The Office Ties That Bind

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Send questions about the office, money, careers and work-life balance to workfriend@nytimes.com. Include your name and location, or a request to remain anonymous. Letters may be edited. A Question of Loyalty I work for a smallish company (fewer than 100 corporate employees and 1,500 field workers). I enjoy my job, the challenge, my co-workers and the good work-life balance. I was hired by a leader in the company who I’ve known professionally for many years. The role I was hired into was a bit of a stretch, and I think this person went out a bit on a limb to bring me in. Fast forward six years and I’ve excelled, been promoted and clearly made a positive impact on the company. One day, I received an email from a recruiter on LinkedIn about a similar role, but at a higher executive level and a larger organization with perhaps more prestige and compensation. I had not been looking for a new job, but I thought I shouldn’t pass up an opportunity. I got pretty far in the interview process and the role seemed like a good fit, but then I also felt a heavy dose of guilt for leaving the leader who believed in me. Because of my conflicted feelings, I ended up not coming off as enthusiastic about the role in my final round and, ultimately, I didn’t get the job. Perhaps it was all a blessing, but I’m not sure what to do if another opportunity presents itself. How loyal does one need to be to someone who is responsible for a lot of my career growth and success? — Albert My first question for you: How much do you want a new job versus thinking you should want a new job? (Correct me if I’m wrong, but it doesn’t sound like you need one.) We live in a culture, in which we feel we always need to be on the lookout for the next best thing. More prestige, more money, a bigger, “better” title. But what if we’re happy where we are? It sure sounds that you’re in an enviable, if not ideal, position: You enjoy your job, your colleagues, and the work-life balance that your job affords. A lot of us working stiffs don’t enjoy similar luxuries, or have this sort of luck. So the second question I’d urge you to ask yourself is this: What do you think the chances are that you might find these sorts of attributes in the context of a new job? As for the loyalty issue, this is tougher, which is why I’m saving it for last. Were we all so content with our jobs, and our supervisors, that we feel such a measure of loyalty that the prospect of a new job causes such soul-searching!