How much sacrifice is WFH worth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I honestly would take a pay cut to be able to 100% work from home. At this point in my life (40s, young kids, like vacations, make well into the 6 figured) - I don’t really care about promotion potential or career growth. I just want some flexibility.

What field had mid-6 figures WFH?! Sign me up!

[Anonymous]

I WFH 2-3 days a week and it is awesome. But I would be wary of taking a full time WFH position. I am introverted, which sounds strange that I need to get out of the house and interact with people, but I do. I've always enjoyed the downtime with co-workers, it's just easy and organic vs. having to schedule time socially with people.

It also can be hard to disconnect from work if you ONLY work from home. I found that out during the safetrack shutdown when I went weeks without going into office. Over time it wasn't good for me.

[Anonymous]

I work a mind numbing job but I work 100% from home from 9-3 for $100K.

I do this for my kids. I'm bored stiff most days and going no where fast professionally but it's what's best for our family and I know I'm very fortunate to have this option.
It's also difficult from a social standpoint (I fairly extroverted) but I've gotten used to over the 4 years I've been doing it. Again, I do it for my kids.

So, yes, I really value working from home.

[Anonymous]

Previous poster again--

I don't want my post to sounds like I'm looking down at parents who work 9-6 or whatever because I stated that "I do this for my kids'.

I should have said, "i do it because it works for our family". My husband travels a lot and works long hours when he's in DC so FOR US it helps immensely to have one parent take a work-from-home job even it means sacrificing advancement and pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thanks for all the comments. What do you think if the WFH job is one that you will like less than your current job. As is the day-to-day tasks are not ones you find thrilling. They are OK, but not as aligned with your sweet spot. Do the benefits of WFH still make it worth it?

I think the question for you is, would you be motivated to stay on task if you were not in the office with these tasks you do not like as much?

And yes, it certainly helps if a large chunk of employees also WFH most/all of the time. Then there is not as much issue with promotion, bc folks are working remotely all over the place, and you have a better chance of promotion through merit/performance.

That said, you should also try to figure out some ways to stay connected with other folks. My DH has WFH for almost a decade with two different companies, and he works in gym visits and lunches to get out of the house.

[Anonymous]

I work from home full time for a DC-based organization and I'm one of two staff who WFH full time, but nearly everyone does it once or twice a week. I work from a different state, to which I moved after my husband got his dream job there.

It has pros and cons, and the cons are small. Cons: I do feel like I'll never be promoted. That partially has to do with the fact that I'm already in senior management and so the only place up would be to replace my boss (impossible remote) or to create a more senior position into which I could move. But, I do feel like some of the choicer assignments and projects sometimes don't end up on my plate because I'm not there to be the squeaky wheel. Other con: I do NOT network anymore. My new city, while major, isn't really a hotbed for my organization's interests, so all the happy hours and lunches that might result in me getting a different job just don't exist to me anymore, at least not organically. Other con: I miss talking more regularly with my coworkers.

Pros: I make a DC salary and live somewhere cheaper. No commute. I am with my same organization so I still get my amazing benefits (which are numerous). I have full control over my workload and schedule. I spend more time with my kid. I can cook full and balanced meals because I'm not sitting on the metro.

The salary thing and the commute thing are the biggest pros, and only one of those is relevant to you. I don't know if I could find a job like mine that would pay me even 75% of what I make now so to some extent I feel "golden handcuffed" to my current employer, at least until my kids are out of preschool. Thankfully, I don't hate my job. Every time I think about looking for another job, I hear the salary and I'm like.. no. I will not take a 20K pay cut AND add a commute AND go from 8 weeks paid PTO and all fed holidays to 2 weeks PTO and AND risk introducing evil new coworkers into my life. All for what, potentially new and interesting work and water cooler gossip? No. I'll probably be in this job for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thanks for all the comments. What do you think if the WFH job is one that you will like less than your current job. As is the day-to-day tasks are not ones you find thrilling. They are OK, but not as aligned with your sweet spot. Do the benefits of WFH still make it worth it?

Yes for me, but everyone has their own priorities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work a mind numbing job but I work 100% from home from 9-3 for $100K.

I do this for my kids. I'm bored stiff most days and going no where fast professionally but it's what's best for our family and I know I'm very fortunate to have this option.
It's also difficult from a social standpoint (I fairly extroverted) but I've gotten used to over the 4 years I've been doing it. Again, I do it for my kids.

So, yes, I really value working from home.

What do you do? I am thinking of leaving my job that I like (good benefits, reasonable pay, terrible commute) but worry about finding something steady to WFH. I have a high tolerance for boredom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work from home full time for a DC-based organization and I'm one of two staff who WFH full time, but nearly everyone does it once or twice a week. I work from a different state, to which I moved after my husband got his dream job there.

It has pros and cons, and the cons are small. Cons: I do feel like I'll never be promoted. That partially has to do with the fact that I'm already in senior management and so the only place up would be to replace my boss (impossible remote) or to create a more senior position into which I could move. But, I do feel like some of the choicer assignments and projects sometimes don't end up on my plate because I'm not there to be the squeaky wheel. Other con: I do NOT network anymore. My new city, while major, isn't really a hotbed for my organization's interests, so all the happy hours and lunches that might result in me getting a different job just don't exist to me anymore, at least not organically. Other con: I miss talking more regularly with my coworkers.

Pros: I make a DC salary and live somewhere cheaper. No commute. I am with my same organization so I still get my amazing benefits (which are numerous). I have full control over my workload and schedule. I spend more time with my kid. I can cook full and balanced meals because I'm not sitting on the metro.

The salary thing and the commute thing are the biggest pros, and only one of those is relevant to you. I don't know if I could find a job like mine that would pay me even 75% of what I make now so to some extent I feel "golden handcuffed" to my current employer, at least until my kids are out of preschool. Thankfully, I don't hate my job. Every time I think about looking for another job, I hear the salary and I'm like.. no. I will not take a 20K pay cut AND add a commute AND go from 8 weeks paid PTO and all fed holidays to 2 weeks PTO and AND risk introducing evil new coworkers into my life. All for what, potentially new and interesting work and water cooler gossip? No. I'll probably be in this job for a while.

+1
I freelance now and no longer live in the DC area. It's better family-wise and less stressful in terms of commuting, but there is no such thing as networking and the expectation that I will move up and increase my salary significantly unless I take on more work. At this point, I love WFH but I accept that I more or less work for money, not a career. It's hard to find full time or even solid part-time jobs that are career-track and will allow you to telework. It's ok for now but in the future I'll need to reassess what I'd really like to do as I can't imagine doing this for the next 30 years.

[Anonymous]

I WFH 4 days a week and go into the office 1 day. It is worth EVERYTHING for my family/me. I have the flexibility to drop the kids off to daycare and do pick ups and all doctor appointments, pre-school activities, etc. DH is in big law and cannot do any of these. I also go to the grocery store during lunch, do laundry, make dinner, exercise. I don't make a ton of money ($65K) but have amazing health and retirement benefits and seriously cannot imagine moving to another job even though I could probably make closer to 6 figures. Not worth it to me.

[Anonymous]

I WFH 4 days a week and go into the office 1 day. It is worth EVERYTHING for my family/me. I have the flexibility to drop the kids off to daycare and do pick ups and all doctor appointments, pre-school activities, etc. DH is in big law and cannot do any of these. I also go to the grocery store during lunch, do laundry, make dinner, exercise. I don't make a ton of money ($65K) but have amazing health and retirement benefits and seriously cannot imagine moving to another job even though I could probably make closer to 6 figures. Not worth it to me.

[Anonymous]

I would take a 20% paycut to be able to to this too. In theory I can WFH once a week, but our management structure changed and along with it some of the WFH flexibility Some days when I can, I get a lot more done even.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't work from home, but my sister does. I don't think that her career has suffered, but she also works for a company where 90% of the employees work from home. I think that makes a big difference in advancement potential.

This. If your teleworking is the exception rather than the rule, you will be held back.

Another factor is how long you were there in-office. If you put in 10 years at the actual physical office and performed well, you will have more opportunities than someone who was hired as a teleworker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I WFH 4 days a week and go into the office 1 day. It is worth EVERYTHING for my family/me. I have the flexibility to drop the kids off to daycare and do pick ups and all doctor appointments, pre-school activities, etc. DH is in big law and cannot do any of these. I also go to the grocery store during lunch, do laundry, make dinner, exercise. I don't make a ton of money ($65K) but have amazing health and retirement benefits and seriously cannot imagine moving to another job even though I could probably make closer to 6 figures. Not worth it to me.

NP. I WFH full time but can’t do any of those things (except maybe a bit of laundry, sometimes). Not all WFH jobs are this flexible. My boss can tell if I’m away from my computer for more than 5 minutes. I also have deadlines and conference calls all day every day and very little control over my day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I honestly would take a pay cut to be able to 100% work from home. At this point in my life (40s, young kids, like vacations, make well into the 6 figured) - I don’t really care about promotion potential or career growth. I just want some flexibility.

What field had mid-6 figures WFH?! Sign me up!

consulting.