How far is the max you would drive for a 1 day/week in office job (rest WFH)

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I've been contacted by an employer who is interested in me for a role I know I would love much more than my current role.

The only issue is it would be a 2.5 hour drive each way. I would only have to be in the office one day a week, and with flexible start /finish time. The rest I could do from home. But I am not sure if it is too far (I can't relocate).

My current job is mainly all office based and can involve really long days (I did an 18 hour day on Monday).

I'm looking at others jobs too but do like the sound of this one (and it pays £80k, the others are all.aroind the £65-70k mark) but I am just unsure and would welcome thoughts from others whom have done long commutes.

Any chance of doing once a fortnight or two back to back days once a fortnight (staying over that night)? If you really have to go in once a week, I wouldn't travel that far.
Also, will your contract clearly state that it is just one day a week or is there a chance it could be increased?

I would be willing to do that drive once a week for the right job at the right money.

However I would want assurance that the goal post wouldn’t change after starting. My Max would be once a week and that would need to be set in stone. Also would want to explore options for covering cost of travel.

That’s often my normal commute into London each way and it’s annoying but doable. I’d happily do that as a one off each week in the car.

Do they cover any travel costs?

I wouldn’t even do 2.5 hours each way on the train, let alone driving. It would be exhausting and if you might end up doing long days like in your current job it would be dangerous. Plus with the extra fuel and wear and tear on your car it’s probably not much extra in your pocket. My max is 1.5 hours each way personally.

I would do it if it was a job I wanted and rest was working from home. Surely costs would even themselves out with money saved on daily commute?

Thats a good idea about asking about two days each fortnight and using a hotel. They have said 3 days a month would be fine.

I would definitely want to be sure they didn't change the goal posts later

Is it definitely, one hundred percent only one day in the office? My concern would be that they would want me in more days once I started.

How much of a raise is it for you? Do you need to do a set number of hours once in the office? I work from home and do flexible working. So people who travel far into work generally tend to do a shorter day when they need to come into the office. I don't think anyone is further than 90 mins away though.

Depends on ease of journey I suppose? If it was M6 in Midlands then. No

I've been told I could do a short day on my office days. It wouldn't involve the long days like my current job

I think that, if you have a comfy car and like driving, it is very doable.

I would be very wary, though, of work culture changing to more time in the office. Even if you have a cast iron guarantee that they can’t make you go into the office more, it would probably endanger your career progression.

I’ve done this and it was fine. I found being able to WFH the other days more than made up for it.

My max would be 1.5 hours each way as I find anything more tiring and also really boring.

How did the employer approach you? If it was on indeed and said something along the lines of "we saw your profile and thought you'd be a great match" then my experience has been that any I've responded to over an hour away are suddenly not interested after all! My job isn't niche though.

Only you know what would fit in with your wider life and committments etc. Is that 2.5 hours in normal traffic without accounting for delays? As that could be a hellish journey on a regular basis but only you know whether the opportunity is worth it for you. I'm not sure it would be worth it for me personally as five hours driving every week would frustrate me and have a knock on effect on that evening and potentially the next working day too.

3 days a month as a block of 3 days (with 2 nights in a hotel) would be much much more doable that a day a week. So, a conversation around why it needs to be hybrid and whether there are set days would be really worthwhile I think….

Sorry cross posted!

I don't think I want to progress further (been there, done that) and if I did want to jump back up again I think I would look locally. For me it's about a job that I will really find interesting and this one sounds good.

I have an interview for a more local (but less well paid) job that I think would be my preference. But I am ready to leave my current job because it's a toxic environment and just trying to decide whether or not it's worth jumping ship for this one

I wouldn't do it because I'd hate that type of commute and it would impact too much on my family life, downtime and general wellbeing the rest of the week. I also like that DH and I are both close enough if we need to be contacted for anything about our children.

I'd also be wary of having an arrangement made to take a new role, but once in the door finding that the only progression routes required more time in the office.

No it's a v niche industry , they know roughly where I live etc

I would do it, I'd want it written into my contract though and would prefer to do two days together with a night in a Premier Inn once a fortnight. It sounds like a great experience and it doesn't have to be forever you can spring board into another role in future.

A lot depends on the journey, cross country on unlit single carriageway roads is very different to a couple of hours on a motorway, but also how congested is the motorway, those things make a huge difference.

Definitely have the conversation about whether they are fixed days, if not what level of flexibility is there, how much notice is needed to change them etc.

I had a similar offer, but when I worked out how much I would take home in reality (minus the extra tax and travel costs) it only worked out about £100 more per month. I knew the job would involve 12 hour days 5 days a week so declined the offer.

I think that’s too far. Is it 2 1/2 in normal traffic conditions, or rush hour? My dh travels to his office once or twice a week. A journey that can take around 75 minutes travelling home, regularly takes him two hours plus in the morning.

Also, what about those one-off meetings etc.?

That’s a good point about petrol costs, plus wear and tear on the car (and yourself).

Personally that would be too far for me to drive every single week. The novelty of it would wear off very quickly and it would just be a chore.

The furthest I would do weekly is prob 1.5 hours driving or 2 hours on the train.

I'd be up for that. Especially if you could do two days back to back.

Could you go by train?