A few years back, maybe even longer, your company or hiring manager gave you a great opportunity to work for them. They have been good to you, but deep down inside you know you can be doing more and growing as a professional. While leaving may be hard and make you feel not loyal to the company, it’s okay to move on. Here are few reasons why moving on can be the best thing for both you and your current employer.  

Your Workplace is Not Your Family

Often, feelings of loyalty come from a company culture that promotes the idea that the team is a family. But your relationship with your company is not the same as the relationship you have with your parents, spouse, children, or siblings. Your family doesn’t fire you or ask you to clock in. While you might feel like a family and share personal aspects of your life, they are still co-workers. Other people have left and the company continued on. It will after you leave too. 

Loyalty is Not A Real Word in Business 

Remember that loyalty is often a one-way street. It can often feel like you should stick with an employer, even when it’s not a good fit anymore. But your employer probably does not feel the same way. If they had to make layoffs, they aren’t going to think, “But she’s been so loyal to us; we can’t let her go!” Businesses are based in revenue at the end of the day, not loyalty. So while they might truly love and appreciate you, at the end of the day they will let you go or promote from outside if the upside is in their favor.  

Growth Comes from Moving Forward

In many ways, you leaving to pursue a more challenging job can be best for both you and the company. If you are leaving for more responsibility and better pay, you are only benefiting yourself and your eventual retirement package. And while you have played a great role in the success of the company, a new person can bring in new ideas that can help them keep adapting and innovating. By leaving, don’t think of it as walking away, instead, think of it as giving someone else the opportunity to be the “new you.” 

You only get one life, so use it to reach your fullest potential too.