Longer commute and lower pay

[Timtims]

I'm very fed up with my job. Am relatively senior, well paid, with flexibility, so generally very lucky. I live about 12 miles from my office, although have been mostly wfh since covid.

In the past year my job has begun to make me v unhappy, there are a lot of problems, I feel responsible and very stressed all the time. I've been with my employer for many years, and have only recently begun fantasising about doing something completely different, but my DH is quite low paid and I am by far the main earner, so any major change would have a huge impact on our finances.

I've recently considered going for a job like mine but at a different employer, and have found an opportunity about 50 miles away. The commute wouldn't be easy, as I would be travelling from one awkward place to a very busy city, which is prone to bad traffic jams/bottlenecks. And the pay is c £10k less (but still leaving me on a mid range manager salary).

Am I completely mad to consider 3 times the commute (probably 3h round trip and less time with my teenage DCs), £10k less money, possible perception of sideways/backwards career move, and all the risk a new job entails? But it would a FRESH START, which sounds so tempting right now. Is this the covid, WFH misery talking??!!

Sorry but does sound like it’d be a bad decision.

Taking pay cut for a job you like more is fine, if you can afford it. I did the same a few years ago. However I personally wouldn’t take that big a pay cut alongside the 3hr commute. That’s a huge amount of additional time away from home/family/rest.

If I were you I’d hold out for something different but closer to home.

Does the 10K drop I wage include cost of commuting too?

The pay cut could be as little as £5k if I can negotiate to top of salary. But that doesn't include commuting costs. I'm hoping I could negotiate a day or two wfh, especially now that's so normal with covid, but may not be able to.

Problem is my job is very specific. I do have transferable skills that could get me a decent salaried job in theory, but it's difficult if I'm going up against specifically experienced people for those jobs.

It's so difficult as I so value my family time, but I'm so fed up at the moment that it's difficult to enjoy it!

It wouldn't hurt applying for it and trying to negotiate the money and work arrangements. You don't have to take the job if it didn't suit you. Can I ask why you aren't feeling great about your current job? Is it that its stressful because of a knock on effect from covid? Have you tried speaking to you manager to seek support to make things better for you? I suppose its a risk moving jobs because you don't know if it'll be just as stressful and you may not like that either.

Don't do it. I am just about to retire from a job with a 55 mile commute. Before lockdown I was exhausted and had all sorts of health problems. It was slowly killing me. 55 miles is a long way twice a day.

Not unless it was for more money / career progression. You'll come to resent it. Hold out and the right position will come along. In the meantime ask for a meeting with HR or a performance review.

Bad idea.

The commute would be a killer and take up so so much of your time. Time that you’re not getting paid for, so you say a 10k pay reduction but in real terms it would be far more.

I wouldn’t due to the commute; I changed to a job I prefer (for more money) with a longer commute and even though I prefer the job I still resent the commute and the time it takes out of my evening with DC. I wish I’d held out for something else really.

It's been said but it's a dreadful idea, the money is less of a factor by your description than the commute. Do not underestimate the stress a commute will bring to you. Keep looking.

Not with that commute as it would cut down much into your work/life balance. Within a year you’d absolutely hate it. You need a job closer to home, keep looking.

Do you really want the job, or do you just want to escape your current job? If it's the latter, definitely hang on if you can and see if there's a better option with a more reasonable commute.

I've taken a new job with a much longer commute, but only because I negotiated being able to work from home most of the time even when things are more back to normal. I can cope with a long commute 1 or 2 days a week, but not all week...

Thanks all.

I am trying to escape my job to a certain extent I guess. I would be interested in the new job (although I've come to hate my current job due to a catalogue of circumstances and problems, I did used to really enjoy it). It would be a challenge but clearly within my experience/skill set.

It would be very unlikely for me to find a similar job nearby (very small sector) , so I'd have to hope for something that requires similar skills. That would probably require a move to less advantageous terms (I currently have a good pension and lots of holidays, which this new job also offers).

I wouldn't move to the new job. I think it's a "grass is greener" situation.

Are you wfh? My job has developed stresses over the last year, partly due to everyone wfh, that weren't there when we were in the office and could regularly catch up informally. So it might be that, if you've been happy for years, the problems are only transient.

What have you done to address the issues in your current job? Have you talked to your manager? Have you explored the possibility of taking on a new role with your current employer? I would want to have exhausted both these options before jumping ship to a less good and more logistically complicated job.

I did a similar move 2 years ago however negotiated not only the cost of the commute in fuel but also the time it would take using my hourly rate. If you are paid £20 per hour a 3 hour commute would cost £15,600 over a year not including fuel, I have also assumed commuting everyday. I managed to get this pay rise on top of my basic salary. I also had to get digs in my work city at £400 a month as 3 hour commute in winter is not fun and I felt I had to be in the office as it was a new job.

Please also consider job security. Since March I have not enjoyed my job as much however I would not look else where as they could let me go without any redundancy pay.

Is there a different role that you could take in your current organisation?

Tbh my current unhappiness is just as much with the organisation as the job. Without explaining too much, there are a lot of longstanding issues that have been exacerbated by covid pressures. Things are creaking, and I feel I'm in danger of becoming a scapegoat. Ive always felt I was good at my job, but now I've lost my mojo, and constantly catastrophise. My ultimate worry is being sacked due to some of the issues (which thinking sensibly is very unlikely) - although they are far from all my fault.

A way out seems very attractive at the moment!

"... as I so value my family time..."

110 miles of commuting each day is not going to help with that. From what you've said, definitely look for something new, just not this job.

It sounds like a bad idea in all respects. Also bear in mind that if you start a new job now, you won’t have the same redundancy rights as if you’d been employed for 2+ years.

I would grow to resent the commute.

Well you know you want to leave so that’s great. Speak to a recruiter/headhunter?

My commute is 60 miles each way, partly through horrific city centre traffic.
On a good day it takes 1hr 45 minutes to get in and 1 hr 30 to get home.
It has made me so tired I can barely function.

My car is in the garage 4 times a year for service and more and more lately for other things that are breaking, just through the sheer amount of mileage I am doing.
I can't afford a new car or sustain the cost of fuel, services and repairs.

The only good thing to come out of the pandemic is that I know work mostly from home.

I'm leaving my job at the end of the month after 8 years.

Fuck, no.
Don't do it.

Surely something better will turn up, at some point in the future.

I did this 18 months ago - having been with my previous employer 10 years. I was in a niche role - think only 140 of these in the country and wanted a change, without taking on another role. I have found it invigorating and its reignited my passion for the role. The commute didn't bother me too much when I was doing it, I generally worked on the train and counted it as my working hours if I did so. Now - I'm thinking that I won't be working in the office more than 2-3 days per week and the commute ceases to be an issue whatsoever.

If you've lost the love and are frustrated in your current organisation - it's hard when there are limited opportunities and sometimes you just need to take a risk. I'm so glad I did and actually think I wouldn't stay in a role for as long again, I feel so much better for a change of scenery.

Bad plan. Better to look for ways to improve your current situation, and/or seek better paid, more local options!

No, I wouldn't.

You won't know what the organisation or job is really like until you get there. You could find that you are earning less money for a longer commute and even worse problems.

Keep looking for something else.