Contract says 25-75% travel, should I quit?
Discussion
Help. I used to really enjoy my job, but I'm having trouble getting back to happy. I think the only "escape" is to quit. Because I don't agree with how the company is run.
- We're a small-to-medium, <30, professional services, been here since Day 1
- Very flat hierarchy, almost everyone below board level answers to the COO
- Few job titles are the same, many people benefit from working from home, or live near the office
- Only 3 or 4 of us (of the 30) do this amount of revenue-earning travel
When I started, I travelled 25% maximum. Worked from home, or, went in to the office to catch up. Then I was asked to help on a project. 1.5 hours to the customer site EACH WAY. At first, twice a week. Then the guy I shadowed quit, so 3 days a week, sometimes all week. I used to hotel it, but it wasn't fair on my wife. It dropped to two days last year after I trained someone up, but then he quit, so it's back with me.
I'm in trap where: I'm the best man for the job. Well-liked by the people paying for my time, and well-liked by the customer whose site it is. Good news for my employer, as I've brought continuity, VFM, project success, I prioritise, I escalate, I am calm under pressure.
My contract says: 25%-75% travel. I've gone back over my diary for 2015 Q1, and I'm at 80%. For one month it was 60%. For a year, maybe two, it has been 50-75%. I could probably go back through the diary and prove it.
But here's my problem. They don't care.
I travel significantly more than nearly all of my colleagues. Don't compare yourself to others, they say.
But they work from home, their day is shorter, easy to book leave, and I'm suffering here, challenging project, hard to book leave. They shrug. Why are you being difficult?
I asked for more salary. No sorry, you're as high as we'll go.
I asked to quit and return as a contractor. No thanks.
I asked for a different project. Welllll that's difficult, this is our most important project and the customer wants you.
Can we reorganise? I'd like others to step in. Wellll that's hard, we've got Bob on XYZ for the next few months, Alice on ABC.
How come Colleague X travels about 10%, quit, and then you rehired him on new terms? No answer.
How are you linking success of any of us to reward, I say. Blank looks. Like I'm an alien.
I asked the CEO, do you think 3hrs in the car is normal? Yes he says, nothing unusual about that. He didn't back down. He played me for a fool by getting angry and telling me I wasn't loyal.
I asked for a car allowance because of the travel. It's a salary hike, right? Sorry chum, no.
I feel unrewarded. I feel overworked. In a situation where the the customer would have me for extra days a month, but I am not up for it any more. Why travel more, for a company, that isn't rewarding me? After two years being knocked back, I don't create opportunities any more. I could do more work, travel 5 days, speed up the project, or surge a problem, smash a bottleneck. Now I stay quiet. Sorry, just 3 days on site guys. On another site tomorrow. Cya Monday.
I feel like... this is where my head is: IF I'D BEEN MEDIOCRE, NOT EXCELLENT, I'D HAVE THE SAME SALARY, AN EASIER LIFE, AND THE SAME BONUS (ie nothing!).
HR asked me, last year, anything you want, come to me. But have never got traction on anything we've discussed. I've got emails that show it. Is it a game? I'm supposed to say "give me x or I quit?"? The implication, from their lack of action over the years, is I MUST quit.
Do I have to strap on a pair - do I have to quit?
I don't want to quit. My wife's pregnant.
I also don't want to travel 80%. PH collective... help.
- We're a small-to-medium, <30, professional services, been here since Day 1
- Very flat hierarchy, almost everyone below board level answers to the COO
- Few job titles are the same, many people benefit from working from home, or live near the office
- Only 3 or 4 of us (of the 30) do this amount of revenue-earning travel
When I started, I travelled 25% maximum. Worked from home, or, went in to the office to catch up. Then I was asked to help on a project. 1.5 hours to the customer site EACH WAY. At first, twice a week. Then the guy I shadowed quit, so 3 days a week, sometimes all week. I used to hotel it, but it wasn't fair on my wife. It dropped to two days last year after I trained someone up, but then he quit, so it's back with me.
I'm in trap where: I'm the best man for the job. Well-liked by the people paying for my time, and well-liked by the customer whose site it is. Good news for my employer, as I've brought continuity, VFM, project success, I prioritise, I escalate, I am calm under pressure.
My contract says: 25%-75% travel. I've gone back over my diary for 2015 Q1, and I'm at 80%. For one month it was 60%. For a year, maybe two, it has been 50-75%. I could probably go back through the diary and prove it.
But here's my problem. They don't care.
I travel significantly more than nearly all of my colleagues. Don't compare yourself to others, they say.
But they work from home, their day is shorter, easy to book leave, and I'm suffering here, challenging project, hard to book leave. They shrug. Why are you being difficult?
I asked for more salary. No sorry, you're as high as we'll go.
I asked to quit and return as a contractor. No thanks.
I asked for a different project. Welllll that's difficult, this is our most important project and the customer wants you.
Can we reorganise? I'd like others to step in. Wellll that's hard, we've got Bob on XYZ for the next few months, Alice on ABC.
How come Colleague X travels about 10%, quit, and then you rehired him on new terms? No answer.
How are you linking success of any of us to reward, I say. Blank looks. Like I'm an alien.
I asked the CEO, do you think 3hrs in the car is normal? Yes he says, nothing unusual about that. He didn't back down. He played me for a fool by getting angry and telling me I wasn't loyal.
I asked for a car allowance because of the travel. It's a salary hike, right? Sorry chum, no.
I feel unrewarded. I feel overworked. In a situation where the the customer would have me for extra days a month, but I am not up for it any more. Why travel more, for a company, that isn't rewarding me? After two years being knocked back, I don't create opportunities any more. I could do more work, travel 5 days, speed up the project, or surge a problem, smash a bottleneck. Now I stay quiet. Sorry, just 3 days on site guys. On another site tomorrow. Cya Monday.
I feel like... this is where my head is: IF I'D BEEN MEDIOCRE, NOT EXCELLENT, I'D HAVE THE SAME SALARY, AN EASIER LIFE, AND THE SAME BONUS (ie nothing!).
HR asked me, last year, anything you want, come to me. But have never got traction on anything we've discussed. I've got emails that show it. Is it a game? I'm supposed to say "give me x or I quit?"? The implication, from their lack of action over the years, is I MUST quit.
Do I have to strap on a pair - do I have to quit?
I don't want to quit. My wife's pregnant.
I also don't want to travel 80%. PH collective... help.
Edited by fvey on Tuesday 14th April 23:42
ehonda said:
This happened to me, I quit and went to work for a client, ex employer went bats
t. New employer told them to STFU.
Yes, I buy into this! A clause about not working for a competitor is one thing. Or taking staff/contracts with you. But if you quit your job, you're on the market, then your partner/supplier offers work? I guess it happens.t. New employer told them to STFU.UpTheIron said:
Is the travel really an issue? Contracting directly to the client isn't going to fix that.
Good one - so in short, one fix is money, isn't it? Looks, smells, feels like a piss-take. Would you let your wife sleep with Richard Gere for a million dollars, would you spend 3 hours a day in the car?I have been brainstorming it like this: How would I interview someone to meet as many of the requirements as possible? Good interview , Candidate X... so by the way, the location for this job, you can hotel it or drive it. So the employer may find someone nearer, but it hasn't happened so far. And I've done quite a few interviews over the last few years.
As Type R Tom spotted, this isn't the SE.
Something has to give. I asked for a change. Multiple push backs. They can do one?
TooLateForAName said:
Noting that you are a new member here...
Must confess this is an alt profile. I wanted public opinion from my go-to forum, just not against my real profile. Is the boss here? Doubt it. But this is public, indexed, published.TooLateForAName said:
You dont say what it is that you do / Would the role change
Well, let's keep it generic without going down into role and domain. Would I move? No, I'll do it for money because my belief is its hardship. And doesn't add up. If I don't do it for money, I'm off. Time for a new challenge.You are asking good questions: yes I'd like to change my role. Doing good work in challenging conditions, shouldn't there be upward momentum? For me, yes. Bodies litter the streets of this project. So, yes I need to slightly re-role, in order to get the board to wake-up. I don't appear to have the voice, credibility, influence. So it's like it or leave it, the 80% travel thing. And you know what? I don't like it.
Can I change things without quitting? Feels like no, otherwise I wouldn't be throwing this situation out here for community comment. I believe 80% travel and push-backs equals this feeling of p!ss-take. Ominous in a small business and "core" team? Some sort of weakness at the top of the business wrt listening/discussing/agreeing/acting...? Or I'm a complete prick of course.
I like what you guys are generally saying. I don't play poker, not the sort of guy on a team to burn trust by calling bluff, so I've redone the CV and I'm looking around.
I get the sense you may have skim read the first post!
What we're talking about is a job changing, certainly the balance changing, and about how that fits in with the rest of the business. I guess it's also about feeling that the crap bits that we all probably do, are outweighed by the good bits.
You knew about the travel in your jobs at the start, or you're saying you were happy to increase your travel to that extent?
Why does the balance work for you?
What we're talking about is a job changing, certainly the balance changing, and about how that fits in with the rest of the business. I guess it's also about feeling that the crap bits that we all probably do, are outweighed by the good bits.
You knew about the travel in your jobs at the start, or you're saying you were happy to increase your travel to that extent?
Why does the balance work for you?
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