Canadians recently shared with us their most common reasons for quitting a job. By far the most popular reason is because they hate the boss. Take note, company folk, if your employees are jumping ship, it’s probably something in the management pool.

In a tight job market, walking away from a paycheque can be a risky move. Even if your work situation is less than ideal, personality conflicts and a bad cultural fit might not be the best reasons for taking the leap, particularly if you don’t have anywhere to land. But sometimes things can be so bad that a job isn’t worth keeping. Other times, you get lucky and can walk away for something better.

Here are five compelling reasons to actually quit your job.

You are in physical danger: There are jobs for which a certain amount of physical danger is expected – roustabout, fireman, cop, spy, astronaut – but even dangerous jobs have precautions in place and people do their best to keep employees safe. If the danger at your job is not reasonable, like the safety equipment isn’t up to code in a warehouse or construction job (or in the circus), or you’re being asked to put yourself in harm’s way, it’s not worth the risk.

You are in emotional or psychological danger: The boss is abusive and yells at you or there is a culture of office bullying. I have one friend whose boss was a manic depressive and possibly a drug addict who would apparently be hugging the employees and crying one minute, then screaming at them the next. You might try to do something about this first, but if it comes to a point where the negative impact outweighs the benefits of the cheque, you should consider leaving. They say most illnesses are caused by stress, after all.

You’re being asked to do something illegal: This might be lying or falsifying data or other information. Don’t do it. If the company gets caught, you will go down with it. It is way better to be jobless than have a criminal record. Quit.

A major life change: You’ve decided to pack it all in and live off the grid, your wife got a job in Alaska, you’ve joined a cult that demands you give up all your worldly possessions and leave your old life behind (please don’t actually do that), you won or inherited 100 million dollars (if you’re not one of those people who would stay in their day job as a postal worker even if you won) – all perfectly good reasons to say “See ya later!” to your boss.

For a better job: You got a better job! Moving on to greener pastures. Not only do you get to tell your horrible boss to shove it (if your boss is horrible, of course) but you get to say “Someone else wants me and sees my value.” How amazing is that? You can even do a little dance on the way out. Doesn’t that feel good?

Alternately: See Two reasons not to quit your job