OK so they've finally decided at work to make someone team leader at the main London Discovery office. I usually work at a company they own at a different location but have been helping out at Discovery since February. I love working where I am. It's an easy commute, the people are like family and I'm given free reign on managing myself. Would you apply for the team leader role? It would mean 3 hours commuting every day and the added stress of managing a hectic team. Do I go for it or stay where I am?

Is the increased travelling and associated stress offset sufficiently by the pay increase?

If not, I wouldn't bother.

If you are happy with how things are at the moment, why bother?

Depends. Is it a significant pay rise or career progression opportunity? If not I agree with Heather.

I haven't asked about pay increase but I guess it would go up a bit. We had a small pay rise this year but it wasn't a huge amount.

I'm thinking along the same lines too that it isn't worth the extra hassle. It has been incredibly hard work the last few months and it's left me tired and irritable. I know my boyfriend would be horrified if I applied lol.

If the pay increase more than makes up for the three hours commuting then apply otherwise I would not bother. Extra travelling and stress for bugger all extra money.

Depends whether you really want it.

I think it's better to have an equal work/life balance than one that is weighed too heavily in either way.

I agree with Dan, it's all about quality of life and expectations

I've learnt the hard way that nothing is more important than happiness. If you're happy where you are and it's close to home, I would stay there. Is having a pay increase, (no matter how large - to a certain extent) going to make up for the increased stress, both at work and, more importantly, at home?

Obviously that's just my opinion, but there you have it.

Hope this helps.

Forgetting the 'stress of managing a hectic team' for a minute, just the traveling on its own is enough to need a significant pay bump/career advancement to make it worthwhile IMHO. At the risk of stating the obvious, three hours a day is almost an extra two days a week just to travel to work. Not my idea of fun, thanks.

Good luck with the decision.

Pete

When I once did a 120-mile round-trip commute 5 days a week (for about 6 months) I found it extremely tiring and stressful (and more so as time went on), and thus I would rather earn less but work closer to home than earn more and go through that again.

Years ago when I was on an IT helpdesk we didn't have a car and I had to get up at 4:30 for a 7:45 start. It really wasn't worth it, you end up being too knackered to have any life.

I would suggest you look very long and hard at the commute. I commute 3.5 hours a day (on a good day) and I've been doing it for little under 2 years now. To begin with I didn't mind it at all and my love of driving means that I don't really hate it now, however, the length of time I've been doing it, the lack of life in the evenings, the need to go to bed early and the physical act of commuting have all served to grind me down to the point that enough is enough. You might think that it's not so bad now, but you may very well feel differently in 6 months, especially if you're relying on public transport, I do my commute in my own car, comfy and with my own entertainment, but I'd hate to do it on public transport for any length of time.

It's up to you if you think you'd enjoy the job, and if the pay increase is significant enough to make it worth your while, but I'd definitely talk to your boyf before you make a decision.

By the sound of it I wouldn't touch it with someone else's. If you're happy where you are then why move to do something that even you aren't sure about?

There is no amount of money that can ever make stress worthwhile.

But then I watched stress kill my dad, break my mum and both my sisters and almost kill me... ... twice.

Money can't tuck you in at night or hug you when you're down.

No. I certainly wouldn't, to answer the post title.

Why are you even considering it?