So, my partner and I want to move someplace that has no snow, within the next couple of years. One way to accomplish this would be if I could move to a different warm-weather location within my company. Though, we still need to visit the city in question; right now we're not all that excited about it for Reasons, but that's unfair as we haven't seen it. We are planning a visit for later this year.
I do not even know if this is something that I would be allowed to do, and I'm unsure how to find out without tipping off my boss that I might be a flight risk. I mean, I *am* a flight risk; it's my strong preference at this point to keep my job if I can do it elsewhere. I like my job and my boss and my team, and I have really good benefits and generous PTO and work-life balance is a thing that exists at my company. But if it turns out that's not allowed, then I need to job hunt and leave.
I feel like I can't talk to my boss about this (though we have a great relationship and she's very easy to talk to) because then I fear she would assume I'm looking to leave. This is a really stressful time for my company, and for her in particular, and I don't want to add to her stress. She is truly a really good manager and does not drink the company kool-aid and is very supportive of us.
I've looked around on the company intranet which has some company policy information, to see if there's an official written policy and there doesn't appear to b.e
I considered going to HR and inquiring, but, a lot of HR went in the last layoff and honestly I'm not even certain who our contact is right now or how to find out without asking my boss and thus tipping her off that something is up with me. (HUGE company, we are given 1 contact whom we're supposed to go through but I don't think we've gotten that yet.) Going around my boss to HR also feels weirdly adversarial, I guess? Because she and I do have a great relationship.
Possibly relevant facts:
- I do know one other person who has done this; however, he's in a different department and what folks are allowed to do is VERY dependent on what VP your team is under. Because of a recent reorg, we now are under a new VP and none of us have a clear sense of his views on such things. Also, I'm pretty sure this person was allowed to move due to a family caregiving situation. My boss knows I don't have family in the target city.
- 100 percent remote work is a thing some people do, but only one person on my team got it approved and, well, he's a lot more valuable than I am. I'm not being down on myself; he just has a skillset that I don't have and that, frankly, I likely don't have the aptitude for or any interest in. I am more interchangeable with the others on my team, though I've consistently gotten "exceeds" ratings in reviews. They have no incentive to try and keep me at all costs, the way they did with my co-worker. Our previous VP did not support remote work and it was extremely difficult for me to get just 1 day a week of WFH approved (though, it was approved. Unsure of the new VP's view on this.)
- My job exists in the other office, and I'd likely keep my manager because it is very common for a manager's direct reports to be scattered among our locations. This isn't a lateral move or a promotion or demotion, it's picking up my existing job and plopping it down in the other office.
I don't even know if this is the best plan. I fear moving and then getting laid off and then being in a city that might not be our first choice. But first, I need to find out whether this is a thing that I can even do.
Anyway, any ideas on how to approach this conversation would be welcomed. Part of me wants to just sit down with my boss when I have my review and ask, "is this a thing I can do?" But if the answer is no I feel like I would have to backpedal and be like, "oh, OK, I don't want to quit my job so I won't consider moving" and that is just not true. (I mean, it's true that I don't really want to quit, but I'm also not staying in my hometown for much longer.)