The Work Thread 2 - Get back to work!

[Rex Kramer]

So I'm currently working my notice period and my current employer has made me an offer to stay.

I'm 50/50 at the moment. Supposed to give a decision today.

I'm kinda thinking the fact it's so close means it's not worth leaving. Can someone make a decision for me please?

If you do decide on staying then ask for another 10%.

[Ecno]

Would a better offer fix the reason for leaving?

If yes - take the offer.
If no - reject the offer.

This.

Also if it was only more money you wanted, it's probably best to leave, as there's a risk you could be seen as not a team player etc, which could harm you going forward. Also why work for someone who was only willing to pay you what you were worth when you were about to leave?

[Ste]

Thanks for the replies.

Still not been sorted.

The offer does resolve the main issue I had, workload, which would be reduced by a third.

It was never really about salary but I've asked for a little more anyway.

So if they agree it's a little less work for a little more money which is what I hoped the new job would be. Obviously you never really know until you get there.

Commute would be worse in new place which is also a factor.

[1cmanny1]

Sounds like me a year ago. I don't regret staying - I just still have the same problems a year later.
Just paid more!

[pjbetman]

Thanks for the replies.

Still not been sorted.

The offer does resolve the main issue I had, workload, which would be reduced by a third.

It was never really about salary but I've asked for a little more anyway.

So if they agree it's a little less work for a little more money which is what I hoped the new job would be. Obviously you never really know until you get there.

Commute would be worse in new place which is also a factor.

I've been in a similar position - got offered a promotion to stay and big payrise (~30%) but the boss resented my ultimatum and I'd made a rod for my own back. Still managed another 3 years or so but it was hell. strawberry float them off and go to your new job. The only reason for staying is if it's good for your career. If moving will improve your career, then go for it.

[Trelliz]

If they're willing to chuck money at you to that degree to get you to stay/deal with their gooseberry fool then they need you more than you need them.

[Moggy]

Quite a few people here today are being made redundant, some of them already know it’s their last day but some are waiting to find out if it will be them. I am safe (at the moment!) but feel terrible for those that have to go through this gooseberry fool.

It’s awful. And the banana splits always do it just before Christmas.

[pjbetman]

Quite a few people here today are being made redundant, some of them already know it’s their last day but some are waiting to find out if it will be them. I am safe (at the moment!) but feel terrible for those that have to go through this gooseberry fool.

It’s awful. And the banana splits always do it just before Christmas.

Do you get 90 day consultation periods? If so, encourage them to sign up for income protection insurance, which includes redundancy scenarios. Takes the pressure off.

[Moggy]

Quite a few people here today are being made redundant, some of them already know it’s their last day but some are waiting to find out if it will be them. I am safe (at the moment!) but feel terrible for those that have to go through this gooseberry fool.

It’s awful. And the banana splits always do it just before Christmas.

Do you get 90 day consultation periods? If so, encourage them to sign up for income protection insurance, which includes redundancy scenarios. Takes the pressure off.

Two people had a 30 day consultancy period (one of them signed off sick as soon as it started) but knew they were going today. The rest of their notice is gardening leave.

There were three others who knew that only one of them would be staying, the unlucky two left today (gardening leave again). One of them was in tears as she left.

[Jenuall]

Quite a few people here today are being made redundant, some of them already know it’s their last day but some are waiting to find out if it will be them. I am safe (at the moment!) but feel terrible for those that have to go through this gooseberry fool.

It’s awful. And the banana splits always do it just before Christmas.

Do you get 90 day consultation periods? If so, encourage them to sign up for income protection insurance, which includes redundancy scenarios. Takes the pressure off.

Two people had a 30 day consultancy period (one of them signed off sick as soon as it started) but knew they were going today. The rest of their notice is gardening leave.

There were three others who knew that only one of them would be staying, the unlucky two left today (gardening leave again). One of them was in tears as she left.

gooseberry fool. Horrible situation at any time but to do it at Christmas.

I've only been around a work environment when one round of redundancy was going on and that was a very small number of people being effected and almost all of it was claimed voluntarily so it didn't feel so bad.

[mcjihge2]

Quite a few people here today are being made redundant, some of them already know it’s their last day but some are waiting to find out if it will be them. I am safe (at the moment!) but feel terrible for those that have to go through this gooseberry fool.

It’s awful. And the banana splits always do it just before Christmas.

Do you get 90 day consultation periods? If so, encourage them to sign up for income protection insurance, which includes redundancy scenarios. Takes the pressure off.

Two people had a 30 day consultancy period (one of them signed off sick as soon as it started) but knew they were going today. The rest of their notice is gardening leave.

There were three others who knew that only one of them would be staying, the unlucky two left today (gardening leave again). One of them was in tears as she left.

Whats the reason for redundancies? Im going through something similar because of lost/missed project contracts.

[Moggy]

Quite a few people here today are being made redundant, some of them already know it’s their last day but some are waiting to find out if it will be them. I am safe (at the moment!) but feel terrible for those that have to go through this gooseberry fool.

It’s awful. And the banana splits always do it just before Christmas.

Do you get 90 day consultation periods? If so, encourage them to sign up for income protection insurance, which includes redundancy scenarios. Takes the pressure off.

Two people had a 30 day consultancy period (one of them signed off sick as soon as it started) but knew they were going today. The rest of their notice is gardening leave.

There were three others who knew that only one of them would be staying, the unlucky two left today (gardening leave again). One of them was in tears as she left.

Whats the reason for redundancies? Im going through something similar because of lost/missed project contracts.

They haven’t really told us why.

The company is currently in the process of being bought out, but that hasn’t gone through yet and we were told it had nothing to do with these redundancies. Which is actually worrying as who knows if the new owners will want to get rid of more people.

[Ste]

So after 12 years with my company I'm leaving!

Despite all the talk of how much they valued me they were asking me to withdraw my acceptance of the other job, burning my bridges with that company and turn down a pay rise but weren't prepared to offer me 1 penny more.

I'm glad it's been resolved, feel happy with my decision and can now enjoy Xmas.

Won't be so bad going back in the new year as I won't be around much longer.

[Green Gecko]

12 years and they can't offer anything else but want you to withdraw from a bid for your services?

What planet are they on? Well done for not being manipulated.

[pjbetman]

So after 12 years with my company I'm leaving!

Despite all the talk of how much they valued me they were asking me to withdraw my acceptance of the other job, burning my bridges with that company and turn down a pay rise but weren't prepared to offer me 1 penny more.

I'm glad it's been resolved, feel happy with my decision and can now enjoy Xmas.

Won't be so bad going back in the new year as I won't be around much longer.

strawberry float em off, don't go back. At least sign yourself off for the final week.

[Errkal]

Home after a very long shift. Got asked at 2 if I could help with something by the it director and didn't get to leave until midnight when we finished the thing we needed to do.

Yay for overtime and P1 Pizza but urgh strawberry float accidental 16 hour days. Was mean to go to a chrimbo party with my old work too but ended up not getting to

[1cmanny1]

Quite a few people here today are being made redundant, some of them already know it’s their last day but some are waiting to find out if it will be them. I am safe (at the moment!) but feel terrible for those that have to go through this gooseberry fool.

It’s awful. And the banana splits always do it just before Christmas.

Do you get 90 day consultation periods? If so, encourage them to sign up for income protection insurance, which includes redundancy scenarios. Takes the pressure off.

Two people had a 30 day consultancy period (one of them signed off sick as soon as it started) but knew they were going today. The rest of their notice is gardening leave.

There were three others who knew that only one of them would be staying, the unlucky two left today (gardening leave again). One of them was in tears as she left.

Whats the reason for redundancies? Im going through something similar because of lost/missed project contracts.

They haven’t really told us why.

The company is currently in the process of being bought out, but that hasn’t gone through yet and we were told it had nothing to do with these redundancies. Which is actually worrying as who knows if the new owners will want to get rid of more people.

Do you work for a small privately owned company?

At my company, the gossip train knows this kind of thing before the executives do. Plus, I know our quarterly/monthly budgets and results.
We had a god awful year.

[Moggy]

Quite a few people here today are being made redundant, some of them already know it’s their last day but some are waiting to find out if it will be them. I am safe (at the moment!) but feel terrible for those that have to go through this gooseberry fool.

It’s awful. And the banana splits always do it just before Christmas.

Do you get 90 day consultation periods? If so, encourage them to sign up for income protection insurance, which includes redundancy scenarios. Takes the pressure off.

Two people had a 30 day consultancy period (one of them signed off sick as soon as it started) but knew they were going today. The rest of their notice is gardening leave.

There were three others who knew that only one of them would be staying, the unlucky two left today (gardening leave again). One of them was in tears as she left.

Whats the reason for redundancies? Im going through something similar because of lost/missed project contracts.

They haven’t really told us why.

The company is currently in the process of being bought out, but that hasn’t gone through yet and we were told it had nothing to do with these redundancies. Which is actually worrying as who knows if the new owners will want to get rid of more people.

Do you work for a small privately owned company?

At my company, the gossip train knows this kind of thing before the executives do. Plus, I know our quarterly/monthly budgets and results.
We had a god awful year.

No we are not that small and we are not privately owned.

The gossip train isn’t usually too bad here but nobody knew the redundancies were coming until it was announced. The takeover was a complete surprise to everybody as well, I think the CEO lost the company while gambling in Monte Carlo.

[That's not a growth]

Sorry, wall of text.

On Friday we had our department Christmas do, and after a fair few drinks my manager took me to one side and had a chat with me about something that's been on his mind for a while; a month or two a go someone went to him and said I'd been bad mouthing him behind his back. They say I was saying that he was unfit to run the department and I felt I could do a much better job.

This utterly floored me. I don't think this, let alone said anything along these lines to someone at work. We talked (well, I think I did most of the talking) about this for a while, and then after we left the bar we were in he invited my back to his so we could talk some more, which we did.

He also mentioned about a department meeting we had a few weeks ago, which was explained at the time to be a general department meeting about our thoughts on how things had been over the previous few months (which had been a difficult time for all of us), any concerns we had, and how we think we should approach things going forward: kind of standard stuff, except we're normally too disorganised to do this and it was billed this was the start of us trying to get better as this. Turns out it was really all about me, and him wanting to see how I'd react in a forum where I'd be allowed to air any greevances I've got. And I did air some, but nothing I haven't said before. I like to think I'm honest, but constructive, when I feel there's an issue at work that could escalate to a really big problem. Specifically my concerns were lack of forward planning with staff levels, and the MD stopping our conversations with IT with regards to trying to plan a new system to run the department instead of Excel and being told to build it ourselves. Both things I've mentioned multiple times out in the open, but both also things I felt my manager had my back on and it was the people about him that roadblocked our efforts on these.

He also mentioned he had thought that perhaps the times I'd been starting late/finishing early at work due to appointments for the tests on lump on my testicles weren't all true and I had been for some job interviews.

As you can probably imagine, this has been on my mind since. I'm trying to digest it, and figure out how much it matters. At the end of the way it's gossip, but it sounds like it's something he either believed or was close to believing, or might still believe. But when it comes to actual actions - I'm getting another pay rise in Jan, we're getting more staff - it doesn't seem like he's doing anything to spite me and force me out.

The main thing that concerns me is it's taken it this long to speak to me about it, despite one of his mottos being how he's a plain talker who says it how he sees it. Also, this means there someone taking gooseberry fool about me behind my back. Or he made it up to see how I'd react just because had a concern that I thought I was better than him. And he seems to think I could be the kind of person who would lie about health issues.

It's just swimming around my mind a bit too much I guess.

[pjbetman]

Sorry, wall of text.

On Friday we had our department Christmas do, and after a fair few drinks my manager took me to one side and had a chat with me about something that's been on his mind for a while; a month or two a go someone went to him and said I'd been bad mouthing him behind his back. They say I was saying that he was unfit to run the department and I felt I could do a much better job.

This utterly floored me. I don't think this, let alone said anything along these lines to someone at work. We talked (well, I think I did most of the talking) about this for a while, and then after we left the bar we were in he invited my back to his so we could talk some more, which we did.

He also mentioned about a department meeting we had a few weeks ago, which was explained at the time to be a general department meeting about our thoughts on how things had been over the previous few months (which had been a difficult time for all of us), any concerns we had, and how we think we should approach things going forward: kind of standard stuff, except we're normally too disorganised to do this and it was billed this was the start of us trying to get better as this. Turns out it was really all about me, and him wanting to see how I'd react in a forum where I'd be allowed to air any greevances I've got. And I did air some, but nothing I haven't said before. I like to think I'm honest, but constructive, when I feel there's an issue at work that could escalate to a really big problem. Specifically my concerns were lack of forward planning with staff levels, and the MD stopping our conversations with IT with regards to trying to plan a new system to run the department instead of Excel and being told to build it ourselves. Both things I've mentioned multiple times out in the open, but both also things I felt my manager had my back on and it was the people about him that roadblocked our efforts on these.

He also mentioned he had thought that perhaps the times I'd been starting late/finishing early at work due to appointments for the tests on lump on my testicles weren't all true and I had been for some job interviews.

As you can probably imagine, this has been on my mind since. I'm trying to digest it, and figure out how much it matters. At the end of the way it's gossip, but it sounds like it's something he either believed or was close to believing, or might still believe. But when it comes to actual actions - I'm getting another pay rise in Jan, we're getting more staff - it doesn't seem like he's doing anything to spite me and force me out.

The main thing that concerns me is it's taken it this long to speak to me about it, despite one of his mottos being how he's a plain talker who says it how he sees it. Also, this means there someone taking gooseberry fool about me behind my back. Or he made it up to see how I'd react just because had a concern that I thought I was better than him. And he seems to think I could be the kind of person who would lie about health issues.

It's just swimming around my mind a bit too much I guess.

Difficult one to judge. I'd be inclined to go to HR for advice, possibly leading to lodging a grievance. Might get the other party a warning for future behaviour.