Post by onomatopoeia on Feb 5, 2016 17:17:55 GMT -5
I would seriously consider the offer.
I was about to write a million reasons why, but the short version is I like working, I like feeling professionally fulfilled, and this new job would come with decent vacation, commute, and salary. And for a company you like. I wouldn't hesitate for a second.
FWIW I have 2 young kids, and made a similar decision a few years ago. Haven't regretted it for a second.
Post by sunshineluv on Feb 5, 2016 17:19:31 GMT -5
I would absolutely do it. I was in a similar position as you a year ago. Bored but amazing flexibility. I took a new job, gave up some of the flexibility, I still wfh two days a week but gave up every other Friday off and the ability to "work" from home. (I have two small children).
I love my new job, granted I have had moments of stress, but I feel valued and feel like there is a reason for me to work, I am not spinning wheels anymore. I have a renewed motivation to keep moving up the ladder and challenging myself.
I am really happy I did it, even though I have way more work to do now than before.
I think it's well worth considering this. The uncertainty of your current job and what sounds like a growing frustration will, over time, impact home life and result in low quality time with family. When you're happy at work, you're happy at home.
I would take it. Even if the flexibility isn't as great, the time off is pretty good from the start. The voluntary severance would also really concern me, and I'd want to make a jump before mass layoffs began.
I basically just did this, for almost all the same reasons you list.
Even though my new boss is very understanding of needling to go in late/ leave early for kid stuff, the loss in flexibility to work from home, or take days off when school is out, has been harder than I expected.
At the time, I thought I was making the right choice to leave an unstable company, but in retrospect I wish I'd stuck with my old job until a layoff came (if it came at all).
My new job is more fulfilling, but much harder to balance with my family's life.
I'm sorry I sound like such a downer. My job did not come with a significant pay bump, and yours does, which would likely make the rest of it more palatable.
How much help do you have if your kid gets sick and can't go to daycare? For us, it's just DH and me with no family to help when they are sick and it gets tough. And it is usually me home with them because I have more flexibility. I don't think I could currently give up my flex time or work/life balance because of that.
My previous job really didn't give a crap where i was at. For awhile I told myself I should just stay there because it allowed me ease at home. But I was really unhappy and unfulfilled.
I leaned in this year and took a higher job with less flexibility. I am so so so much happier. I am more stressed out, but in general feel better about myself. Thankfully with my new job it gave us much more financial freedom to hire a cleaning person, put Leo in a more flexible yet expensive daycare etc etc.
H has also stepped up as #1 parent as far as appointments and sick days.
Yes, take it. Your current job doesn't sound like it will be around for long. And as much as the flexibility is nice, you'll eventually get to the point where you're just so bored that it becomes an issue.
Yes, I would take the new opportunity. First, if layoffs are likely, that's concerning. Would you be ok if you didn't take the job and got laid off? I mean that both financially and emotionally. Second, it sounds like you enjoy your work and find it fulfilling. It also sounds like you're excited about this opportunity. The flexibility still sounds great and could be even better once you get settled.
FWIW, I work from home occasionally. It's great to spend extra time with DS when I do, but it's still hard to get anything done, even with my MIL there to watch him. I enjoy my job and going into the office great. It's really nice to get things done and get that recognition. It sounds like you'd enjoy that too if you actually had some work to do.
I would take it...or at least VERY seriously consider it.
No company is going to keep you there, doing essentially nothing, forever. At some point, either your duties there will change (likely significantly reducing your flexibility) or you will be laid off. I wouldn't read too much into your security because of new training. A new acquisition or purchase and that could all change drastically. They don't care what money has been spent previously to get you the skills that you have...if you're not needed, you're not needed.
A 20% pay increase, with severance from the other company, and that much PTO from the start...PLUS a job that will be rewarding, be more stable, and still offer quite a bit of flexibility...that seems like a pretty sweet deal!
I am lucky enough to have both (except obviously class times are not flexible) but I think the most important to me is fulfillment. I love working and it is such an important part of life, you may as well spend it enjoying yourself.
Also on the outside I perceived my job to be less flexible than it is. I was intimidated by the higher position, but it wasn't as tough as I first though.
The voluntary severance will always be better than the involuntary later. My advice from my dad was to Always take the first package offered. It's worked so far. Even better if you walk right into another job.
I was at a firm, in a lucrative practice area that I knew was probably safe, when there wasn't work because of the recession. And I left. The yesr I spent doing almost nothing and making big firm money was great, but I knew I was stagnating professionally- skills not used atrophy. Moral was also low because no one wants to feel useless, and on some level I knew I was not safe even if I was well liked because it just makes no sense for a company to keep someone if they don't have a productive role for them. I was just an expense at that point, and I knew if my boss left, I'd be an unprotected expense.
I now work all the time, and from a lifestyle perspective it sucks, but the nagging feeling of being irrelevant was the worst. It might have been different if I could have used the time to concentrate on children or something, but there was so much job instability there I couldn't risk it.
my only question is culture. Is this a "leave at 5" kind of place or in practice does everyone work many nights and weekends? As a mom, that is a crucial difference.