After twenty four years of loyal service, I am about to commit treason...

by CaptainSchmideo 26 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  CaptainSchmideo

  Of a sort.

  I have been with the same company for 24 years, and the last 5 have not been very enjoyable for me. I like the owner of the company, but the management team is terrible, and the dept. I work in (Tech Service) is demoralized. It seems like everyone hates their job, and the pay has been stagnant. I myself should actually be paid higher than I am, per industry and regional standards. I have stuck it out due to hard headed loyalty to the owner, but truthfully, they can't afford to pay me what I am worth, and I can't afford to work here any more.

  Earlier this week, I was "strongly encouraged" by one of my clients to apply for a position that had opened in his bank. It requires the same skill sets that I have, it actually reduces my area of responsibility (going from a territory of 100's of systems to maintain to a much smaller grouping of equipment), and it pays 33% more than I am making now. Plus, I am pretty sure that my portion of insurance payments will go down, due to the larger staff (not sure about this, but would be surprised if not the case), which will also be an increase in take home or in savings contributions. Plus, no more driving all over the state to maintain equipment and to fix sudden emergencies, no more college campuses and hospital systems to deal with, a great reduction in stress.

  So, I submitted my resume. This morning, I got the callback, they want me to come in fill out an application. My name had been "flagged" by IT as a candidate to talk to. The IT decision maker is the same person who encouraged me to apply, so I seem to have an "in".

  This is all so new to me, I feel like a housewife who has been married for 24 years, taken for granted, told that this was the best that could be, and now being wooed by someone who makes her feel sexy and alive. Or I feel like the hamster in the cage, where the door has been left open, and I could escape, but "my cage is comfortable, I have my water bottle, I have my pellets, I have my wheel. Outside is scary!"

  Anyway, I feel bad in some respects, with regards to the owner. I know that if I leave, this is going to be a huge hit to the service dept. (due to the fact that my co-worker has not been given the proper motivation to get his skills and certifications up to where they really should be. He may have to find that motivation very soon!). I don't know if friendly relations are going to be able to be maintained. That bugs me most of all, since I it bothers me when people have reason to dislike me, and this would be a pretty good reason.

  Anyway, can't talk to any coworker about this, so I am sharing with you all.
• 

  cantleave

  Fantastic - go for it!
• 

  talesin

  This sounds like an excellent opportunity for you. After 24 years, I can understand your two analogies!

  What struck me, though, is the sense of loyalty you feel to your employer. Ask yourself this question: Does he have the same loyalty to you? Is he making a good profit, whilst you are languishing in an unhappy workplace, with stagnant pay, and a heavy workload? If you got struck down by a bus tomorrow, would the business carry on? Oh, and when they received your letter of resignation, did they make any effort to woo you into staying because you are such a highly-valued employee?
  
  Exactly.

  Someone else values your work, and has 'head-hunted' you. This is the climate of business nowadays. Employees are expendable, and company loyalty is rewarded by employers taking advantage of loyal workers by paying them less, and reminding them often that "we are a team". Really? Does the "team" get a percentage of the net profits at auditing time?

  Go for it! :))
• 

  Think About It

  Take the new and better job, and don't look back. You can be loyal to your family with the increased pay. What kind of retirement benefits would you be walking away from? That's the only possible downside I see. Good luck.

  Think About It
• 

  baltar447

  If it's a better situation for you, you OWE it to yourself and those you are responsible for to make the right decision. You could also use it as a tool to leverage a pay increase or better situation with current employer if you do get an offer. Or you could end up with a cushy position that is less stress and you can enjoy life a little more.
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  wasblind

  As soon as your hired at the new job and have discussed your start date

  take time after that to give a proper notice and farewell to the old job

  Never burn your bridges, never know when you have to cross it again

  But , if your old Employer holds resentment let 'em

  If you lose a frienship, make sure it's for a really good reason

  like a better job

  Your loyaly is not bein' appreciated , it is severly overlooked

  Sad but it's so, time to go
• 

  shopaholic

  Honestly, you should have left a long time ago. The company will and can survive without you. If you're in technology and tried getting a job somewhere else without an "in" you would definitely be on the "out" because 24 years at one place no longer reads as loyalty on an IT resume.

  Don't be the hamster on the wheel...
• 

  Scully

  I don't consider it treasonous to move to greener pastures. Twenty-four years of service is a long time, and being taken for granted is an unpleasant feeling. You have a tremendous amount of responsibility, and you are not being compensated fairly for your skills and experience, given the job market.

  Your employer will have lost a good employee, and he has nobody to blame but himself. Clearly he feels no loyalty to you by compensating you appropriately. (You do realize that the people who sit back and accept the we-can't-afford-to-give-raises excuse are perpetuating their own mistreatment, right??) You may be doing what the employer needs: giving him a kick in the butt and scaring him by costing him a valuable employee, one whose credentials make them attractive to other employers.

  If your current employer wants to have an exit interview (probably not), be honest and say that you gave the company a more than fair chance to do right by you, as far as fair compensation/training etc. goes, but you need to be thinking about your own future in terms of pension and such, and the new place made you an offer that you couldn't turn down. Say that you have no hard feelings, understand his economic constraints, and perhaps your leaving will allow him to more fairly compensate the people in similar positions to yours (again, he probably won't).
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  wha happened?

  There's nothing wrong with moving up in the world. I respect employees that do this.
• 

  respectful_observer

  I faced a similar situation myself once. While interviewing for another position, I was venting my guilt about leaving to a mentor within the company. His response was, "Never feel bad about leaving for a better opportunity. Who do you owe more responsibility to, your family and yourself or this company? R_O, this is a JOB, not your life. If we didn't pay you each week, you wouldn't show up here. You're only here because we pay you. If another company can pay you more, you'd be stupid not take it. The only thing you owe us is your hard work while you're here-- that's it."

  He also reminded me that EVERYONE is replaceable. We may think of ourselves as exceptions to that rule, but in reality EVERYONE is replaceable.

  The only other advice I'd give, is that if you do interview and get an offer...but still really love your current job/boss that much, go to your boss and give him the opportunity to counter-offer. Who knows, he might surprise you!