How do I get back the position I was already given?
July 5, 2011 7:58 AM Subscribe
I agreed to move across the country, at my own expense, for a "promotion" that was supposed to give me a lot more money and a lot of valuable experience. It's now too late to back out and the rug has been pulled out from under me, how do I handle this situation?
I've worked at my current job for a little over two years. My current job is very monotonous and has given me little in terms of professional development and good experience. However on the plus side I get to work from home and I live where I want to.
A position opened up at my same company that is essentially a step up from my current position and would give me A LOT more valuable experience and be much more challenging. It would also in theory have given me more money because the nature of the work would give me something comparable to a commission (it's not actually commission but I'd rather not go into it) on top of my already decent base salary.
So my base salary would remain unchanged but I would have the opportunity to make probably an additional commission of around 20%-may be even 100% of my salary. So a very nice bump up.
The catch was I had to move across the country to a city that I like and where I have friends, but that I don't like as much as where I currently live and the cost of living there is MUCH higher. I decided to go for it because on top of the money, I really needed this valuable experience on my resume if I ever wanted to move up and I was never going to get it in my current job.
Fast forward. I've sold my stuff. Signed a lease on a new apartment. Given up my old apartment and I get a call from my boss. People are furious I am leaving my old job (certain people in my company feel that since I am leaving their area of the country they will be left in a lurch without my expertise nearby even though there is no reason they can't be assisted from afar and there are still other people who do what I did who can also help them,but they want me and are notoriously difficult assholes who feel personally slighted that I want to leave because you know the world revolves around them, sorry feeling a little bitter) and they aren't currently in a position to hire someone to replace me. So for an indeterminate amount of time I'll need to continue performing my old job and flying back and forth. During this time I will have absolutely no way to earn any commission and my base pay will remain the same even though my rent is almost doubling and I'm paying thousands of dollars to relocate myself. I should emphasize that while no one is saying this will be permanent there is NO end date in sight and no reason to think there will be. I could easily see this going on for months or maybe even years. I could absolutely see being forced to do both jobs in some capacity for forever. This is both a financial, personal and professional loss if this is the case.
To say I am angry and frustrated is an understatement. I don't know how to handle this. I have basically left a city that I love, spent thousands of dollars to move, and have drastically increased my cost of living for promotion on paper only (my title has changed but that's essentially meaningless), no increase in pay, and I now have to work out of a big office instead of my home. I feel like I've been effectively demoted right after being promoted.
How do I approach my boss about this (he is spineless and is bending to the political powers above him)? Should I ask for relocation expenses? How do I not let my anger and resentment show? Or should I show it so they know I'm not just going to smile and nod and get happily screwed out of what I was promised? I really need a crash course in professional diplomacy and advocating for myself in a professional manner.
I will be looking for other jobs, but the economy is rough right now. It's too late for me not to move (otherwise I would have told my boss that I wasn't moving until the promotion was for real).
I've worked at my current job for a little over two years. My current job is very monotonous and has given me little in terms of professional development and good experience. However on the plus side I get to work from home and I live where I want to.
A position opened up at my same company that is essentially a step up from my current position and would give me A LOT more valuable experience and be much more challenging. It would also in theory have given me more money because the nature of the work would give me something comparable to a commission (it's not actually commission but I'd rather not go into it) on top of my already decent base salary.
So my base salary would remain unchanged but I would have the opportunity to make probably an additional commission of around 20%-may be even 100% of my salary. So a very nice bump up.
The catch was I had to move across the country to a city that I like and where I have friends, but that I don't like as much as where I currently live and the cost of living there is MUCH higher. I decided to go for it because on top of the money, I really needed this valuable experience on my resume if I ever wanted to move up and I was never going to get it in my current job.
Fast forward. I've sold my stuff. Signed a lease on a new apartment. Given up my old apartment and I get a call from my boss. People are furious I am leaving my old job (certain people in my company feel that since I am leaving their area of the country they will be left in a lurch without my expertise nearby even though there is no reason they can't be assisted from afar and there are still other people who do what I did who can also help them,but they want me and are notoriously difficult assholes who feel personally slighted that I want to leave because you know the world revolves around them, sorry feeling a little bitter) and they aren't currently in a position to hire someone to replace me. So for an indeterminate amount of time I'll need to continue performing my old job and flying back and forth. During this time I will have absolutely no way to earn any commission and my base pay will remain the same even though my rent is almost doubling and I'm paying thousands of dollars to relocate myself. I should emphasize that while no one is saying this will be permanent there is NO end date in sight and no reason to think there will be. I could easily see this going on for months or maybe even years. I could absolutely see being forced to do both jobs in some capacity for forever. This is both a financial, personal and professional loss if this is the case.
To say I am angry and frustrated is an understatement. I don't know how to handle this. I have basically left a city that I love, spent thousands of dollars to move, and have drastically increased my cost of living for promotion on paper only (my title has changed but that's essentially meaningless), no increase in pay, and I now have to work out of a big office instead of my home. I feel like I've been effectively demoted right after being promoted.
How do I approach my boss about this (he is spineless and is bending to the political powers above him)? Should I ask for relocation expenses? How do I not let my anger and resentment show? Or should I show it so they know I'm not just going to smile and nod and get happily screwed out of what I was promised? I really need a crash course in professional diplomacy and advocating for myself in a professional manner.
I will be looking for other jobs, but the economy is rough right now. It's too late for me not to move (otherwise I would have told my boss that I wasn't moving until the promotion was for real).
It sounds like lines of communication are down between certain people within your company. If I were you, I would not commit to any sort of new arrangement whatsoever with the old division. It really, really sounds like this is their problem, not yours, hurt feelings aside. Don't let yourself be guilted into taking on any responsibilities that are not part of your new job and life, unless you truly want them.
posted by hermitosis at 8:09 AM on July 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by hermitosis at 8:09 AM on July 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
If it's a big company, you can try talking to someone important in HR. Request a meeting, then put all that in writing and email it to the HR contact a couple of hours beforehand. Bring a printout in case he/she didn't have time to read it. (The aim is to get your side of the story over and understood properly before they get to your boss and other stakeholders, which they will do if they get detail by email the day before.)
Be clear, have something concise to say in the form "this is a problem for me because ___" and that'll define the problem they have to solve.
Then see what happens.
If there's no HR department to speak of, try it with your spineless boss or his/her boss. In either case, be very firm about the stuff that matters and flexible about stuff on the periphery. Your main issues are the time and effort spent travelling along with the effective pay cut, it seems.
posted by dickasso at 8:12 AM on July 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Be clear, have something concise to say in the form "this is a problem for me because ___" and that'll define the problem they have to solve.
Then see what happens.
If there's no HR department to speak of, try it with your spineless boss or his/her boss. In either case, be very firm about the stuff that matters and flexible about stuff on the periphery. Your main issues are the time and effort spent travelling along with the effective pay cut, it seems.
posted by dickasso at 8:12 AM on July 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
do you have any form of contract whatsoever to back up your initial understanding of the arrangement?
posted by Think_Long at 8:12 AM on July 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Think_Long at 8:12 AM on July 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
hermitosis brings up a very important point: Do you have a new boss with the new position, or are you still supposed to be directly reporting to the old boss?
Because if your direct-report has changed then the simplest solution might just be to go to the new boss and tell them that the things being asked of you by the old boss are unreasonable and will negatively affect your ability to fulfill your new duties.
posted by 256 at 8:16 AM on July 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
Because if your direct-report has changed then the simplest solution might just be to go to the new boss and tell them that the things being asked of you by the old boss are unreasonable and will negatively affect your ability to fulfill your new duties.
posted by 256 at 8:16 AM on July 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
Anon: "they aren't currently in a position to hire someone to replace me"
According to whom? This is a directly actionable thing that needs to be addressed. Your former colleagues are using the old "we're too busy to hire someone" canard to avoid simply doing it. Unless your position was eliminated from their budget as part of your promotion, this is pure whiny bullshit that needs to be smacked down from on high.
posted by mkultra at 8:22 AM on July 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
According to whom? This is a directly actionable thing that needs to be addressed. Your former colleagues are using the old "we're too busy to hire someone" canard to avoid simply doing it. Unless your position was eliminated from their budget as part of your promotion, this is pure whiny bullshit that needs to be smacked down from on high.
posted by mkultra at 8:22 AM on July 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
Holding back people from internal promotion because they are "too valuable" is a classic business fallacy that is well-demonstrated to just drive people out entirely. Quality organizations take professional and career development seriously.
You can you can't stop the move. Is that accurate or is it that you can't stop the move without financial consequences? Because if you can pull the plug at a cost then the sensible thing is to ask your employer to eat the cost. It's likely a smart move for them anyway if they're looking at having to fly you back and forth.
You need to ask your boss to schedule a meeting to discuss this and indicate he should invite whoever is necessary for you to work out a plan. You can be calm and firm but non-confrontational about the fact that you've agreed to a course of action that impacts your career and finances and now you're facing negative short-term and possibly long-term consequences.
That's not to say it's easy. You're wound up right now, quite reasonably, which will make it hard to be even-tempered. However someone has to be the adult in this relationship and clearly it's not your boss. Negotiating without unpleasant confrontation and ultimatums is tough for people too, but it's necessary and possible. There is nothing wrong with representing your own interests and asking they be acknowledged. That's not the same thing as them agreeing to deal with them - they may well say "we're not willing to make any concessions" but you can at least make them accept the implied consequences of that.
It's probably easier for them to fuck you over because you're a remote employee. People have a much more difficult time screwing someone over who they see every day than someone who is a voice on the phone or an email address. You should keep this in mind in the future and try to stay in their eye and you should make them look you in the eye as they jerk you around on this.
Schedule an in-person meeting and be prepared to drive the conversation. Address their stated concerns and get a transition plan in writing to get out from under this dead-end responsibility. Bring documentation about the financial impact this last-minute change has had and state that you'd like to discuss a plan of action to address those costs and decide what the best way is to proceed.
One last thing, though I hate to be a doom&gloomer. Look into the unemployment compensation conditions on the state you're moving to. It's possible they don't have any reciprocity with where you're coming from and you could be really fucked if your employer further flakes out when you get there. They've demonstrated their inability to be reliable so plan for it.
posted by phearlez at 8:41 AM on July 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
You can you can't stop the move. Is that accurate or is it that you can't stop the move without financial consequences? Because if you can pull the plug at a cost then the sensible thing is to ask your employer to eat the cost. It's likely a smart move for them anyway if they're looking at having to fly you back and forth.
You need to ask your boss to schedule a meeting to discuss this and indicate he should invite whoever is necessary for you to work out a plan. You can be calm and firm but non-confrontational about the fact that you've agreed to a course of action that impacts your career and finances and now you're facing negative short-term and possibly long-term consequences.
That's not to say it's easy. You're wound up right now, quite reasonably, which will make it hard to be even-tempered. However someone has to be the adult in this relationship and clearly it's not your boss. Negotiating without unpleasant confrontation and ultimatums is tough for people too, but it's necessary and possible. There is nothing wrong with representing your own interests and asking they be acknowledged. That's not the same thing as them agreeing to deal with them - they may well say "we're not willing to make any concessions" but you can at least make them accept the implied consequences of that.
It's probably easier for them to fuck you over because you're a remote employee. People have a much more difficult time screwing someone over who they see every day than someone who is a voice on the phone or an email address. You should keep this in mind in the future and try to stay in their eye and you should make them look you in the eye as they jerk you around on this.
Schedule an in-person meeting and be prepared to drive the conversation. Address their stated concerns and get a transition plan in writing to get out from under this dead-end responsibility. Bring documentation about the financial impact this last-minute change has had and state that you'd like to discuss a plan of action to address those costs and decide what the best way is to proceed.
One last thing, though I hate to be a doom&gloomer. Look into the unemployment compensation conditions on the state you're moving to. It's possible they don't have any reciprocity with where you're coming from and you could be really fucked if your employer further flakes out when you get there. They've demonstrated their inability to be reliable so plan for it.
posted by phearlez at 8:41 AM on July 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
Are you sure you cannot just take the new job and then be "happy to help, just as soon as you have room in your schedule, so why don't you all plan for you to take a trip out to help them [six weeks from now]?"
In other words, just because they would like for you to do two jobs does not really make it possible for you to do two jobs, and therefore they may find that you cannot be as responsive as they need.
The degree to which you can essentially subordinate the old job to your new job depends on the power relationship between your old boss and your new boss.
posted by salvia at 9:06 AM on July 5, 2011
In other words, just because they would like for you to do two jobs does not really make it possible for you to do two jobs, and therefore they may find that you cannot be as responsive as they need.
The degree to which you can essentially subordinate the old job to your new job depends on the power relationship between your old boss and your new boss.
posted by salvia at 9:06 AM on July 5, 2011
I agree with salvia. Do you really need to fly back to help with your old job? What will happen if you don't? Will you get fired or will people just be upset?
Remember that this problem is not your fault; it's the fault of whoever allowed you to leave your old job without arranging for a replacement, backup help, or knowledge transfer quickly enough. This isn't your problem to solve.
Again, I don't know what the consequences are of doing this, but my first reaction would be to say that you won't be able to fly back and help (or arrange for one or two visits back to help but that's all). Just because they're asking for this doesn't mean you have to give it to them.
posted by whitelily at 10:06 AM on July 5, 2011 [4 favorites]
Remember that this problem is not your fault; it's the fault of whoever allowed you to leave your old job without arranging for a replacement, backup help, or knowledge transfer quickly enough. This isn't your problem to solve.
Again, I don't know what the consequences are of doing this, but my first reaction would be to say that you won't be able to fly back and help (or arrange for one or two visits back to help but that's all). Just because they're asking for this doesn't mean you have to give it to them.
posted by whitelily at 10:06 AM on July 5, 2011 [4 favorites]
Knowing from painful experience what it's like to be suspended between the past and the future like this, I'm going to pile-on with Hermitosis and 256: go to your new boss, and inform him that flying back and forth to do your old job was not part of the agreement, and as far as you're concerned, it's out of the question...
You're going to need to be extraordinarily strong on this because believe me, as sure as there's a sun in the sky, these people will use you to get both jobs done (even at some substantially reduced level of effectiveness) indefinitely... like... FOREVER. You're only recourse is to never let it start.
(Worst case, if they can't get their shit together on this is they rescind the employment offer (in which case you're perfectly justified in demanding compensation for any relo money you're already out) and you should immediately begin looking for a new job).
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 10:28 AM on July 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
You're going to need to be extraordinarily strong on this because believe me, as sure as there's a sun in the sky, these people will use you to get both jobs done (even at some substantially reduced level of effectiveness) indefinitely... like... FOREVER. You're only recourse is to never let it start.
(Worst case, if they can't get their shit together on this is they rescind the employment offer (in which case you're perfectly justified in demanding compensation for any relo money you're already out) and you should immediately begin looking for a new job).
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 10:28 AM on July 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
Yes, ask for relocation expenses. IANAL, but if you had a verbal contract the company might be liable for breaking that. You might even visit a lawyer.
Second, ask for a raise. If you are that important that they cannot lose you, then tell them they need to pay for that.
posted by I am the Walrus at 11:07 AM on July 5, 2011
Second, ask for a raise. If you are that important that they cannot lose you, then tell them they need to pay for that.
posted by I am the Walrus at 11:07 AM on July 5, 2011
IANAL, but you need to get a contract hashed out for this new work arrangement. Any work I've been doing for my company that requires me to travel back and forth or relocate has involved a contract stipulating everything from per diem allowances and expenses covered, frequency of travel, hours and overtime, and (minimum) duration of this arrangement (3 months?) with provisions for extending it. If they feel like they're being caught with their pants down, a few months should be more than sufficient to get a replacement and let you move on.
Did you sign a contract for your new job? I sure hope so. Is HR involved? I hope so. In this case you will need to get a new contract prepared for everyone to sign off on.
I would ask for a raise in salary to cover the increase in cost of living in my new location, because I will be prevented from making the "bonus" salary (commission) due to responsibilities to the existing work. I would require per diem expenses for when staying in the old city for work, which would include living expenses, a rental car, and hotels. Depending on the frequency of travel, if it's not predictable then I would expect reimbursement for airfare.
posted by lizbunny at 11:14 AM on July 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Did you sign a contract for your new job? I sure hope so. Is HR involved? I hope so. In this case you will need to get a new contract prepared for everyone to sign off on.
I would ask for a raise in salary to cover the increase in cost of living in my new location, because I will be prevented from making the "bonus" salary (commission) due to responsibilities to the existing work. I would require per diem expenses for when staying in the old city for work, which would include living expenses, a rental car, and hotels. Depending on the frequency of travel, if it's not predictable then I would expect reimbursement for airfare.
posted by lizbunny at 11:14 AM on July 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
*reimbursement rather than including it in any lump sum allowance. The compensation can be flexible and should work to your benefit. I've had the choice of submitting receipts for everything, to daily allowances for food and submitting receipts for hotel and airfare, to living allowance plus airfare, to a whole lump sum. Living allowances are "tax-free" in Canada, I don't know about the states.
posted by lizbunny at 11:16 AM on July 5, 2011
posted by lizbunny at 11:16 AM on July 5, 2011
If you are working remotely now there can be absolutely no reason to require your physical presence in your old location even if you reach an agreement to help the old division in some way.
As others have said any such support should be clearly defined and very limited. Anything else would stop you performing in the new role and will only come back to bite you.
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:08 PM on July 5, 2011
As others have said any such support should be clearly defined and very limited. Anything else would stop you performing in the new role and will only come back to bite you.
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:08 PM on July 5, 2011
Mod note: From the OP:
Thank you for everyone's input. It's helping me put it in perspective and not take it personally, which is really not how I need to be approaching this.posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:23 PM on July 5, 2011
I guess I should really clarify that my boss (head of the division) is remaining the same. My immediate supervisor is changing, but this is all coming from my boss. He's basically decided that having me in my old job is more important right now that starting me in my new job. Some things happened immediately after I accepted the position that meant that there was a lot more pressing work of the type I did in my old job and essentially there is the feeling that my new job can wait. I'm not in a position to simply say I won't do my old job. I am getting this as a direct assignment from the head of my division. So this isn't really a matter of me caving to my old boss or my old colleagues, I'll happily redirect those people to the appropriate individual who is not myself, but I can't say no to my boss. Not to mention the fact that if I said no I would have no other work to do as I'm not getting any work for my new job.
This is also being presented in the guise of "everyone needs to chip in and help during this difficult time" but in reality that means that other people with the same title as my new position, might devote a day or two a month to helping out and I'm doing it full time, despite the fact that we now share the same title.
It's too late for me not to move. It's already done so to speak.
There might be legal steps I can take, but I want to avoid that for obvious reasons and only use it as a last resort and even then I might opt to just find a new job.
If that's the case, and it turns out that you have to do both, it's certainly reasonable to ask the company to "chip in and help during this difficult time" by comitting to a time limit for the overlap.
posted by rhizome at 4:12 PM on July 5, 2011
posted by rhizome at 4:12 PM on July 5, 2011
If you're physically moving across several time zones, I think you're going to find that your new available hours to those people you are leaving behind no longer really fulfill their needs, and thus the good news is, if there is good news in this situation, that your circumstances might be self-limiting. If you're moving from LA to NYC, you're only going to be "available" to LA folks working their normal hours, about 5 hours of their day. Already, you're nearly a part timer, to them.
Do what you can to "make it work," but let hours and distance be hours and distance. In less time than you think, you could be out of the loop you're leaving behind, although you can only hope your new job responsibilities pickup accordingly, lest you be out of all loops, entirely. In the meantime, I think you can and should try to talk about an actual COLA salary increase.
posted by paulsc at 9:26 AM on July 6, 2011
Do what you can to "make it work," but let hours and distance be hours and distance. In less time than you think, you could be out of the loop you're leaving behind, although you can only hope your new job responsibilities pickup accordingly, lest you be out of all loops, entirely. In the meantime, I think you can and should try to talk about an actual COLA salary increase.
posted by paulsc at 9:26 AM on July 6, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
No need to act all personally hurt about it, just firmly ask for a 25% increase.
posted by 256 at 8:04 AM on July 5, 2011 [10 favorites]