Remote work - staying or taking a paycut

[Addison123]

Hello

I wonder if anyone else is in a similar situation.

I’m currently employed full-time by a charity, working 90%remotely. My salary is cca £50k - it’s not bad but also not great considering I live South East. I’m really struggling with my job atm - managing a large team and constantly increasing workload with zero recognition or acknowledgment.

I have looked and applied for a few jobs but remote work is scarce even if I take the jobs into consideration that would require me to commute to London 2x a week and obviously it would mean an increased cost of commuting.

I am super demotivated and depressed in my current role but also conscious how lucky I am to have an almost fully remote job. So to keep working remotely, I am considering to apply for jobs with a lower salary. Has anyone done this and how did it work out for you? I’d also love to hear if anyone started in a new industry.

I'd stick with the WFH role

I'm in a similar predicament and have realized WFH means at least 20k on my salary

Keep looking for local roles while you work for the charity.

My boss employed me on a fully remote contract in 2020 during covid when the company didn't have an office and it suited him, then when he moved into central London last August, he tried to insist that I switch to a full time office role. I wouldn't change so he had to pay me off.

I was pleasantly surprised to find four good opportunities on equivalent pay within 20 miles, and signed a new contract within 7 weeks. It's office based but only a 3 mile drive and I'm enjoying the company and the reduced heating bills.

I swapped from tech to manufacturing and am enjoying learning a new sector. It's a breath of fresh air.

I was also able to bank 2/3 of my pay-off. You may find this situation turns out to your advantage.

I know, for me it would be probably £6k and the time wasted sitting on the train.

What sort of role do you? Many skills are transferable to other sectors and moving from a charity to a private sector is likely to increase your pay.

Thanks, it sounds like it worked out for you really well! I definitely don’t want to go back to the office more than 2x a week and that’s stretching it. I will keep an eye on local jobs though - we have two smaller cities near me and that would work well for a hybrid role.

I’m in events. I have been trying to apply for corporate jobs but 90% of them ask for field specific experience. I will keep trying!

Mental health of not being isolated comes first for me. Ive felt trapped when WFH full time and I just can't do it - I'd done it from since before the pandemic, then the pandemic topped it off.

I would love if a job could be just down the road and a good move in terms of progress and development - they do come up but also worth proactively speaking to organisations outside of applying so that you are on their radar.

There's an increasing number of co working spaces in the south east, obviously these come at a cost to use for the day or on a contract basis (around £15-£22 a day I'd say on average from my research).

I signed up to Brave Starts which I found really helpful in organising my research and making targeted approaches, really recommend it.