So, June 30th we found out that my dept. is being moved to the NJ site. I live 20 mi from the PA site, and 52 from NJ. We got the choice to relocate or "separate" from the company. The severance package is pretty decent - 3 weeks of pay per year you've worked (so 33 weeks for me), and bonus paid at the maximum target (instead of dependent on company performance).
The decision has to be made by the 14th, and I've been going back and forth for months. There's not even been a single nibble on my resume (I've sent out a few dozen) since July, which is depressing, and big pharma is laying off left and right. *sigh*
I crunched some numbers, and I can manage for at least a year (possibly 15 months or so) without a sweat on the severance/bonus/unemployment compensation. But I'm discouraged by the lack of calls for other positions, and I don't want to risk my daughter's home. *sigh*
If I work there, I have a year to decide if I want moving assistance, but to accept it, I'd have to move at least 25 miles and end up within 40 miles of driving distance from the new site. The area is ungodly expensive, and across the border in PA isn't much better. AND, I don't meet the IRS distance test, so I'd be taxed on any of the relocation money. So I'd have to suck up the commute. I'd rather not stretch the budget to buy another house, esp. when I only owe $160K on my current house (2600 sq ft on 1/4 acre, good school district, neighborhood with sidewalks, lots of kids, walking distance to shopping, train station...). And, if you accept any money, you're an indentured servant for 2 years or you have to repay it all.
The other major factor is that I'm burned out. It's been an extremely stressful (in the panic attack way) 4 years since we bought the NJ's site's company. I came so close to just signing the separation release form last week after yet another run-in with this one (censored) person there.
On the other hand, they're losing 2/5 of their document coordinators, and I'm the highest ranking one they have (and with very broad experience touching every area instead of having been pigeonholed like theirs). I'm a supervisor already, and have been in charge of at least 2 major projects impacting two depts. If I leave too, they're SOL. They can't get the work done, and they can't hire due to the hiring freeze.
So I leveraged that into a proposal for hours that allow me to vary my work hours based on my commute and custody schedule (I work longer hours on days when my daughter is with my ex). And I can work part time at the PA site through June instead of working in NJ 100% of the time starting Jan. 4th. I'll forgo the commuter stipend and be able to keep looking for something closer to home - although I doubt I'd be able to keep my 6 weeks of vacation and bonus...
The other thing to look forward to is that my group will be merged with that of another dept as part of a "shared services" arrangement. Give me a year or two, and I'm pretty sure I can be in charge.
Or at the least, in a different reporting structure.So yeah, sucky commute, but it will be invisible to my daughter, and I'm still securely employed. I'll just miss out on being petty and walking out the door, leaving a wake of panic behind me.
