Author Topic: work more, travel less??  (Read 4920 times)

kander

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work more, travel less??
« on: February 12, 2015, 08:21:22 AM »
My husband is in salary negotiations at a firm where he wants to work.

At this moment he works for a company where he has a lot of travel time to get to his work. He is travelling 3 hours daily from home to work and vice versa. That's why he wants to change jobs; travel time is too much.

Now he earns very good at his job. Long story, but he has changed from working 40 hours to working 36 hours per week while he maintained his salary for 40 hours. This results now in struggeling to find a new job. Every time he has a job interview they are very enthousiast about him, but they can't offer him the same working conditions that he has now.

What do you think: would it be an option to work 40 hours for the same salary he now works for 36 hours, but with half the travel time?

Addtional information:
He now travels by train and bus. When he gets the new job he could go by bike.

He now works 4 days in the one week and 5 days in the other, and he would work 5 days at his new job, when he would do it this way...
« Last Edit: February 12, 2015, 08:28:59 AM by kander »

Stash Engineer

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Re: work more, travel less??
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2015, 08:23:33 AM »
Absolutely.  He would save 7.5 hours of travel time per week by working an additional 4 hours per week.  Also saves fuel and vehicle wear.

kander

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Re: work more, travel less??
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2015, 08:26:52 AM »
Addition: he travels by public transport!!

Retire-Canada

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Re: work more, travel less??
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2015, 09:23:53 AM »
Addition: he travels by public transport!!

Is it possible you can move closer to the first job? That would be win-win.

If not he needs to assess the opportunity cost between riding transit and getting a long weekend every other week vs. M-F job without the long commute.

For example if he love to read novels and enjoys the alone time commuting plus he gets an extra full day at home with family that he enjoys the current situation may not be a bad choice.

If he finds the commute boring and wishes he was home earlier everyday to put the kids to bed it's time to change something. This sounds like where you are at.

There is no way to assess this other than to ask him and to ask yourself which you prefer.

Also consider that the new job doesn't have to be forever. If it saves him transit time he can keep looking for something else with more favourable conditions or he can see if once on the job he can renegotiate his work schedule once they get to know him and presumably like him.

-- Vik
« Last Edit: February 12, 2015, 09:26:51 AM by Vikb »

kander

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Re: work more, travel less??
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2015, 11:10:06 AM »
It's not possible to move...

I've made a little resume summary of the different options:

Keep it the way it is now:
Work 36 hours per weeks * 2 weeks = 72
+ 9 * 2,5 or 3 hours commute = 24,75 hours
Total: 96,75 hours

New job:
Work 40 hours per week * 2 weeks = 80 hours
+ 10 * 1 or 1,5 hours commute = 12,5
Total: 92,5 hours


This means 4 hours saved, but also 1 day off lost. I'm not sure if this is a great idea, because then he can't use this extra free day to make appointments like a visit to the doctor or to do something with our son...

« Last Edit: February 12, 2015, 12:07:36 PM by kander »

mm1970

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Re: work more, travel less??
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2015, 03:17:54 PM »
It's not possible to move...

I've made a little resume summary of the different options:

Keep it the way it is now:
Work 36 hours per weeks * 2 weeks = 72
+ 9 * 2,5 or 3 hours commute = 24,75 hours
Total: 96,75 hours

New job:
Work 40 hours per week * 2 weeks = 80 hours
+ 10 * 1 or 1,5 hours commute = 12,5
Total: 92,5 hours


This means 4 hours saved, but also 1 day off lost. I'm not sure if this is a great idea, because then he can't use this extra free day to make appointments like a visit to the doctor or to do something with our son...
What about vacation and paid time off?  That is what I use for dr appts and time off with the kiddos.

If the amount of time off is the same, it's still 4 hours a week.

Or in other words, 192 hours a year if he works 48 weeks a year, or 24 "8 hour days".

kander

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Re: work more, travel less??
« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2015, 03:27:01 PM »
That's also an option, but that would mean that he uses a lot of his holiday hours (is that a word???) for other things then real holiday-stuff ;)

MsPeacock

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Re: work more, travel less??
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2015, 04:50:05 PM »
The commute sounds painful in either option.

I work 4 10-hour days rather than 5 8-hour days. I hope to never return to a 5 day schedule. So, despite the commute I'd lean towards the 4 day work week. There is a lot to be said for having an extra weekend day every week. However, I would work really really hard to find another way to reduce that commute. 3 hours commute time is soul sucking. 

kander

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Re: work more, travel less??
« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2015, 11:33:57 PM »
You're right, it ís painfull! There are many times that my husband doesn't see his son the whole day. That's sad, and that's the reason why he now is trying so hard to find something closer to our home :)

Working 10 hours per day sounds great, but my husband has problems with concentrating, so I don't know if that would work for him.

Today he has a job interview (third round, so they are very interested), and I hope that he can get the job with the working conditions of his current job.

kander

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Re: work more, travel less??
« Reply #9 on: February 13, 2015, 01:36:11 PM »
The negotiations are going great. It's not finished yet but it looks like he'll get the job, with 36 hours worktime, less commute and the same salary he has at his current job..... Fingers crossed!