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I am taking an indirect pay cut staying with my current employer which allows for remote work rather than getting a much higher paying job that requires a daily

by bigtex 10y ago

I am taking an indirect pay cut staying with my current employer which allows for remote work rather than getting a much higher paying job that requires a daily commute. Working from home 4 days a week and then going into the office around 10 am after traffic settles is definitely a perk. A daily commute would probably require me to buy a newer vehicle which would definitely eat into any gains in salary anyways. My employer has struggled lately with layoffs so I am constantly evaluating my job prospects. So instead of commuting I am building up my consulting business.

mdip 10y ago
I've seen this play out a few times and I hesitate to offer advice only because I don't wish it to be taken negatively, so please accept this as respectfully as I can offer it. I worked at a company that performed layoffs about every 6 months of around 10% of the staff of the entire company for around 17 years. You're doing the right thing by constantly evaluating your job prospects. The risk you've taken, now, though is that you've made yourself less visible and easier to lay off. Your manager will feel less badly about letting you go because you're not around to be reminded of. By taking a 4-day work-week, you're also getting less done which will further make the case for "not needing you". The staff who is not working at home -- assuming they are not allowed to do so -- will also start to resent the fact that you've been treated specially and may start to sabotage you subtly/unconsciously (or if they're particularly nasty people -- intentionally). This will further make the case for why you should be the next to go. There is a large plus-side though, particularly if you're like many HN readers and are employed in software development -- you are in a good position to find a remote job elsewhere. Hiring good remote employees is difficult and makes employers uncomfortable because it's hard to know how someone will fare with a work-at-home position. One of the key factors looked for in any position is experience and you can now state on your resume/in an interview that you have experience working, successfully, remotely. That experience is further bolstered by the fact that you're employed by a struggling company who routinely lets people go and you're still employed there despite being a remote employee. I'd strongly advise updating your resume if you are not interested in consulting full time or putting enough energy into your consulting business to be able to transition to it full time.

by bigtex 10y ago

mdip 10y ago

I've seen this play out a few times and I hesitate to offer advice only because I don't wish it to be taken negatively, so please accept this as respectfully as I can offer it. I worked at a company that performed layoffs about every 6 months of around 10% of the staff of the entire company for around 17 years. You're doing the right thing by constantly evaluating your job prospects. The risk you've taken, now, though is that you've made yourself less visible and easier to lay off. Your manager will feel less badly about letting you go because you're not around to be reminded of. By taking a 4-day work-week, you're also getting less done which will further make the case for "not needing you". The staff who is not working at home -- assuming they are not allowed to do so -- will also start to resent the fact that you've been treated specially and may start to sabotage you subtly/unconsciously (or if they're particularly nasty people -- intentionally). This will further make the case for why you should be the next to go. There is a large plus-side though, particularly if you're like many HN readers and are employed in software development -- you are in a good position to find a remote job elsewhere. Hiring good remote employees is difficult and makes employers uncomfortable because it's hard to know how someone will fare with a work-at-home position. One of the key factors looked for in any position is experience and you can now state on your resume/in an interview that you have experience working, successfully, remotely. That experience is further bolstered by the fact that you're employed by a struggling company who routinely lets people go and you're still employed there despite being a remote employee. I'd strongly advise updating your resume if you are not interested in consulting full time or putting enough energy into your consulting business to be able to transition to it full time.