Today we have another article contributed by Kosmo. For about a billion years he worked at the same big company, but over the last few, he’s jumped to a couple of new places. I find it refreshing that his work isn’t about the money – he really focuses on quality of life.

About a year ago, I decided to hunt for a different job. It was a conscious choice to get away from an environment that had turned negative. I spent the first week putting out some feelers. On December 21, I initiated contact with my friend’s employer. I accepted an offer on January 8. Looking back now – did I make the right decision?

Old employer

My team had been thrust into disarray at the old employer. Layoffs had decimated the group, and I had been moved to a new team. I had gone from doing very interesting work to being assigned to a project that management had estimated as three months of work but looked it would be a six-month wild goose chase. The future looked dreary.

I walked away from some money at my old employer. If I had waited three months, I’d have collected my annual bonus. A few months after that, I’d have vested in the retirement plan. It wasn’t a fortune, but it wasn’t an inconsequential amount, either. I had initially decided to suck it up and wait until I had collected that money. Eventually, I got overwhelmed and decided that I shouldn’t delay any further.

First day

The initial plan was for me to come into the office on my first day, do the necessary HR tasks, meet some people, and take equipment home. Then I’d be WFH until further notice.

There was a blizzard forecast for that day. I packed a suitcase and checked to see where the local hotels were. There was an inexpensive one close to the office. I had plenty of clothes, and enough electronics to get through the night. I was prepared.

There were three other new hires that day, including another team member. Three of us quickly worked through the paperwork, with barely a question between us. The fourth person was a woman in her twenties, and she had quite a few questions about concepts that the rest of us considered to be routine matters, such as out-of-pocket maximums on insurance and 401K matching. It made me think back to the times when I was in a similar position, and it made me feel quite old.

The boss decided to change the schedule a bit. We’d meet a few people, and then we’d load up our cars and hit the road so that we could get home before the blizzard hit. I live fifty miles away, and the other new guy lives about forty miles away, so it was very much appreciated. I loaded up a laptop, docking station, and monitor. After a quick stop to get some nuggets and fries, I was headed west on I-80.

My wife immediately had a positive impression of my boss, since he had shown some empathy and common sense on day one. It was the only on-site contact he’d had with me for months, and he willingly cut the day short.

New role

My new company runs pretty lean, due to the size. This means that people tend to have a broader set of responsibilities, rather than having a more specialized role. The bread and butter of my old role was eliciting software requirements from people within the functional business areas, as well as coordinating system testing. My new role also has those tasks, but additional responsibilities such as running the RFP (request for proposal) process.

At previous companies, the RFP process is something that would have been handled by a project manager or management. While I was still learning the ropes, I was given an RFP to run with. Thankfully, I was also given a co-pilot – the friend who had recruited me to the company. The two of us worked with high-ranking people in various business units to drive out high-level requirements. Then we engaged various vendors in a process that culminated in on-site visits from some of them.

This was an entirely new process for me. In the past, my projects had often done the entirety of the development in-house, and when we used a vendor, that vendor had usually been determined before my involvement. I typically hate starting conversations with strangers, so this was definitely outside of my comfort zone. The process ended up being less nerve-wracking than I feared, mostly because everyone wanted to be my best friend and was very accommodating. That happens when you have money to spend. It ended up being a lot of fun. I had to come out of my shell a lot because I was often the person organizing and running meetings.

There are two types of people – people who want to focus on a specialized role, and people who want a lot of variety. I’m the second type, and I knew this would be what I would be getting into.

New industry

The change in industries was pretty dramatic. After more than twenty years in insurance and financial services, I was shifting to the food industry. My boss took a risk by hiring someone with no manufacturing experience. My only manufacturing experience was a summer making toys for Ertl in the mid-90s. I had at least a basic understanding of the food industry, since I grew up on a dairy farm. But I went off to college – becoming the first college grad in my family – specifically to get away from the farm. I hated the hard work, long hours, and often terrible working conditions. Imagine my surprise when I landed back in the agriculture sector a quarter of a century later.

I had – and still have – a lot to learn. In one of my first meetings, someone mentioned FSMA, and I dutifully jotted down FISMA, an acronym I was familiar with. I quickly realized that they were talking about the Food Safety Modernization Act, not the Federal Information Security Management Act.

I’ve learned about food safety, warehousing, shipping, animal nutrition, and even a few things about gas chromatographs. I’m leaps and bounds ahead of where I was, but feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. I’ll be a key player in a major project that will kick off in 2022, and am looking forward to learning even more.

Company size

My new company is about a tenth the size of my previous company, which in turn was significantly smaller than the huge company where I spend most of my career.

My employer isn’t tiny, but it’s small enough to be a lot more nimble. There is far less red tape than I am accustomed to. I can request access to something and have it granted within an hour or two, instead of having the request kick around for a week or more. When I call the help desk, I reach an actual human. One of my calls was completely resolved in seventeen seconds – no exaggeration.

Since the building is smaller, the parking situation is better, especially for those of us who arrive at 7:30 AM. This will become more important in the winter when I won’t need to traverse a huge frozen parking lot.

The downside of a smaller building is that there’s no on-site cafeteria. There are a multitude of restaurants nearby, though. I hit KFC (Famous Bowl) and Subway (Ham, American cheese, mayo, onion) pretty often. There’s also a gas station (Kwik Star) that has some legit food. Hardee’s is on the other side of town, unfortunately.

The right choice?

Did I make the right choice?

Remember how I mentioned that I was on a project that I feared would turn into a six-month wild goose chase? I’ve been in contact with friends at the previous employer, and I’ll admit that I was wrong about that. The goose chase lasted a year. Overall, people are overworked, lots of good employees are leaving, and morale is abysmal.

Are there some negative aspects of the new job? Certainly.

For the days when I’m in the office, I more than doubled my commute – it’s fifty miles. But it’s only two days most weeks, so it’s not terrible.

The dress code is business casual. I really, really like my Wranglers and Asics. This is the first time in almost twenty years that I can’t wear jeans and a random t-shirt to work. I miss this and plant the seed into the minds of execs whenever I get the chance – that a more relaxed dress code will make the company more appealing to IT professionals. Maybe something will change a few years down the road. For now, I simply realize that it’s a pretty minor complaint and that I have a good gig.

I can say, with zero hesitation, that I definitely made the right choice and have zero regrets.

The following is another article by regular contributor, Kosmo.

In March of 2020, COVID-19 started having a big impact on the United States.  More than eighteen months have passed and life still isn’t back to normal.  Many of us have been vaccinated, but millions have not.  The delta variant overwhelmed hospitals in many areas, and nobody knows whether another surge will hit us during the winter months.  Many of us know somehow who has died of COVID.  Most people know someone who is suffering from “long haul” effects.  We’ve managed to keep COVID out of our home to this point.  Three of us are vaccinated, and my eleven-year-old will be getting his shot when he becomes eligible.

Out of necessity, many jobs pivoted to remote work during COVID.  This wasn’t possible for every job.  Grocery store cashiers and brain surgeons, among many others, must be on-site to do their jobs – there simply isn’t a remote option.  Many other jobs, however, can be done remotely.  In the past several months, companies have begun to implement their “new normal” plans, which has typically meant employees returning to the office in some manner.

What’s the new normal?

That’s a hard question.  Some companies developed a comprehensive strategy, while others are charting a path as they go.  Many companies see remote work as a way to reach a larger applicant pool.  This can be a big benefit if you’re seeking an employee who has skills that are hard to find in your home market.

There’s no perfect answer to the question of whether people are more or less productive at home or in the office.  I recently had a friend comment that if they were working from home, they’d be constantly distracted by the television.  After they mentioned this, I took a closer look at my desk setup.  I realized that I’d have to look over my shoulder to even see the television.  I sit facing a wall, in front of three monitors.  Staying immersed in my work is typically not a problem.  There is one caveat to that, however.  When my kids are at home, they can definitely be a distraction – especially if they are fighting.  Now that they are back in school, I’m able to focus a bit better.  Certainly, I can focus easier than I can in the office.

I’ve had three employers since college, and each of them is handling the situation a bit differently.  Note that I am in IT, so your experience may be very different.

Previous employer #1

This company is a huge financial services company that dominates its market segment.  They are hedging their bets a bit.  Some teams are almost never in the office, while others are frequently in the office.  For employees who are working almost exclusively remote, there is the expectation that they are on-site for certain activities.  Some employees moved a significant distance from their home office during COVID.  When they return to the office for these activities, it will be completely at their expense – the company will not reimburse them.  I think this company is waiting for more of the dominoes to fall into place before committing to a long-term plan.

Previous employer #2

This company is a large financial services company.  It’s fairly well known, but not as much of a household name as the previous company.  I was working here at the onset of COVID.  They were actually quicker to respond than a lot of companies.  We were told to switch to remote work 1-2 weeks before most other companies in the area.  As far as I know, there was zero spread of COVID in my large office building and there was minimal disruption to the business at hand.

This company has also had the most flexible response to remote working.  Employees are being given the option to choose fully in the office, fully remote, or hybrid.  These choices are academic for the moment, however.  Nobody is actually being allowed to work from the building until at least the end of 2021.

The one downside is that I had about $15 in my cafeteria account when COVID hit, and I don’t have any way to recoup that, unless I eat at another cafeteria that’s managed by the same group.

Current employer

This company is a mid-size company in the food industry.  Prior to COVID, the company had rarely allowed any work from home.  I negotiated a 60% work from home when I was hired, letting the hiring manager know up front that it was a deal-breaker.  It’s a hundred-mile round trip, and I had some leverage in negotiations, so I used the leverage.  I began coming into the office regularly (two days per week) about three months ago.  My 60% agreement has become the standard for my entire team.  I’m not completely sure that I’m the reason why the team is enjoying this arrangement, but some of my coworkers seem to think so.  One of my coworkers thanked me to pushing for 60%.  Most people on the team are in the office on Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday.  I opted for Tuesday and Wednesday, so that I have the ability to interact with all members of the team on a regular basis.

[Editor’s Note: Before COVID, my wife did a similar schedule and she sometimes stayed overnight at an AirBnb. It cost a little money, but it gave her back nearly four hours of her life.]

My employer is also going through a growth phase and is trying to grow the IT department.  They’re often at a bit of a disadvantage due to geography.  The company’s headquarters are in a very small city, and it’s about an hour from any of the larger cities that constitute the labor pool for the skills they are looking for.  It’s a nice enough place, but it’s not exactly a magnet for employees.  Allowing WFH flexibility was probably a necessity to pull in some of that talent – COVID simply expedited the timeline.  I’m glad to see the company become more accepting of work from home – not just because it benefits me personally, but because I do think that it will result in a stronger team in the future.

Other employers

My wife is employed in the financial services area of a large medical facility.  She went back into the office the same time I did.  The difference is that they’re now in the office 100% of the time, even though her group proved themselves to be very effective working from home.

How is your employer approaching work from home arrangements?  What is your “new normal”?

[Lazy Man here, I’ll answer first. We are still in the old normal. My wife won’t go back until at least the start of 2022. I have been working from home for more than a decade. The difference for me is that working from home doesn’t make me “cool” or “special” anymore.]