To give up my 100% WFH job?

[Benji92]

Hi there,

I joined my company just over a year and half ago and always had the ambition to become a Manager from day 1, letting my own line manager know.

My company is going through a redesign within my department. There have been talks for over a year now and no one knows what will come out of that. My manager says that he can't promise me if/when there'll be a Manager position will open up.

Recently a position opened up in another department, which would practically mean a promotion if I got the job.

Current job:
-Senior Associate
-100% WFH
-£33k
-Easy job

New job:
-Manager
-2 days in the office (I'll need to relocate but I wouldn't mind, in fact might be better for me as I'm considering moving there regardless)
-£40k
-Boring and demanding job

Of course there's a chance I might not get the job but the hiring manager thinks very highly of me and I'd be a very strong candidate. I just want to make my mind up fully before applying not to mess them about.

My friends think I'm being unreasonable for wanting to leave my 100% remote job for not much gain. Would you apply for the new position?

A year ago I jumped ship from a 100% WFH role to a role where I'm in the office 3 days per week.
New job is £8k more p.a and a great pension. old job was easy and new job is also pretty easy in truth.

I really struggled with the office days at first. It means finding a whole new 'life admin' routine but I'm now fine with it. Overall, it was the right choice for me. There is a noticeable increase in my monthly wage and it's a boost for my CV.

I did something similar and absolutely don't regret it, it led me to my next role on my career progression. I say go for it.

I've had a similar dilemma but the pay increase is less - 38.5k to 42k but I would have to commute to London 1x a week plus another 28 days a year for particular periods. The job is overall better but atm I wfh every day - go into the office if I want (which is nearby) 1-2 times a month if I want to. I am turning it down with some regret tbh, but I just think the costs will eat up the difference and it will increase stress on my family.

Thank you. Just to clarify a few points:

• I know the job is boring because I spoke with the person currently holding it. I also have visibility over his work as we work closely.
• I'm single with no kids or family, so much easier for me to up and leave I suppose.
• 7k increase is proportionally significant, I get that. However, not sure if it justifies a move 5+ drive away. Only upside is I was already considerind to move there.
• Rents are on par as where I currently live in the new city, but I'm planning on buying a house soon and it is impossible to do so in where I live but I can manage if I do move as house prices are almost half!

depends
based solely on the job itself I wouldn't - the £7k difference will be between 3-6 in total depending on if you are paying back student loans, for me the difference between an easy and demanding job wouldn't be worth that.

However in terms of seeing it as a stepping stone for your career and the possibility of buying a home (therefore achieving 2 aspirations that are currently out of reach) then yes it does sounds like an opportunity. In pretty much every job I've had it's been really hard to move directly up the ladder for opportunities -i.e. being promoted to the next level in your current job, much faster for people who move diagonally. You could always still apply and move back if a manager job did come up in your current place.

I think the WFH thing is a red herring if you don't mind going into the office 2 days a week - that would only be a significant factor if really didn't want to work in office/you weren't considering moving and it would mean a ridiculous commute. 2 days in office to get used to a new role and meet new people sounds fine, perhaps better than WFH all day in a new area where you don't know many people.

All these people who wouldn’t move for a 20% payrise. It’s not to be sniffed at and takes you on the stepping stone to even more. In 2 years yoh can move to another management job for another 20% payrise which means you’ll be on 48l while those sniffing at 7k will still be sitting on their 33k. Not many jobs give you a 20% rise. 2 days on the office can be brilliant for profile, learning and connections and you are interested in relocating anyway. You’ll be on your way to owning more quickly than staying in your job too

I've only read the OP's posts.

If you don't need the money then I absolutely would not actively choose to move to a boring and demanding job.

You’ll get a tonnes of different answers to your question as everyone’s situation is different.
To help you make a decision I’d be clear on what you want to get out of it.
Ask yourself if you want to be a manager as you mention that it’s demanding and boring. Why would that be the case? I’m a team lead and being a manager is anything but boring. It’s 100% demanding but you are literally juggling so many moving parts, dealing with people issues etc… plus depends on how many ppl you are managing too. Managing 1 is so different to managing 10 people.
This also depends on life stage too. If I was in my twenties with no kids and no commitments to location and the new location wasn’t going to be a huge increase in rental cost and commuting cost and I wanted a step up I would take the job for the experience.
However if I was a mum with several kids and fixed in location I would not take the job as it would be too disruptive to my day to day life for the sake of £7k which is only a few 100’s after tax a month. The cost of commuting itself would prob eat into that pay rise plus all the additional time spent commuting, buying lunch etc… Only you will know what is your situation and how the new job meets on your end goal.

I just saw your update. In your situation I would go for the job. Get the pay rise and experience and if after sometime you don’t like it then move job but on a higher salary.
Its a bonus that you could buy in your new location too if it’s an area where you could easily move jobs within the same area.
I agree with the poster that mentioned getting the raise and building on it. That’s what I did and now on a much higher wage than I was as I kept stepping up with every job move. It might not be a life changing jump but every jump gets you more and more money over time.

You’d be best working out your take home pay because won’t 40k mean you’ll hit the higher tax bracket? If so you probably won’t be bringing much more home given you’ll have a more demanding job. But if it seems right for you go for it.

how much of that 7k increase would be taken up in train/tube/mileage/parking costs? It could end up not being that much more in money. So no if it were me.

@Benji92 as the job would require office days have you considered asking if they would pay to relocate you near to the office. I know not all companies offer this but that way the £7k increase might seem better.

I'd want a hell of a lot more than 7k to relocate, have to go into the office AND have a dull but demanding job.

Boring and demanding for 7k more when you’ll be taxed on it doesn’t seem worth it imo

Boring is what would stop me taking it.

Why do you want a boring job?

I would do it if it is a stepping stone to the next role- you're not going to get the senior manager less boring job with more money without doing this one first.

I loathe 100% wfh though, 3 days in the office is good for me. Hate the merger of home and work.

Think about the next job but one. I moved around for jobs loads early in my career. It's normal!

Given your situation, you totally need to take it. It is about your attitude and your ambition and what it shows you as a leader. It is not about £7k or boring, it is about taking on more responsibilities and keep on growing to advance your career. People who would not take more responsibilities for not much money end up at 50 in low paid office jobs, which is ok, but it appears it is not what you want.

It's a tough choice.

I work in the office 3 days a week, I'd prefer 2 days but I'll take what I can get. Those days in the office make a huge difference. There's more camaraderie in the team. We can have a bit of a laugh in between jobs and I pick up on best practice from others from talking to them during the day. WFH has been wonderful but I need a bit of face to face contact to improve.

I think it can help with advancement because your face is in front of senior management but that's not the be all and end all. I can think of a few colleagues in other departments who I could walk past on the street but once you hear their names everyone coos about how brilliant they are.

I’m so relieved you said that, I was starting to think I was the only one

Some people aren't that bothered about work and aren't career ambitious , they want to do something straight forward for reasonable money, which is absolutely fine, if that's you don't move.

I've applied for jobs in the past especially pre DC that haven't been much better financially and have made my life more difficult, but the leaps forward I've taken in my career have been worth it. I now earn more than enough to be comfortable and even at my previous level there were lots of others who'd stayed at that grade for a long time, because the money is decent, but that's not enough for me. I get itchy, I need more challenge, bigger oversight, more impact and yes that probably speaks volumes about me as a person in not entirely positive ways, but if I see things that can be improved I want to be the one who does that, I've always looked at my senior's job and thought I can do that. If that's you, go for it.

Add to that the new job is in an area you want to move to and where it will be considerably easier to get onto the housing ladder and it's a no brainer.

I'd take the job and the move.

This on its own would rule it out for me: "Boring and demanding job". Sounds awful. Not for an extra £7 a year, some of that you won't see because of relocation and travel and lunch costs.

Your description of it being boring is what would put me off tbh .

Why do you want to be a manager? Is it just a manager role you want? Or is it a stepping stone to other roles?

The only thing that would tempt me to give up a fully remote job was if the alternative is to be chauffeur driven to the office every morning with a 'set' arrival time of about 10-11am, and of course driven home.

I wouldn’t. What you’d gain in pay you’d lose again through travel costs. You also don’t actually seem to want to be a manager? Being a manager isn’t everything. I wanted to be one and then became one and hated it.