My book, Productiveness, is now available. It's about the difference between doing more and doing what matters, and how we lost the ability to tell them apart. I'll send the release date the day it's set. Visit https://mikevardy.com/productiveness to learn more and get your copy today. Most of us don't drift into quitting a job. Something happens — a single, identifiable moment — and that's when the relationship with our work actually changes. Anthony Klotz calls these moments "jolts," and once you have the word for it, you start seeing them everywhere: in your own career, in the people around you, in decisions you made years ago that you never quite had language for until now.
Anthony is the organizational psychologist who coined the term "the Great Resignation," and his new book, Jolted: Why We Quit, When to Stay, and Why It Matters, is the deepest treatment I've read of why people actually leave jobs — and just as importantly, why they sometimes shouldn't. We got into direct jolts versus honeymoon jolts, why positive jolts are rarer and more powerful than negative ones, the "power surge" that hits right before someone quits, and why silence is usually the smartest exit strategy. I shared my own Costco story along the way — a demotion that turned out to be one of the clearest jolts of my working life.
Six Discussion Points
- A "jolt" is a single identifiable event that knocks you out of autopilot with your work — almost half of all quitting decisions trace back to one, rather than a slow, logical decline.
- The instinct after a jolt is to react immediately; the better move is almost always to reflect first, because doing nothing right away is often the strongest default option.
- Positive jolts exist but are rarer and less discussed than negative ones — our brains are wired to dwell longer on the bad, even though a compliment or a big win can just as easily be the moment that changes everything.
- The "honeymoon hangover effect" explains why job-change regret is so common: we see all the flaws in our current role and only the upside of the next one, until the new role reveals its own brown spots.
- "Leaning back" — quietly renegotiating your extra, unpaid job tasks — is an underused alternative to quitting that doesn't require dramatic action or public declaration.
- The "power surge" that hits right before someone resigns is real, and the discipline to sit with it quietly is usually worth more than any parting message ever could be.
Three Connection Points
If you're sitting in a job right now wondering whether what you're feeling is a real signal or just a bad week, this conversation is worth the full listen. And if you take one thing from it: remember what Anthony's colleague Kim Scott says — don't forget to quit. Not as a threat, but as a reminder that it's always been an option on the table.
What is A Productive Conversation?
Hosted by productivity strategist Mike Vardy, A Productive Conversation offers insightful discussions on how to craft a life that aligns with your intentions. Each episode dives into the art of time devotion, productiveness, and refining your approach to daily living. Mike invites guests who are thinkers, doers, and creators to share their strategies for working smarter and living more intentionally. From practical tips to deep dives on mindset shifts, this podcast will help you reframe your relationship with time and find balance in a busy world.
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