How did you know it’s time to finally move company?

What was the last straw that made you feel “This is it.”?

To give you some context - I am in my mid thirties, with two young children (under 5) working in management consulting and making towards the bottom end of what we consider HE.

I swapped one of the big names (think Ey/ Deloitte / Accenture / PWC; not MBB or tier-2) for a smaller shop that got acquired and I feel that apart from the increase in salary, the past 3 years have been torture and a waste of effort.

Multiple redundancy rounds, backstabbing culture, constant change of focus areas due to weak service/market fit. I am in a junior leadership position where 3 years ago I used to sell 1.5-3mn a year; now I get dragged through broken glass for 500-750k.

I keep on using excuses that the market is terrible, that I am doing this for the kids and the wife - she is now on a great career recovery since maternity and I want to avoid making a decision that would impact her momentum. Yet part of me can’t stop feeling that every day spent in this place will keep dragging my career and potential down rather than up.

Please pardon this rant and hoping to see if any of you have been in this situation and what has been the outcome of your decisions.