Should I take the job?

[Eminybob]

Please help me decide! I'm flip flopping.

I applied for a job on a whim after a bad week at work. It's the exact same role as I'm doing now but £10k more. It's fully remote vs 3 office days currently which means I won't need to use wraparound care for the DC plus the benefits of less travel and travel expenses. So I'll probably be up around £800 per month give or take.

But money aside, I actually really enjoy being in the office. I love my team and will miss that interaction.

The role is management and currently I have a team of 13 which is a lot to deal with. We have a vacancy because another manager left but they are talking about not replacing him now just keeping bigger teams. The department is over stretched and the expectations are we increase the workload without increasing staff numbers so everyone is just expected to do more. It's really tough at the minute.

The new role would be managing 8-10. They are recruiting because they are expanding and realise you need more people to do that rather than just expect everyone to work harder.

The new role is slightly longer hours (37.5 hr week vs 35) not that I ever stick to my hours anyway tbh. Less holidays (25 vs 30) but the option to buy more.

In some ways I think better the devil you know. I really love my team, the other managers are fantastic and I would really be leaving them in the shit. And I would really miss my office days. Worried I'll become a bit of a hermit.

I have the contract ready to sign, I said I needed the weekend to think about it.

What would you do?

No
I need the 'connection'

It’s very hard to manage teams well remotely.

Difficult. I've just moved from almost totally remote work to being back in an office, and I love it, I wouldn't go back to remote even for that extra money, but that's really a personal choice.

It doesn't sound like the new job is really a fit for you, but it also sounds stressful where you are. What's the job market like in the field that you work in? If you pass up this one and things do get really stressful and your current job, how likely is it that something else will come up that you could move to?

Flip it if you don’t take the new role how will you feel in a couple of months time? Is there the opportunity to go into the office at all if that’s what you value? Or a different space outside of the home like a shared work space if you need that different vibe? Personally I love wfh but I have a dedicated space at home and a set up I like. Something made you apply for the job, can it just be a 1-2yr role then stepping stone into something else. How secure is the company of the new role in a volatile economy as well? Good luck with your decision.

I'd take it.

It's like a relationship isn't it. You don't look elsewhere to meet your needs if you're happy in the one you're in.

I'm sure you do other things in your life so you won't become a hermit!

Don't dismiss it. Meet with your proposed line manager and discuss working arrangements and what it is like practically. Often a change is the precursor to another step up and they clearly think about workload

I work remotely and manage a team, it’s just different. We have online check-ins, welfare calls, meetings, appraisals - you just get used to it. Funnily enough, I don’t miss the connection at all as we are so busy on the phone, on Teams chats and having meetings. And the extra time I him from not commenting is life-changing, I am there for the children much more. I’d say go for it.

Thanks. Differing opinions here which I suppose is to be expected. Everyone wants different things.

It is a bigger, more established company than my current employer. There are probably more opportunities for progression which is important to me.

There is the option to use office space they have but it wouldn't be with my team.

I don't always see all of my team I manage now anyway, a couple are fully remote, and some work from a different office to me or on different office days so it's very rare we are all in the same place together anyway.

New role for me.
Company is on an upward trajectory old role sounds like its nice coworkers but company is floundering slightly.

I would sign the contract. £800 a month extra you can do a lot with!

If you're going to be the manager, it would be worth finding out if you can still work in the office, and encourage your team to as well. Even if it's 1 or 2 days a week.

As they're a large established company I can't imagine them not having any bricks and mortar office space, so you just need to ask for what you need to manage the team.

Based on everything you have posted I would absolutely take it. Especially if there is room for further progression down the track.

OP, I was in almost word for word the same situation.
Same job, 15k more, remote. Everyone told me I would be stupid not to go for it.
6 months down the line, it’s arguable the worst job move I have made. Connection in the office is an undervalued thing, until it’s gone. The extra money I have isn’t remotely helping me when I am struggling mentally with feeling isolated!

I've done remote working from before when it was a 'thing'. I had a love hate relationship with it - sometimes I would love the productivity and the reduction in commute stress. Other times I hated the four walls and would have to work at the kitchen table for a change of scene. I definitely missed the stimulation.

Remote is different now with Teams etc. but the only way it would work for me is if I used some of my salary towards hiring a co-working space. The ideal balance for me is 2 days WFH max, the other 3 can be anywhere just not at home.

The team would be based all around the country and have home working contracts so this isn't an option sadly.