now. Now things are different. I do not have children, but I do have a husband, mortgage and other responsibilities to attend to. If I decided to one day walk away from my job without giving my family and responsibilities a second thought, I can guarantee I will be in an uncomfortable predicament.

Jobs can be unbearable at times with hard-to-handle co-workers, overwhelming workloads, extras duties, unexpected late hours and low pay. Some people can deal with it while others cannot. If you feel that you cannot handle the job any longer, before walking away, try asking yourself the following questions. It might help place you on the right track.

Do you have legitimate reasons?

Maybe you are having a few bad days at work and everything appears worse than it actually is. Take a step back and try to assess the reasons why you want to walk away from your job. You just may discover that down deep you honestly do not want to walk away - you are simply overwhelmed and need space.

Do you have another job in place?

You realized this job is no longer for you. You out grew it. You seek for something more challenging. I felt that way many times. However, my first year of marriage, I made the mistake of walking away from my job without having another job in place and it took me a couple of years to get back on my feet again. I learned the importance of securing another job before walking away from what I currently have.

Will you be able to care for your family?

Maybe, you feel the job is intolerable and you cannot stay there a minute longer. So, you plan on walking out and never turning back. If you have a wife and kids, have you considered them in your decision? The choice of leaving a job without a backup plan is difficult for a single person, imagine if you have a family. The decision is tougher. There are school bills, rent or mortgage and car payments. Your family depends on you and I am sure the last thing you want to do is let them down.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to walk away from your job, but as long as it is for the right reasons. Striving for new challenges and something better is admirable. However, leaving a job just because can affect you and your family.