Quiet quit, rage quit, or find a new job? Here's how to decide.

• Quiet quitting can mean doing your job without caring much about it.
• Rage quitting involves leaving suddenly after frustrations have built up.

There was an era when quitting your job meant having an awkward conversation with your boss and giving your two weeks' notice.

But times have changed. "Quitting" has taken on many new (and confusing, if you're over 30 like I am) connotations, including quiet quitting, rage quitting, and good old-fashioned leaving to pursue another opportunity.

So if you're feeling trapped at work, you have options. And knowing you have options — beyond staying miserable or risking your livelihood by leaving — can be freeing.

Below you'll find the case for quiet quitting, rage quitting, and finding a new job. To be sure, everyone's career is unique and the following advice might not apply perfectly to you. Consider this a general guide to getting unstuck.

Before you begin, figure out why you're unhappy

Figure out why you hate your job. Is your boss rude? Your assignments dull? Your schedule unpredictable?

When I interviewed Gretchen Rubin, the best-selling author of "The Happiness Project," she said, "Once you actually pinpoint the precise nature of what's driving you crazy, it's often a lot easier to fix it than you think." A rude boss and boring assignments are arguably easier to tackle than a nebulous blob of misery.

You'll also have a better sense of which type of quitting (if any) makes the most sense.

Consider quiet quitting if … you have other pressing priorities in your life right now

In 2022, I published a book to help professionals who feel stuck in their careers but can't realistically make a big change. Several people told me their relationship to work had changed over the course of their careers — and they were more willing to invest in their careers during different life stages.

One man with a toddler said he used to be more professionally "ambitious" and interested in networking opportunities that would help him advance in his career. Now he's more inclined to spend time with his family outside work hours, even if that means missing out on some of those opportunities.

This man does what's required of him at his job, which he's held for more than a decade and which has generous PTO and remote-work policies, but rarely more than that. By some definitions, that bare-minimum approach epitomizes quiet quitting.

Consider rage quitting if … your job is hurting your mental health

It's considered professional to give your employer at least some notice before you leave. But if this job is causing or exacerbating issues such as anxiety or depression, it might not be worth adhering to those norms.

Rahkim Sabree, an entrepreneur, wrote for Insider that he quit his job as a banking program manager on the spot when "it started to take a toll on my mental health — I was angry, anxious, unfulfilled, and unhappy."

Likewise, if you're working in a toxic environment where leadership tolerates disrespect, unethical decisions, and exclusionary behaviors, you might be better off elsewhere.

Consider finding a new job if … you're resentful and performing poorly

How is your frustration manifesting?

As Toni Thompson, the vice president of people strategy and operations at Etsy and the former senior vice president of people and talent at The Muse, told me in an Insider interview, you shouldn't stay in your current role if "you're suddenly not doing a good job, and you've become a bad teammate and a bad employee because you're so frustrated."

That way, Thompson said, you'll still leave a positive impression on your employer in case you ever want to work there again or ask them for a recommendation.

Whichever option you choose, remember that you can eventually make a different decision. Find the approach that works for now and reevaluate in a few months to see what you've learned about your job — and yourself.