I'm sure it is obvious to the few who post here that I have way too much time on my hands. I am employed and get a decent paycheck but I guess I could say that I am severely under-utilized. I will also say without going into much detail that my employer is an organizational disaster. There are armies of administrators and managers who are not only not productive, but their main function seems to be putting roadblocks in front of productive work. It is very frustrating, but I find it hard to complain very emphatically; I'm getting paid to do almost nothing.
For reasons that you might discern from other things I've posted, my company is now embarking on a fairly massive cutback. Figure about a thousand people will lose their jobs in the next couple weeks, out of maybe 5,500 at this location. I saw it coming and have been looking around for something else.
So I had a very good interview on Monday afternoon and I expect to get an offer for a comparable job very close to here. It is more closely in line with my specialty, and offers what they describe as a "ton of work, on a continuing basis," which would suit me fine.
At the same time, my employer put out a Blast email, asking for people to volunteer to be laid off. There is a small "package" associated with it - figure about a month's pay more than one would get if s/he were simply laid off. I requested from HR a calculation of exactly what my benefit would be if I chose to accept the voluntary layoff.
My boss called me into his office when he was notified that I asked for the information. He wanted to know if I was considering retiring. It seems that our whole department is targeted for significant cuts, but he has indicated to Management that he can't afford to lose me. In effect, I am "safe" from this layoff. Also, I will say that the nature of this business allows long-term, accurate projections of revenues, so this should be the last layoff for at least three years.
He knows that I am under-utilized and unhappy, but says that when we "reorganize" we will be leaner and have a lot more meaningful work to do. He has gone to bat for me, and could look like an asshole if I take the voluntary layoff.
The other place would be the same money, but better work, a better environment, and the likelihood of an annual bonus of 10-40% of annual pay. Also it is a growing company with 50-60 personnel req's outstanding now.
Ideally, I will get an offer from Employer #2 BEFORE I have to commit to stay here (a week from today). Then I can choose between staying for a slightly better situation than I have now, or taking a nice little bonus and going with a company that seems like a better fit for me. It would be nice to have those two options on the table.
I'm really too old to be going through this sort of nonsense. When I came here I just wanted to work another 5 years and get the hell out. Now I'm considering a new start at age 62.
We make plans, and God laughs. An old jewish proverb.