The squeaky wheel gets the oil
I've been meaning to post about my job, but my job has been keeping me so busy. It's no secret to all of you that I haven't been too happy at work lately, but it was a bit of a secret to my boss. I think for at least the past 3 or 4 years I've complained about my year-end appraisals. And this Fall, Winter, and Spring I was working lots of weekends. So I guess things had reached the boiling point when I met with my boss a couple of weeks ago. Don't worry, I didn't go postal. But I did tell her I wasn't happy, and that my career was stagnating, and I was thinking about moving to another department. Well, apparently she wasn't prepared for that, because it immediately frightened her into action.
Within hours she called me to let me know that she had talked to her boss, and that they would work on a plan to help me get promoted, and that I didn't need to look at any other opportunities. LOL It felt really good to speak my mind in the meeting with my boss, and it felt even better to see management scrambling to get me to stay.
A couple of weeks went by, but then last week I met with my boss and her boss to discuss my career. I tried to steer the meeting to talk about morale, but my boss's boss stuck to talking about my career. They did provide some good advice on how to get to the next level, and I think I'm pretty close. However, there's no guarantee. Our organization is very top heavy, so there may not be any openings for me.
But what it comes down to is whether I want money or happiness. If I stick with my current department, I can probably get promoted in 6 to 18 months. But there's no sign that the morale is going to improve. Or I can jump to another department where the morale is much better, I won't have to work long hours, and I can learn some new skills. The downside is that it may take another 3 or 4 years to establish myself for a possible promotion.
My gut is telling me to go with the new department, but I'm a little afraid. The way that this other department opportunity popped up at just the right time, it seems like destiny. But I also can't help but dream how much money I could be making if I stuck with my current department or left my company completely. But the latter option is a topic for another journal entry.
Within hours she called me to let me know that she had talked to her boss, and that they would work on a plan to help me get promoted, and that I didn't need to look at any other opportunities. LOL It felt really good to speak my mind in the meeting with my boss, and it felt even better to see management scrambling to get me to stay.
A couple of weeks went by, but then last week I met with my boss and her boss to discuss my career. I tried to steer the meeting to talk about morale, but my boss's boss stuck to talking about my career. They did provide some good advice on how to get to the next level, and I think I'm pretty close. However, there's no guarantee. Our organization is very top heavy, so there may not be any openings for me.
But what it comes down to is whether I want money or happiness. If I stick with my current department, I can probably get promoted in 6 to 18 months. But there's no sign that the morale is going to improve. Or I can jump to another department where the morale is much better, I won't have to work long hours, and I can learn some new skills. The downside is that it may take another 3 or 4 years to establish myself for a possible promotion.
My gut is telling me to go with the new department, but I'm a little afraid. The way that this other department opportunity popped up at just the right time, it seems like destiny. But I also can't help but dream how much money I could be making if I stuck with my current department or left my company completely. But the latter option is a topic for another journal entry.