people who work away
Discussion
RizzoTheRat said:
Can they actually do that?
A US owned multinational I worked for decided to bring in a 10% pay cut when the recession started hitting them, however apparently UK (or possibly European) employment law meant they couldn't force it on is. So instead they decided people could volunteer for a 10% pay cut, funnily enough the uptake wasn't good with only those managers high enough up that they wanted long term careers with the company volunteering. It wasn't that long before the company was bought out by a bigger multinational so it probably didn't do them a lot of good.
The voluntary redundancy deal wasn't bad though.
There are rules about minimum amounts of holiday in the UK, no idea what they are. They can always ask you to take pay or holiday cut but can't force it on you. However there is some way where if everyone accepts it and you dont they can then make you redundant. Happened to my boss at last job, but he wanted to go anyway!A US owned multinational I worked for decided to bring in a 10% pay cut when the recession started hitting them, however apparently UK (or possibly European) employment law meant they couldn't force it on is. So instead they decided people could volunteer for a 10% pay cut, funnily enough the uptake wasn't good with only those managers high enough up that they wanted long term careers with the company volunteering. It wasn't that long before the company was bought out by a bigger multinational so it probably didn't do them a lot of good.
The voluntary redundancy deal wasn't bad though.
I work 5 days a week, Mon to Fri in central London, its a 2 hour door to door trip, usually ensure I do 9 to 5.30 in the office. On occasions I travel around the UK, usually go by train and hire car at destination if necessary.
I quite like it, its a nice break. Sure working for 3 days, with 2 nights away is easily achievable.
I quite like it, its a nice break. Sure working for 3 days, with 2 nights away is easily achievable.
I do a shift rotation of 4 on and 4 off (4 days, 4 off, 4 nights, 4 off and so forth). At first it wasn't so bad, I enjoyed the job and didn't realise how much it was actually costing me.
I stay away 3 nights a week if I do days, (I travel the 150 miles North on my first shift and travel home after my last shift) or 4 nights if I am nights (same, travel day of first and last shift). I rent a room in a house and basically just sleep there.
The plan was to do this for a year, get some experience and look to get a job closer to home. The reality is that the job doesn't provide the experience and it costs me £9000 a year to go to work, thus eating a lot into my annual salary, which isn't that great. If I was being paid better and enjoyed the job, it wouldn't bother me so much, but I hate the job and I hate that it takes me away from home and isn't giving me the experience I need to look for something else, so I am ultimately faced with a decision.
Go for it if everything suits you, if it doesn't then have a good think about it.
I stay away 3 nights a week if I do days, (I travel the 150 miles North on my first shift and travel home after my last shift) or 4 nights if I am nights (same, travel day of first and last shift). I rent a room in a house and basically just sleep there.
The plan was to do this for a year, get some experience and look to get a job closer to home. The reality is that the job doesn't provide the experience and it costs me £9000 a year to go to work, thus eating a lot into my annual salary, which isn't that great. If I was being paid better and enjoyed the job, it wouldn't bother me so much, but I hate the job and I hate that it takes me away from home and isn't giving me the experience I need to look for something else, so I am ultimately faced with a decision.
Go for it if everything suits you, if it doesn't then have a good think about it.
Countdown said:
OP - I don't think you mentioned but how many days will you actually be working? For example working a 3-day week would mitigate many of the downsides of working away.... 
I used to work away during my 20's, it became a bit harder when I got married, it became much harder when the kids came along. I loved travelling, staying in decent hotels, meeting people but the novelty wears off.
3 days in total, 11 hour days plus travelling (unless i stay over)I used to work away during my 20's, it became a bit harder when I got married, it became much harder when the kids came along. I loved travelling, staying in decent hotels, meeting people but the novelty wears off.
Sharted said:
That feeling when you pull into the hotel car park and it's full of white vans.
f
k
Just curious as to why you find this so abhorrent? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be suggesting that the people who drive said "white vans" are somehow lowering the tone? Funnily enough, not everyone who has to work away is a high flying sales director in a shiny new 5 Series.f
k
jogger1976 said:
Just curious as to why you find this so abhorrent? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be suggesting that the people who drive said "white vans" are somehow lowering the tone? Funnily enough, not everyone who has to work away is a high flying sales director in a shiny new 5 Series.
Was wondering what this meant myselfdieseluser07 said:
jogger1976 said:
Just curious as to why you find this so abhorrent? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be suggesting that the people who drive said "white vans" are somehow lowering the tone? Funnily enough, not everyone who has to work away is a high flying sales director in a shiny new 5 Series.
Was wondering what this meant myselftty hotels in the UK (budget = £100 per night plus £30 food). Married with a young daughter, I can relate to all those that say it's a single man's game and, despite loving my job I now resent and despise it for keeping me away from my family and my life. Social life has gone down the pan (I want to spend weekends with my family so I don't miss my little girl growing up and during the week I'm either way or driving at 5am the next day, so beers with the lads are pretty rare).Regarding the white van comment, I can kind of see what the previous poster may have meant. The "lads" that are on a local construction project generally don't have a care in the world so the bar will be full of laddish banter. Often, being away is a bit of a novelty or "jolly" for them. When I've done a 12 hour day (plus driving) in a stressful job (that I'm only a couple of months into) and I head down to the hotel bar, I want somewhere quiet that I can sup a pint and "disappear" to unwind. Nothing against these lads, but sometimes you want a Yates' Wine Lodge, sometimes to want a CAMRA-endorsed boozer.
Back to the OP, my simple advice is that the novelty of working away wears off very quickly. The only people I know that do it and (seem to) enjoy it are single and/or earning an absolute fortune in return.
In terms of commute, 60 mins in traffic, 75 mins nice drive or 90 mins train are about my limits for anything long term.
wiggy001 said:
My experience of working away is between 2 and 4 nights a week staying in stty hotels in the UK (budget = £100 per night plus £30 food). Married with a young daughter, I can relate to all those that say it's a single man's game and, despite loving my job I now resent and despise it for keeping me away from my family and my life. Social life has gone down the pan (I want to spend weekends with my family so I don't miss my little girl growing up and during the week I'm either way or driving at 5am the next day, so beers with the lads are pretty rare).
Regarding the white van comment, I can kind of see what the previous poster may have meant. The "lads" that are on a local construction project generally don't have a care in the world so the bar will be full of laddish banter. Often, being away is a bit of a novelty or "jolly" for them. When I've done a 12 hour day (plus driving) in a stressful job (that I'm only a couple of months into) and I head down to the hotel bar, I want somewhere quiet that I can sup a pint and "disappear" to unwind. Nothing against these lads, but sometimes you want a Yates' Wine Lodge, sometimes to want a CAMRA-endorsed boozer.
Back to the OP, my simple advice is that the novelty of working away wears off very quickly. The only people I know that do it and (seem to) enjoy it are single and/or earning an absolute fortune in return.
In terms of commute, 60 mins in traffic, 75 mins nice drive or 90 mins train are about my limits for anything long term.
Thanks for the explanation.tty hotels in the UK (budget = £100 per night plus £30 food). Married with a young daughter, I can relate to all those that say it's a single man's game and, despite loving my job I now resent and despise it for keeping me away from my family and my life. Social life has gone down the pan (I want to spend weekends with my family so I don't miss my little girl growing up and during the week I'm either way or driving at 5am the next day, so beers with the lads are pretty rare).Regarding the white van comment, I can kind of see what the previous poster may have meant. The "lads" that are on a local construction project generally don't have a care in the world so the bar will be full of laddish banter. Often, being away is a bit of a novelty or "jolly" for them. When I've done a 12 hour day (plus driving) in a stressful job (that I'm only a couple of months into) and I head down to the hotel bar, I want somewhere quiet that I can sup a pint and "disappear" to unwind. Nothing against these lads, but sometimes you want a Yates' Wine Lodge, sometimes to want a CAMRA-endorsed boozer.
Back to the OP, my simple advice is that the novelty of working away wears off very quickly. The only people I know that do it and (seem to) enjoy it are single and/or earning an absolute fortune in return.
In terms of commute, 60 mins in traffic, 75 mins nice drive or 90 mins train are about my limits for anything long term.
Makes perfect sense when you frame it in that way. I'd (wrongly) assumed it was another "Considerably richer than you" type post, but I think dieseluser was just thinking the same as you?wiggy001 said:
My experience of working away is between 2 and 4 nights a week staying in stty hotels in the UK (budget = £100 per night plus £30 food). Married with a young daughter, I can relate to all those that say it's a single man's game and, despite loving my job I now resent and despise it for keeping me away from my family and my life. Social life has gone down the pan (I want to spend weekends with my family so I don't miss my little girl growing up and during the week I'm either way or driving at 5am the next day, so beers with the lads are pretty rare).
Regarding the white van comment, I can kind of see what the previous poster may have meant. The "lads" that are on a local construction project generally don't have a care in the world so the bar will be full of laddish banter. Often, being away is a bit of a novelty or "jolly" for them. When I've done a 12 hour day (plus driving) in a stressful job (that I'm only a couple of months into) and I head down to the hotel bar, I want somewhere quiet that I can sup a pint and "disappear" to unwind. Nothing against these lads, but sometimes you want a Yates' Wine Lodge, sometimes to want a CAMRA-endorsed boozer.
Back to the OP, my simple advice is that the novelty of working away wears off very quickly. The only people I know that do it and (seem to) enjoy it are single and/or earning an absolute fortune in return.
In terms of commute, 60 mins in traffic, 75 mins nice drive or 90 mins train are about my limits for anything long term.
Did you work for 5 days a week though?? Or was the full 2-4 days your working week?tty hotels in the UK (budget = £100 per night plus £30 food). Married with a young daughter, I can relate to all those that say it's a single man's game and, despite loving my job I now resent and despise it for keeping me away from my family and my life. Social life has gone down the pan (I want to spend weekends with my family so I don't miss my little girl growing up and during the week I'm either way or driving at 5am the next day, so beers with the lads are pretty rare).Regarding the white van comment, I can kind of see what the previous poster may have meant. The "lads" that are on a local construction project generally don't have a care in the world so the bar will be full of laddish banter. Often, being away is a bit of a novelty or "jolly" for them. When I've done a 12 hour day (plus driving) in a stressful job (that I'm only a couple of months into) and I head down to the hotel bar, I want somewhere quiet that I can sup a pint and "disappear" to unwind. Nothing against these lads, but sometimes you want a Yates' Wine Lodge, sometimes to want a CAMRA-endorsed boozer.
Back to the OP, my simple advice is that the novelty of working away wears off very quickly. The only people I know that do it and (seem to) enjoy it are single and/or earning an absolute fortune in return.
In terms of commute, 60 mins in traffic, 75 mins nice drive or 90 mins train are about my limits for anything long term.
dieseluser07 said:
Did you work for 5 days a week though?? Or was the full 2-4 days your working week?
Currently doing it (posting this from said hotel room!). Work monday-friday, normally 50ish hours per week plus travel and 1 day of the 5 at home if I'm lucky.So some weeks I leave home at 5.30am monday, home 8pm tuesday, wfh wedsnesday, leave home 5.30am thursday and home 7pm friday. Others I can leave at 5.30am on monday and not be home til gone 8pm on friday (which is Sunday Night-Saturday Morning not seeing my daughter).
3 days per week would be easier to deal with but still not ideal.
wiggy001 said:
Currently doing it (posting this from said hotel room!). Work monday-friday, normally 50ish hours per week plus travel and 1 day of the 5 at home if I'm lucky.
So some weeks I leave home at 5.30am monday, home 8pm tuesday, wfh wedsnesday, leave home 5.30am thursday and home 7pm friday. Others I can leave at 5.30am on monday and not be home til gone 8pm on friday (which is Sunday Night-Saturday Morning not seeing my daughter).
3 days per week would be easier to deal with but still not ideal.
Yes the 3 day job would be a lot less stressful which would pay off a bit as my current job has a lot of stressSo some weeks I leave home at 5.30am monday, home 8pm tuesday, wfh wedsnesday, leave home 5.30am thursday and home 7pm friday. Others I can leave at 5.30am on monday and not be home til gone 8pm on friday (which is Sunday Night-Saturday Morning not seeing my daughter).
3 days per week would be easier to deal with but still not ideal.
wiggy001 said:
Currently doing it (posting this from said hotel room!). Work monday-friday, normally 50ish hours per week plus travel and 1 day of the 5 at home if I'm lucky.
So some weeks I leave home at 5.30am monday, home 8pm tuesday, wfh wedsnesday, leave home 5.30am thursday and home 7pm friday. Others I can leave at 5.30am on monday and not be home til gone 8pm on friday (which is Sunday Night-Saturday Morning not seeing my daughter).
3 days per week would be easier to deal with but still not ideal.
Yes the 3 day job would be a lot less stressful which would pay off a bit as my current job has a lot of stressSo some weeks I leave home at 5.30am monday, home 8pm tuesday, wfh wedsnesday, leave home 5.30am thursday and home 7pm friday. Others I can leave at 5.30am on monday and not be home til gone 8pm on friday (which is Sunday Night-Saturday Morning not seeing my daughter).
3 days per week would be easier to deal with but still not ideal.
It feels like you're really not sure as you're still thinking about it 3 weeks after you first posted?
However, if you will be working 3 days and have 4 days off why not give it a go and see how you get on?
I can't remember seeing if you've got a partner or family, obviously that might change your thinking depending on how they feel about it.
Something else to consider: if you try it but can't get on with working away how easily can you get another job closer to home/without the travelling?
Can you write a list of pros and cons, made up of your initial thoughts and the feedback you've received on this thread, to help your thinking?
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
However, if you will be working 3 days and have 4 days off why not give it a go and see how you get on?
I can't remember seeing if you've got a partner or family, obviously that might change your thinking depending on how they feel about it.
Something else to consider: if you try it but can't get on with working away how easily can you get another job closer to home/without the travelling?
Can you write a list of pros and cons, made up of your initial thoughts and the feedback you've received on this thread, to help your thinking?
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
I do the odd week/night away. It can be a hassle for example finishing a meeting at 8pm in Bristol then driving 3.5 hours to Suffolk.. Having spent the previous afternoon driving to Bristol, and then having an evening conference, after which I had to work to prepare for the next day....
I would not want to do it regularly, it is tiring.
I would not want to do it regularly, it is tiring.
I work 28 on 28 off for a company in Norway. Not on a rig and on my work period I can be in the UK or Africa and anywhere in-between.
The biggest bit of advice I can give is don't ring every night. If you are working long hours then you only have work drudgery to talk about and she will only have her normal routine. I ring the wife twice a week, we do videocalls on Tango once a week and its fun and you get excited to speak to her, see my littleun. When we rang every day it was 10 minutes of nothing much, when calling twice a week though we end up on the phone for 40 minutes at a time, much much better.
Dave!
The biggest bit of advice I can give is don't ring every night. If you are working long hours then you only have work drudgery to talk about and she will only have her normal routine. I ring the wife twice a week, we do videocalls on Tango once a week and its fun and you get excited to speak to her, see my littleun. When we rang every day it was 10 minutes of nothing much, when calling twice a week though we end up on the phone for 40 minutes at a time, much much better.
Dave!
If you don't get into good habits, it'll end up costing you more than you make. I used to do it occasionally, two or three weeks at a time on contract work, ate out twice a day stayed in the nearest pub and spent every night in the bar. It soon added up, £50 per night b&b, £20 per day on other meals, £30 per night in the bar. 3 weeks away would cost around £2000 which was more or less what I was making for the job at the time.
vanordinaire said:
If you don't get into good habits, it'll end up costing you more than you make. I used to do it occasionally, two or three weeks at a time on contract work, ate out twice a day stayed in the nearest pub and spent every night in the bar. It soon added up, £50 per night b&b, £20 per day on other meals, £30 per night in the bar. 3 weeks away would cost around £2000 which was more or less what I was making for the job at the time.
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