The Work Thread 2 - Get back to work!

The interview was last night what were you doing?

Work is so strawberry floating shitty this week. God it's way too busy.

I feel like i've spending my days applying for jobs and watching Catfish in the background.

I much preferred furlough when there was a job to go back to at the end of it.

In terms of the job search, i've had a couple of promising calls from recruiters so far. One for a team leader role for 35k + bonus, but it's a 40 minute drive and will drain my petrol, and one for a step back into a Business Development role for 24k + a likely 6k bonus, which is about a 10 minute drive from home.

I think i'd rather the extra money even if it is a ballache with the commute compared to the second option, but either way i'm still checking every day for new jobs in case they turn into nothing so hopefully something comes off sooner rather than later.

Always go for the money. That way you can negotiate pay rises if you were to move jobs again.

The biggest thing i've found so far is how overpaid I am in my current role compared to similar roles on the market. :lol:

No matter where I go now it looks like i'm taking a big paycut, but I suppose it makes sense to limit that as much as I can do.

I dream of only having a 40 minute commute to work.

Honestly I'd strongly consider the shorter journey. My current commute takes strawberry floating forever, costs a lot in petrol and is a huge factor in me wanting something closer to home ASAP.

My Wales employment commute history:

1hr 20 mins - 2hrs 30 mins
25 mins - 1 hour (strawberry floating M4)
40 mins
30mins - 2 hours (strawberry floating M4 again)
10 mins bike ride :datass:

I’ve only ever had a commute that’s longer than ten minutes for about 4 months of my working life when it went up to 25-30 minutes.

Dreading the WFH discussion tomorrow. Feel so sick and unwell. I keep telling myself that the gov website still says you must work from home if you can but I really don't have the will to keep fighting.

Red wrote:Had to go to Sunderland for the test

Oh you poor soul.

If it's vital for you to stay at home, you should be staying at home. Ergo, you should be fighting for that right. For as long as this has gone on, though, I can understand that feeling of not wanting to fight any longer. But the managers should be understanding to having to stay at home, rather than instigating the fight in the first place.

Had my call last night, which lasted an hour. I can honestly say I had more fun, engaging and interesting chats with the people on that call than I've had in the last 3 years with my current job. I'd forgotten what it's like to talk about something you're actually interested in within a work context. Its made me realise I really shouldn't be doing what I'm doing now, but with the way the world is at the moment I can't see a way to get out of it.

Zilnad wrote:Dreading the WFH discussion tomorrow. Feel so sick and unwell. I keep telling myself that the gov website still says you must work from home if you can but I really don't have the will to keep fighting.

How did it go?

Last edited by Zilnad on Thu Jul 23, 2020 11:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

Dual wrote:
Zilnad wrote:Dreading the WFH discussion tomorrow. Feel so sick and unwell. I keep telling myself that the gov website still says you must work from home if you can but I really don't have the will to keep fighting.

How did it go?

Thanks for asking!

It looks like I've got them by the balls. It wasn't even really a conversation, just my director guilt tripping me with a sad voice about how I upset him and how he's under pressure and needs me to come back into the office. In a way, his guilt trip has kind of worked in that I now have a nagging feeling that I'm the banana split but I know I've behaved completely reasonably and this is just doubt and anxiety screwing with me.

The result is I can continue to work from home and he isn't going to force me in, although he wants to have more regular updates regarding the situation so that I can come back as soon as possible.

So long as the gov.uk messaging stays the same though, I won't be going in. Just need Boris Johnson not to strawberry float me.

It's a bit of a weight off my mind but I still feel unwell about everything. Definitely going to keep reminding the agency to keep me in the loop for something new, although WFH is currently more important.

Zilnad wrote:
Dual wrote:
Zilnad wrote:Dreading the WFH discussion tomorrow. Feel so sick and unwell. I keep telling myself that the gov website still says you must work from home if you can but I really don't have the will to keep fighting.

How did it go?

Thanks for asking!

It looks like I've got them by the balls. It wasn't even really a conversation, just my director guilt tripping me with a sad voice about how I upset him and how he's under pressure and needs me to come back into the office.

The result is I can continue to work from home and he isn't going to force me in, although he wants to have more regular updates regarding the situation so that I can come back as soon as possible.

So long as the gov.uk messaging stays the same though, I won't be going in. Just need Boris Johnson not to strawberry float me.

So does that mean the manager is the one who's given up fighting? Great.

Although I can see it now. Half an hour's time, Johnson makes his address. "The economy is collapsing and we need to do something about it now. Here's all the new cuts I'm making to services that matter. Oh, and everyone get your butts back to the office."

That's my exact fear! :cry:

I imagine they've consulted with their external HR provider and been told they don't have a leg to stand on.

I'd imagine so. Seems kind of odd they didn't do that to begin with, but maybe they were forced to accept they needed to.

I'm still thinking about the conversation now and so much of it was inappropriate. Like bringing up my personal matters from a year ago and being told he wants to tell me about his own personal problems when I'm back in the office. Like, you're my boss, if I have a problem with work it's your job to deal with it. It's nothing to do with me if you're stressed, that's not my responsibility. Anyway, I shouldn't complain because ultimately it's a win for me but it all just felt as unprofessional and inappropriate as everything else they do here.

Yeesh. He's got personal problems, he should keep them to himself. If you were a friend, I'd understand, but that definitely feels like trying to guilt trip. It is indeed a win, though, and you should be happy for that.

The Work Thread 2 - Get back to work!

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