Hello!  I have been neglecting my posts as the days get shorter.  I'd like to put one up each week.

This summer I ranted about my husband's corporate job and his supposed holidays.  Well, he finally was able to escape and now has a job for the city where we live.  A government job means that he really gets all the holidays off.  This Friday is Veteran's Day.  This is the type of holiday that is pretty much ignored in corporate and retail positions.  Not so, for the city.  He will get the opportunity to play with the kids (who are also out of school that day) and enjoy a real 3 day weekend.

Working for the real Man is very different.  He works 8-5 with an hour for lunch.  He has been there about three weeks and leaves every day with a smile on his face.  Although he is expected to do his work efficiently, there is also time to have a little fun.  Most of the departments dressed up for Halloween and they also had a potluck.  I'm sure there will be a Christmas party and other festivities that include his family over the next year.  Everyone is very nice and no one seems to be stressed out.

There are some trade offs.  He had to take a pay cut for this position.  But he has almost no commute and the unpaid hours that he is no longer expected to work allow me to work more while he watches our boys.  And having a happy, relaxed husband and dad is priceless.  It makes it easier for us to focus on ways to live leaner, saving money to make up for the gap that we have lost.  We are going down to one car.  His work is close enough to bike to in good weather and if I am working from home, I can take him to work in bad weather.

As he works there longer, the money should equal out.  He will get regular raises in addition to a cost of living adjustment.  At his corporate job, he recently got a raise of 3%, which was for above average performance, a "good" raise.  This was about the last straw. The city's cost of living adjustment last year was more than that.  So he should be making about the same after six months and more the next year.

I'm sure that there are companies out there that treat their employees like people with lives outside of work, but I'm afraid that they are becoming few and far between.  As the economy tightens, so do the perks for the regular guy.  I feel lucky that my family has escaped the "rat race" for the time being. 

My advice to everyone would be to dare to make positive changes in your life.  We are so grateful that we did.

1 Comments | Post Feedback