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Ask HN: What should I do in this situation?

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Re: Ask HN: What should I do in this situation?

#31

Post by praneshp »

minusthebrandon wrote: post #24
nikanj wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's two good hobbies and sixpack abs right there, if you spend that time on self improvement instead of sitting in a car. Commutes over on hour per day are a huge sacrifice from your most precious resource: unallocated time

Honestly, the mornings and the evenings are the time I get to spend with my wife and daughter. I value time with them infinitely more than I value listening to audiobooks/podcasts in rush hour traffic for 15 hours a week.

I think he means what you mean, that you could be doing far better things in the 3 hours you waste in the car.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do in this situation?

#32

Post by rwallace »

Seb86 wrote: post #5

Talk to a lawyer and get them to talk to your boss about the remote work situation and the initial contract.

I don't see any reason to get a lawyer involved. They've paid him everything they owed him for the work he's done so far. They've made him a bad offer for the future (crap salary plus crap working conditions) that he would be very unwise to take, but there's nothing illegal about making a bad offer, any more than it would be illegal for him to offer to work for a million dollars an hour. He just needs to make it clear that he's not willing to work for them unless he gets either good pay or good working conditions.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do in this situation?

#33

Post by patio11 »

Sukotto wrote: post #27

I was in somewhat of a similar position earlier in my career. I was afraid to stand up for myself and ended up meekly accepting my employer's BS about how there wasn't money in the budget for raises, but they liked me so much and valued my work and can I please work just a little more unpaid overtime? I gave away hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of salary for nothing more than a smile and a thank you. And that'…

You are a business just as much as your employer is. That means you promote your service to potential buyers; understand the value of your service; and charge what the market bear for your service

This is the piece of advice I wish I knew early in my career. Tape it to the bathroom mirror and ask "What did I do yesterday which increased the enterprise value of Me, Inc. and what is my plan for doing more today?"

Re: Ask HN: What should I do in this situation?

#34

Post by minusthebrandon »

praneshp wrote: post #31
minusthebrandon wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, the mornings and the evenings are the time I get to spend with my wife and daughter. I value time with them infinitely more than I value listening to audiobooks/podcasts in rush hour traffic for 15 hours a week.

I think he means what you mean, that you could be doing far better things in the 3 hours you waste in the car.

Yeah, you're totally right. I completely missed the "instead of sitting in the car" part. Thanks. Sorry nikanj.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do in this situation?

#35

Post by patrickdavey »

gkoberger wrote: post #19
patio11 wrote: post #11

They almost certainly won't fire you for asking for a raise. Like you said yourself, your replacement would certainly be more expensive, and they'll lose at least 3 months of productivity even if the replacement is adequate. I'd start looking for other jobs and, in parallel, tell the boss that you value the lack of the commute quite highly and that if they want you to commute you'll be happy to consider their offer f…

Patrick (the commenter I'm replying to) happens to have written the best article you'll ever read on the topic: http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/ It really helps put things into perspective.

Yip, excellent article... I pointed a friend to this while giving him a pep-talk on how much he knew and how much he was worth. Went up ~15-20K from his old position...

Re: Ask HN: What should I do in this situation?

#36

Post by toomuchtodo »

ryanSrich wrote: post #30
toomuchtodo wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My brother recently tried Patrick's advice interviewing for a sysadmin position at a small family business in the Chicago suburbs. When he attempted to negotiate after they indicated they were offering him employment, his offer was rescinded and they thanked him for his time. This part of Patrick's article is still great advice in that regard: "This means you need what political scientists call a commitment strategy:…

Sounds like a win for your brother in my opinion. That company was probably an awful place to work.

That was our consensus as well.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do in this situation?

#37

Post by minusthebrandon »

Sukotto wrote: post #27

I was in somewhat of a similar position earlier in my career. I was afraid to stand up for myself and ended up meekly accepting my employer's BS about how there wasn't money in the budget for raises, but they liked me so much and valued my work and can I please work just a little more unpaid overtime? I gave away hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of salary for nothing more than a smile and a thank you. And that'…

I totally get it. It's a complete mindset change and those are a little hard to get started. Definitely appreciate the advice.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do in this situation?

#38

Post by danbmil99 »

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems very likely that you are not highly appreciated by your new boss. He is probably hoping you quit; he's not doing anything to encourage you to stay. I doubt he will offer much in the way of a raise to keep you on.

In a situation like this, the fact that you are infrequently on site has probably contributed to your ending up on the short side of the stick wrt office politics. You have likely missed important social cues related to the new boss' style and expectations. You have not been physically present to make sure you get credit for your work, and to counteract any negative karma that might have been thrown your way.

No it's not exactly fair, but employment is generally 'at will', there is no guarantee of fairness or bulwark against capricious or petty treatment.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do in this situation?

#39

Post by prawn »

If you can avoid making it an adversarial situation, that may help. Make it obvious to them that you feel like you're a very valuable employee, that you are very productive for them and losing three hours/day on a commute is just wasting either your time or theirs. You'll be most productive when you're happy, not with the drudgery of an big drive twice a day.

Can they make an exception for your being in the office, or make it a day per week or something like that? I agree with someone else who said that three hours/day driving wouldn't be worth whatever they're likely to offer.

Re: Ask HN: What should I do in this situation?

#40

Post by anupshinde »

You have worked there for two years, without a single raise. And you make the lowest amount for this position.

This is a good thing and a bad thing - Good thing: since it is the lowest amount for this position, you have an upper hand. Its difficult (and costly) for them to replace you.

Bad thing - why did you not get a raise and why you are at that lower end - does it have something to do with your performance, or is it just some crappy office politics keeping your pay down?

If you performed well you deserve to get a raise - at least to compensate for the move to office. So definitely ask for it.

Also, do you go to office for 1-2 weeks in a period of about 6 months or so - It is also important to get a feel of your office environment if you all were not a completely remote team.

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