Some years ago (10?) DW worked for a company A but had ambivalent feelings about it. The pay was so so, and the commute was a killer. On the upside, it had decent healthcare and 401(k) benefits. All things considered, she started looking for a new job and found what appeared to be a perfect fit and Company B, which would be only a 10 minute drive (compared to the 1.5 hours each way with company a). Not only with the commute significantly improve, but the pay was actually higher at Company B. No brainer, right? First day at work, right away, she can tell this is not what she signed up for. The manager is yelling at people, everyone seems scared, and there is no training. Red flags left and right. She tries to stick it out for a couple of days, but quickly realizes this is clearly not where she needs to be. She called me in tears, says she cannot do this, it is not what she signed up for, etc. and basically left the office, ostensibly to “check the mail” (this was one of the new job duties) and never returned. HR calls, wants to know what happened, and DW explains verbal abuse, the lack of training, etc. company b HR is very understanding And asks if there is anything they can do to bring her back - my gut says they were not surprised at anything they heard, which is probably why there was a vacancy in the first place. She says thanks but no thanks.
Same day, calls up her former boss (don’t burn those bridges if you don’t have to) from company a and negotiates a return at a higher salary and new job title. She had previously attempted to negotiate a wage increase but was told that it was impossible. After she left, however, magically there was money now available in the budget. Turns out, they were more than happy to have her back and were dreading the process of replacing her. She was also able to negotiate a couple of weeks delayed start for what we now refer to as her “unemployment vacation.” She needed the time to decompress from the company b trauma (and thanks to not living paycheck to paycheck, it was no big deal to us).
To this day, we still have a chuckle every once in a while about “going to check the mail.” I told her, just imagine the other people in that office. You are an urban legend for sure.
P.S. she still works for company a, but in the last 10 years has switched roles/departments 3 times, each with a significant pay increase. We relocated much closer, cutting commute time by 2/3, and she was able to negotiate 2 days/wk WFH in an office culture where WFH is virtually unheard of (at least pre-COVID). Meanwhile, almost everyone she works with just stays in the same position and never really gets more than COLA pay increases. Squeaky wheel, people! But more to the point of this thread, FU money gave us options. But for the FUM, some of those risks would likely been but daydreams. Cheers, mustachians!