Sometimes the Grass is Greener on the Other Side

It has been eight months since I took a leap of faith and quit my miserable job. One of the reasons I stuck with my old job is that in changing jobs, I learned that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Sometimes changing jobs is just trading issues. Most companies have issues and challenges - you just don't know what they are until you get there. Sometimes stick-to-itiveness is a good thing. Sometimes it keeps you trapped in a miserable situation. My recent job change proved to me that sometimes the grass is greener on the other side. It is worth taking a chance to change your life for the better.

My friends know how miserable I was in my old job;  I complained about it frequently in the last year or two. Unfortunately, I am not as good about expressing joy and gratitude as I am about venting and complaining. So today, I am finally taking the time to share how grateful I am that I jumped ship.

• I am grateful to have a boss in the same office as me. I spent most of my eight years at my last job reporting to managers in other offices - Wisconsin, New York, Texas, California. Even if you are capable of working independently without supervision as I am, face time is important. I never felt connected working remotely.
• I am thankful to have a boss who is positive, encouraging, supportive, and entrusting. I have had many managers over the years, including seven in my eight years at QBE. Some were pretty good, some too hard, some too soft. This one is just right.
• I am thankful to be part of a team again - to have someone to talk to who is physically there with me. Of course I had teammates at my old job, but they were all in other cities - again, no face time. By the time I left QBE, I was the only accountant left in Denver.
• I am thankful that I still only have a two mile commute to the office though I do miss the covered parking at my old office.
• I am thankful to work for a company that values its employees. We frequently get emails celebrating the success of someone in the company. At my old job, I knew that coworkers valued me, but the company treated employees as dispensable.
• I am grateful to work for a company with a good corporate culture. My last company had a nice set of values - on paper.
• I am grateful to be a real accountant again. At my old company, the job I was initially hired to do quickly disappeared with the first round of layoffs. Through multiple organizational changes and outsourcing, I kept my job by being flexible, taking on projects and small accounting roles. But now I get to do what I love again. My job no longer feels like someone else's leftovers.

Today, I am cautiously optimistic. My last job also looked promising in the beginning. I had no idea that I was embarking on a roller coaster ride with more chills than thrills. The difference between now and then is that now I know that no job is worth being that unhappy. I work because I want to, not because I have to.