How would you leverage FI to re-design your job?

[vagavince]

How would you leverage it to re-design your job to make you happier?

There are part of work that I like and part that I don't. Since I don't really need to work, I want it to be fun. I guess would like to stop doing the part that I don't like. I recognize that someone probably should do them. It probably does make sense for it to be me, unless they are willing to have someone report to me to do these tedious stuff while I focus on high level work. They may not have headcount for that, even if it did happen, I probably feel bad to have my report doing all the tedious stuff. I could just refuse to do the work I don't like. But I don't want to leave on a bad term.

My general questions is I would love to make work something that I enjoy. However, there seems to be constraints on how much you can design your own role when you are in a company with other people, and there is deliverable and timeline to meet. Have other people successfully leverage FI towards design their own job in an existing company (not own by you).

[Metalcat]

I've always designed my own jobs, even when I was in debt.

It's a matter of leveraging your performance to get what you want as opposed to focusing on getting as much compensation as you can.

It's about figuring out what you want to do and finding a way to make that compatible with your company's needs, and then establishing your value in that role. I've even invented entirely new job titles for myself within other companies with this approach.

Management structure is far more fluid than most people realize.

[Greystache]

I thought I would do this, but after I reached my number and realized that I didn't have to work anymore, I could not bring myself to keep working under any conditions. I did give them 6 months notice that I was retiring and told them that under not circumstance would I do any more business travel for those last 6 months, but that was about as close as I came to re-designing my job. Oh, I also stopped going to most of the bullshit meetings too.  Not a very badass story, but that's how it went for me.

[markbike528CBX]

It is not really design per se, but if there was an interesting project, I'd tell my boss that I was working on that.
Best move I ever made, I learned enough that the knowledge pretty locked down the next job.
Downside? I had to do nuclear spectroscopy in an unheated concrete building in the winter.  No amount of Carhart overalls will keep you warm, and PC's running Windows 3.1 just don't put out that much heat.
Upside? Besides the future job, it resulted in my only published, refereed journal paper, and got me a trip to present it someplace slightly (warmer San Fransisco in October). 
I still have the poster :-)

[chevy1956]

I'm not FI but I like my job. I like the people I work with and I like the work a little bit as well. My job is also set-up really well now but I've pushed it. I could make it better though if I was FI. I would work 1/2 the hours that I do now.

I am seriously considering doing this as well when I reach FI. I could spend more money and do non-frugal stuff that I've never really done in the past.

[Linea_Norway]

How would you leverage it to re-design your job to make you happier?

There are part of work that I like and part that I don't. Since I don't really need to work, I want it to be fun. I guess would like to stop doing the part that I don't like. I recognize that someone probably should do them. It probably does make sense for it to be me, unless they are willing to have someone report to me to do these tedious stuff while I focus on high level work. They may not have headcount for that, even if it did happen, I probably feel bad to have my report doing all the tedious stuff. I could just refuse to do the work I don't like. But I don't want to leave on a bad term.

My general questions is I would love to make work something that I enjoy. However, there seems to be constraints on how much you can design your own role when you are in a company with other people, and there is deliverable and timeline to meet. Have other people successfully leverage FI towards design their own job in an existing company (not own by you).

Yes, talk to your boss. Present it as you being able to be much more productive, while a cheaper new/young employee can do the tedious tasks. It should be presented as a win for your company.

[FIRE 20/20]

About 9 months before I hit 25x planned FIRE speeding I moved from a job I hated to a very low stress, easy job at a better location (same company, different site in the same town).  I had only taken the stressful job to get a promotion and a substantial raise, and I knew I'd need to tough it out for 6 months due to company rules. 
In addition, in the low stress job I was able to use up my roughly 400 hours of PTO during those last 9 months plus my OMY.  In essence I worked about 32 hours a week on a low stress job at the higher rate of pay from the promotion for the last 20 months that I was working.
About a year before I made the change, my partner switched to a different role.  She negotiated a position with no leadership responsibilities and 32 hours a week.  We were probably at 15-20x our planned spending when she made the move.
The only thing I'll suggest is that we both used our networks and our professional reputations to get these opportunities.  If we had been average or below workers, we couldn't have created these better positions for ourselves - or if we had company leadership wouldn't have let us take them.  In my experience, it's the reputation for great work that allows the company to accept shaping the work to your preferences.  For me the FI money only gave me the confidence to ask for it.

[FIREby2021]

The only thing I'll suggest is that we both used our networks and our professional reputations to get these opportunities.  If we had been average or below workers, we couldn't have created these better positions for ourselves - or if we had company leadership wouldn't have let us take them.  In my experience, it's the reputation for great work that allows the company to accept shaping the work to your preferences.  For me the FI money only gave me the confidence to ask for it.

Really like this line of thinking.  Our human capital, professional reputation and hard work are all valuable.  The "FI" part of the equation does create confidence to pursue "shaping the work" (I like that!) to fit your goals.  The personal reputation and track record creates opportunity for the company to feel "safe" and respond by giving that flexibility.