Taking a pay cut worth it for better work/life balance and happiness? (average, work from home)
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At the end of the day, everybody is angling for less work, and more money, more WFH, more weeks of vacation, but ... it really doesn't mean as much as people think.
My mom worked her butt off. She worked Saturdays, she worked late, she worked until she was 72 fricking years old. And she never broke six figures.
One of her friends at church was married to a doctor and didn't work at all. Ever. And not only did her husband have money, her family had money too. Lives in a big house now. Alone. Paid off. Retirement? Not a concern.
Doesn't REALLY mean her life was better than my moms.
It's kind of like one of those things in life.
Honestly, not sure what you're trying to say here.
OF COURSE women who marry men who don't "need" the women to work (although frankly, as a woman, I would go nuts if I weren't working) and whose family/ies had money, will do better financially than most of us. And yes, I think those women's lives are easier than most of ours (not sure how to quantify "better than" -- what did you mean by that?).
EG I have a 40-year friend who just inherited somewhere between half a million and a million dollars from her father for doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING except being born into that family ... and yeah, I'm jealous as heck, because I inherited nothing and never will (I simply did NOT come from the type of family that left inheritances), even though I've been working since I was 18 (I'm now 63).
What would getting half a million or a million dollars in tax-free money through an inheritance mean to me? It would mean SECURITY. That's it. I am so NOT a big spender, I have NOT lived beyond my means for decades now, so being able to buy lots of "stuff" is not exciting to me at all. But having total financial security is a HUGE deal.
Life isn't fair. I learned that long, long, ago, and of course that ALSO taught me that I have to rely on myself, which is actually a great lesson ... but doesn't keep me from being jealous of those who were born into families that leave inheritances in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.
YMMV, of course. But I hate it when people minimize what inheritances can do for those of us who were NOT born into wealthy families but have made our own way in the world, including ending up with six-figure salaries after decades of work ... but of course "our kind" is simply not the people who inherit ANYTHING. My life would ABSOLUTELY be better if I had more financial security, and my mom's before me would have been too (she worked from the age of 16 until her mid-60s, so she was no slacker), so please don't minimize that. I don't know if you MEANT to minimize it, but your almost-final statement, "Doesn't REALLY mean her life was better than my mom's," sounds like it.
I was wondering what are most peoples' thoughts on taking around a $10k-15k pay cut in order to be in a more stress free environment that is flexible and provides much better work/life balance and if you think this would be worth it?
I currently make about $120k a year but my job is pretty stressful, meetings all day, working after hours at times, and just feeling overwhelmed a lot of times. I was thinking of going back to my former employer which would mean I'd have to take a slight pay cut so I most likely will be making between $105k-110k but since I know the environment is very relaxed and how everything was, I know that it would be much more flexible and the work/life balance is really good compared to my current role. The new role has more potential for growth in terms of salary long term, but honestly I much more value leisure time and time away from work for hobbies and side hustles.
What are your thoughts and has anyone ever taken a pay cut like this for better work/life balance, being in a much more relaxed environment, and happiness? Not necessarily having going back to a former employer, but just accepting a lower salary elsewhere fits this scenario as well. Is it worth it in your opinion to take this much of a cut?
Whether or not it's worth it is really something only you can answer for yourself.
I've done it before, but it was "planned" in the sense that it was an opportunity where it would get me further down the line. I took a huge pay cut awhile back - but it was anticipation for a huge promotion to a C-level position. So the motive there wasn't to do less.. but for advancement.
You may want to look at the long term effects of such a move. If you are just wanting to do less for less $. Great... but what happens if you change your mind later (or have a need for more $$)? Will you be in a position to easily 'advance' again?
Again - you have to make that decision. My .02 is that you do some long term planning around it as well. Not just how it would make you feel today/tomorrow.. but how you may feel 3-5 years from now?
OK, I can agree with her life not being "worse" (although again, it's not clear how you are measuring that, i.e., what does "better" or "worse" mean?), but EASIER? I guess that's what I have an issue with (not saying that you argued that, but many have).
Financial security is a HUGE deal, ESPECIALLY for those of us who did NOT grow up in families that had it. And THAT is why I hate that things like inheritances are often minimized, "oh it's not a big deal that my parents left me a million dollars tax-free." Really? For those of us who never HAD any kind of financial security, that would be a VERY big deal. (Some here on C-D have gone on and on about how they've worked so hard all their lives, and maybe they have, but then they also admit that they inherited a house worth a million dollars from their parents ... and I'm like, What? OK, I am NOT saying you didn't work hard, but please don't discount what that kind of inheritance MEANS for your level of financial security -- you know?)
Does that make more sense?
And again, I have been working since I was 18. No slacker here. I went to school for many years to get a Ph.D. from a top-3 school in my discipline (a degree that my family members did NOT understand at all since no one had ever even gone to college before I did, and my family members were NOT stupid in the least -- just ignorant of this world that they'd never been able to enter) and become a college professor. And my friend in California who just got the big inheritance has ALSO worked hard her entire life, well since she was 24 and got her degree from Berkeley, but her college was entirely paid for by her parents, and now she just got this big inheritance ... and she doesn't seem to realize that that is NOT the norm for many of us.
OK, I can agree with her life not being "worse" (although again, it's not clear how you are measuring that, i.e., what does "better" or "worse" mean?), but EASIER? I guess that's what I have an issue with (not saying that you argued that, but many have).
Financial security is a HUGE deal, ESPECIALLY for those of us who did NOT grow up in families that had it. And THAT is why I hate that things like inheritances are often minimized, "oh it's not a big deal that my parents left me a million dollars tax-free." Really? For those of us who never HAD any kind of financial security, that would be a VERY big deal. (Some here on C-D have gone on and on about how they've worked so hard all their lives, and maybe they have, but then they also admit that they inherited a house worth a million dollars from their parents ... and I'm like, What? OK, I am NOT saying you didn't work hard, but please don't discount what that kind of inheritance MEANS for your level of financial security -- you know?)
So what are you saying? You don't have financial security from working 45 years straight and being like a college professor (I think that's what you are?).
Who cares if people have more money...
I'd venture to guess the average person works less than 30 years full time.
I also think I've seen you mention elsewhere how much you like your job, so your reaction is puzzling to say the least.
So what are you saying? You don't have financial security from working 45 years straight and being like a college professor (I think that's what you are?).
Who cares if people have more money...
I'd venture to guess the average person works less than 30 years full time.
I also think I've seen you mention elsewhere how much you like your job, so your reaction is puzzling to say the least.
<sigh> Yes, I have loved my job since 1993, when I started grad school at the University of Michigan. And yes, I have a MEASURE of financial security, thanks to my job (tenure-track professor job that I got in 2002).
All I was saying is, things like inheritances are often minimized by people here on C-D, as if they don't matter at all. But OF COURSE they do. As I just wrote, I DO have a measure of financial security, but nowhere near what I would have if I'd inherited a ton of money from my parents. That's it.
So I don't understand at all your statement "Who cares if people have more money" ... because money is SECURITY so OF COURSE it matters. Security is ALL that money has ever meant to me, and I think it means the same for people who come from my kind of background but end up "making it" to middle- or upper-middle-class status. That's it.
More to the point of the OP: I likely took a pay cut to go from the corporate world into academia, but the work-life balance was absolutely worth it. But if I had more "family money" behind me, as almost all of my peers at Berkeley and Michigan did, it would have been easier. Again: that's it.
If I still haven't made myself clear ... well, I guess I give up, then. Have a great night!
Whether or not it's worth it is really something only you can answer for yourself.
I've done it before, but it was "planned" in the sense that it was an opportunity where it would get me further down the line. I took a huge pay cut awhile back - but it was anticipation for a huge promotion to a C-level position. So the motive there wasn't to do less.. but for advancement.
You may want to look at the long term effects of such a move. If you are just wanting to do less for less $. Great... but what happens if you change your mind later (or have a need for more $$)? Will you be in a position to easily 'advance' again?
Again - you have to make that decision. My .02 is that you do some long term planning around it as well. Not just how it would make you feel today/tomorrow.. but how you may feel 3-5 years from now?
This is a good point and I think the key question. I think you need to either have a concrete plan to step down to step up, per your point, OR be comfortable with basically stepping off. And that means maybe never getting back on, so you need to have a pretty concrete plan for that too.
I ultimately chose what I felt was better long-term employment options aligned to my life stage (parent of kids). I was a senior executive in small, volatile companies and felt that my only path forward was more of the same, until I aged out and then would be unemployable (likely in my 50's too).
I took a step down, small pay cut, and went into more of a, skills-focused technical that was more portable, more remote-capable, and ideally, would allow me to eventually transition out of full-time employment but continue to work. The step down job is plain easy, with flexible hours, and gives me time to learn and apply skills and grow from where I left off. I had kept my hands-on skills throughout my management career (maybe a bit rusty). My employer loves me because I am super good at what I do, and I don't expect too much from them frankly. If they blow up and get huge or fail and get sold, thats awesome, on to the next.
In 5-7 years when my kids are done with school my plan is actually do downshift further, into even more remote / flex roles. I want to keep working but I am not sacrificing the last healthy years in an office chair. I guess i believe it would not be challenging to get back on that ladder, but doable given I have held those roles previously. I just am not sure I would want to. I see what my boss has to do, the long hours in office, travel, weekend and night meetings and entertaining, and it's just not compatible with where I am now or where I see myself going. And she really, doesn't make THAT much more than I do at the end of the day.
Hey Op. I've tried it before. So has my sister. Mixed results. Here's what I'd suggest:
1. While it is hard, you never want to make key decisions when you are hurting. If the desire to escape a bad workplace is creeping over into other decisions, making a move is warranted, but separate from changing a role. That's one decision and should be done independently. I'm an x. I don't like working here. I should be an x somewhere else. If possible, I would do that first, before considering step 2.
2. Separately, is the decision of, I'm an x, I would rather be a y. I would prefer to be a y even if it pays less because ______. Hence, I should get a new job. Know why you want that role. Is it feasible to do that long term? Does that damage your prospects later if you want to move up again.
I'm a firm believer that if you do something you love, you will learn the entire trade and that will allow you to one day do your own thing. However, you need to think 50 steps ahead on that. Stepping off the treadmill is risky. Make sure to make your way towards something good, not to just get away from something bad. Easy to say, tough to do.
Every job has its good and bad. The goal is to find something you like and to make your job as good as possible.
At the end of the day, everybody is angling for less work, and more money, more WFH, more weeks of vacation, but ... it really doesn't mean as much as people think.
I have worked 9-5 in an office for 25 years, maybe have taken a max of 4 weeks a year (I have kids). If I could take 6, 8, 12 weeks off, that would be a total life changer for me. There is more to life than work and the office. I would need about 30 seconds to plan out a year's worth of trips.
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