How much of a pay cut and schedule change is remote worth?!

Honestly I am debating on going back to remote :( I was remote for 3 years and HATED it so I switched to hybrid which eventually became in person. The reason I hated it though was because i was new to the city, had no friends and had a baby so due to bedtime I just literally never left the house. I became so isolated and depressed because the only person I saw was my husband. I also feel like my remote job at the time was very toxic. I worked OVER 40 hours a week cause management used it as an excuse for us needing to be available all the time or “not log off until something was done”. I actually felt like I had more of a work life balance when I went to in person because the culture was you work 8 hours and leave. Then people honestly started leaving like 30 mins early lol so i followed suit. I would get home at like 4pm and not need to log back on versus my remote job i was working until 6pm and sometimes 9-11pm too after bedtime. I even went to part time recently so now I’m only working 7:30-3:30pm Monday - Thursday. But we had our second baby and honestly I’m back to being a little stressed. The mornings just suck. I have to wake at 5:30am just to get myself ready so i can get the kids up at 6ish. My toddler fights waking up, always tired. Leaving by 6:40am is a battle. Most of the time my dad who lives down the road comes to help me take my toddler. My husband works remote but he likes his sleep. He is adamant about doing pickup instead. Which ok fine cause it allows me to workout after work and not come home until 6pm but it still is getting to me that it might be easier to switch back to remote. Everything I’m looking at at other companies tho is a pay cut PLUS have to go back to full time. Idk if it’s worth it or not. I could also get a bad team that works more than 40 hours which i dont wanna go back to. Right now i make $100k for part time (my full time salary if i choose to work more is $125k) I see an opening for a remote team that’s $74k-$124k but im like ok what’s the odds that they will actually give me 124k. Plus my benefits are great at my company so i would lose those. So it would be a pay cut no matter what. Let’s just assume it would be like $100k so same pay for working full time and not part time plus loss in my super cheap health insurance. Is remote worth that? How much in pay cut would you take to work remote? I feel like i have it so easy right now that idk if its worth it (my manager is amazing and i love part time and if anyone is sick she lets me work at home) but its stressing me out the whole wake up early, get the kids ready and get to work everyday thing. Idk!!!

Show your support

I just went remote and fought my company on this. I don’t think there should be a pay cut. We are supposed to continue to work above and beyond for less money? So many companies offering competitive salary for fully remote which makes it a hard pill to swallow to continue to work hard for less. Yes it benefits us but also the company isn’t paying for my WiFi, supplies etc. if you don’t get a stipend I would factor that in

I think it would be better to work on simplifying your morning routine. Pick out your toddlers clothes and get them dressed while they are still in bed. Carry your toddler to the sink and do a quick tooth brush then let them slowly wander to the breakfast table for a nibble. Take them to the car and put their shoes on when they are already clipped into their seat. It would be great for them to do more independently, sure, but you're also managing a baby and they are too groggy anyway. Minimize the amount of things you ask them to do, and the amount they have to walk or physically do something on their own. It's fine. They'll learn to put on their shoes and zip up their coat when you have a little more bandwidth. Even better, have your husband work on it double in the afternoon. 😉 Write down a checklist for getting out the door and mindlessly follow it. Have simpler breakfasts. You can do this. A good job with a good boss and a good schedule is hard to find.

Most employers are going back to the office working. I find in our area, it's minimum wage for remote working but every area will be different. Telecommunications are great if you want a WFH job.

Can you speak to your manager about adjusting your hours slightly? Push the day back by an hour? What specifically is the hardest part? The early start? Or getting the kids ready? Because having some time to yourself after work to go to the gym sounds pretty dreamy!! Especially for such a decent salary and benefits. Getting kids ready to leave the house is a ball-ache no matter what time of day. Can you not share this with your OH? Why is he so set on only doing pickup? Doesn't quite seem fair. I personally don't think losing your current situation is worth a lie in/less hectic morning. But you need to decide what's more important to you!

You have to weigh the pros and cons mama. I work remote. Have for the last few years. My babyboy is 17 months. Childcare would prob eat up the extra money I’d make in person. I am definitely making less than I could be if I went to a different job in person. But my current role offers me a flex schedule and I make 70k part time hrs on salary. I love my job, am the only one there who does what i do and my manager is the best. I want more money and better benefits at times, but it doesn’t weigh out for me personally to go back full time plus daycare and gas, and a set schedule with unknown management. So, I’m staying still where I am now.

I'd take $25k paycut on $125k to go remote but so much is dependent on your financial situation. My husband and I both work remotely and the flexibility is too hard to give up.

@JL so i could make due on the $100k salary with my husbands salary (i mean still tight cause our house is expensive AF and with 2 in daycare god it sucks right now lol!!! Plus my husband unfortunately has a lot of debt) but my only gripe is the thought of having to go from part time back to full time to make less or the same sounds horrible. I can’t get over that part. Right now I LIVE for my Fridays off work lol! I was honestly kinda depressed working full time since my husband is a workaholic and lots did fall on me. Weekends were not enjoyable due to feeling like i had to always use them to do laundry and prepare for the next week/clean/meal prep/etc lol!! Fridays allows me a little down time and to do household things! But to contradict myself (lol) i guess i wouldn’t need to “get ready for the week” if i was remote anyways. I could do laundry while I worked. Workout on the clock during my lunch instead of having to rush to the gym after work to rush home. 🤷🏽‍♀️

‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌

‌

‌
‌