UKC

Not long had our first. I'm realising that travelling 3 hours a day to work is a bit much.
Mrs GM Mat pay is coming to an end shortly and will be replaced with SMP soon.

Currently my job is secure, i like the company and i get to run most lunchtimes.

I'm thinking of looking for a job closer to home. There are lots of benefits.
However i'm concerned about the risks, probated periods, new managers...

So the question is now the wrong time to change jobs? What would/have you done if in this position?

In reply to goldmember:

Why not look at what is available, and if reasonable go and look at one or two jobs if asked for interview?Then evaluate the job in question and your situation again. Just because you are offered a job doesn't mean that you have to take it.

In reply to goldmember:

I guess have a look at what's out there? If there's a job that really appeals than have a good think about it, but if you feel like it's a compromise and the job is convenient but not what you want; then dont do it. Im only really recently appreciating that you spend most of your waking day at work and if it's something that's not a positive influence, it can become really corrosive.

In reply to goldmember:

Without knowing what your job is, is there any way of doing it from home? even if you just worked one day a week from home that would probably change your life massively.

In reply to goldmember:
I'll preface this by saying that I have absolutely no idea what the mishmash of abbreviations that is "Mrs GM Mat pay is coming to an end shortly and will be replaced with SMP soon" means, other than that it may involve your wife.

My suggestion would be to move house. Just sell/terminate rental contract on the current one and buy/rent one closer to your work. If you own your current one, you could even rent it out if you don't want to get rid of it altogether and use the rent to support your mortgage and then buy/rent the second one closer to your work. If you don't have the time for hassel, there are loads of rental agencies who will find a tenant and do all the admin/running work for a percentage.

I hope that 3 hours is in total and not 3 hours each way. If it is the latter, you definitely need to do something because spending a quarter of your life commuting is mental.

Depending on your job, there are all sorts of other arrangements that you could think about, e.g. Can you reduce commuting time by working 4 days a week for 9 hours rather than 5 days a week for 7 hours? Can you spend some days working from home like Gethin suggested? Is it a job that pays enough that you could consider renting or buying a bedsit or small flat near your work to spend some weekdays in and then go to your family home only some nights and every weekend? Does your employer have any offices/infrastructure nearer your home so you might work at least some of your time with a minimal commute? Could you decrease the hours on your current job to maybe 3 days a week and find something else to do, also part time for another 2 days a week close to your home? Can you start earlier or finish later to avoid the rush-hour and reduce your commute time?

You could do a lot worse than sit down with your boss and talk through alternatives. If you like him/her and he/she likes you and is happy with the work you are doing then he/she is almost certainly going to try quite hard to keep you sweet, if it is possible within the company because nobody, and I mean NOBODY, who is sitting there with an employee they are very happy with and thinking "F*** it, who cares if they go somewhere else, I'll find someone else to fill the gap". Any replacement is unlikely to be better than you, will take time to interview/induct/train and will be a big gamble in the interpersonal relationships dept as well as whether it turns out they are any good or not.

If you are an asset to the company and it would be quite easy for you to get another job elsewhere, you are not a slave to the companies whims, they are a slave to yours (relatively speaking).

In reply to goldmember: I tihnk henwardian has said everything I`d say - 3 hours total a day is a lot, 3 hours each way is way too much time when you add up those 30 hours a week