Changes

My posting here has been a bit sporadic lately, for several reasons.  We went to Montana for a week…but I’m also leaving my workplace of 15 years.  Changes are always difficult but changing so much after 15 years is big.

The Great Resignation

We’ve all heard of the great number of people quitting their jobs.  COVID has made a lot of people make changes they were reluctant to make pre-COVID.  Staying home for a year made us all re-evaluate what matters most in our lives.  

To make things worse, a lot of workplaces are unwilling to make permanent changes in light of COVID.  This really baffles me, as everyone benefited from some of the changes COVID forced upon us.  

My decision came down to several things…

No Mobility

My previous workplace had no room in which for me to grow professionally.  My boss wouldn’t advocate for a promotion when other institutions (and other departments within our division) around us promoted people in similar situations with much less experience.  Some people may be content doing the same thing every single day for 20+ years, but after 7.5 years in the same position, I needed to be able to grow…or move on.

Open Concept/No Remote Work

The people who lead the division of my former job are good ol’ boys who promote people who are popular, outgoing, and visible.  My job, doing research, attracts introverts; I am an introvert.  We are not outgoing (we’re usually too busy working to chat), nor do we want visibility.  

To make everything worse, my division moved to an open concept building last summer, in the midst of COVID.  We were working from home at the time, and there was talk of us working from home permanently, or at least part-time once COVID was a thing of the past.

In January, it became apparent that the good ol’ boys wanted people in the office; they wanted to see us working.  Now, there is nothing being said of a hybrid work situation; everyone is required to be in the office.  

Final Straw

I was ready to leave my job two years ago.  COVID was the final straw.  COVID changed the dynamics of our department and made the current work situation impossible.  I was miserable.  Add all of the above reasons to it, and I was done.  

In December, I started the process of finding a new job – a permanently remote job.  I didn’t realize at the time that competing for a remote job with everyone else in the country who wanted a remote job – who does what I do – would be so difficult.  So it took six months.  Six long months.  Six months of doubting my expertise and experience after multiple rejections…  But I finally happened upon what I hope will be a great job. 

And I’m super excited.  In this new job, I will learn new skills and have more responsibility…  And I’ll work for a great, mission-drive nonprofit that I admire and respect.  Working from home means that we can move everywhere.  We can move to take care of our parents or move to the mountains….  We have options.

It also means more time for knitting and blogging!   So please wish me luck as I start this new chapter!