My level of frustration here is still not high enough to accept a smaller paycheck, but I am beginning to understand more and more those who did it and left EM as soon as possible. Health has no price. I wonder what percentage of those who left actually accepted a lower pay because they couldn't stand working at EM anymore?
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I left in June of 21. Took a little less pay on base salary, but made up for it with bonus and benefit package. Leaving was the best thing I could have done for my metal health. I miss the people I worked with, but not enough to stay and put up with the nonsense there. Myself and family are much happier since I made the move.
When my spouse left Exxon —> I got them back mentally and emotionally. Food for thought.
For me to take a pay cut, I need to be able to work asynchronously from any location, and have no work-related travel requirements. I was able to negotiate for exactly that. I also have a high-valued skill set (machine learning & data analytics, if you must know) that is easy to perform remotely.
Don’t worry about taking a pay cut. For one, money isn’t everything. For another, it’s quite easy to top-up incomes using active/passive income streams, so offsetting lost income is rarely a problem. Technology provides all of the required tools.
I didn’t take a pay cut when I left. But I would have just to get out. My mental health was imploding.
With my new gig I got a base raise, bonus, higher pension contribution, higher 401k match contribution and a few other non-monetary benefits like fixed hybrid schedule, subsidized meals, a 9/80 schedule, additional US holidays and a much better culture where there are real I&D initiatives.
The opportunities are definitely out there.
Sometimes we are forced in a direction that we ought to have found for ourselves.
What we do does not define us. What define us is how we rise after falling.
I left without worrying about my salary. Found a job that was interesting to me, and gave me opportunity to diversify in my field.
For sure it is tough to build a career from scratch, but the mental stress is gone. It is surely a breathe of fresh air
Me! I left because I couldn’t stand it anymore and felt like it was just a matter of time before I got another cr---y review that had nothing to do with my performance, but everything to do with my age. I’d been with the company for more than two decades and my performance only IMPROVED with time, but my reviews continued to decline. When they dealt me a completely out of left field NSI, I left.
Would I have left w/o the NSI? Maybe not - but it was a gift in disguise because it made me realize I wasn’t valued and no amount of money would (or SHOULD) make me want to remain in that environment.
Ten years ago, I had complete system failure and wound up in the ICU because of a toxic EM boss and incredibly stressful work environment. I swore to myself and my family I’d leave before it ever got that bad again. The NSI was my chance to put my literal money where my mouth was!
I knew that starting over would be difficult and any new job would unlikely have the same lucrative salary and benefits, but I left anyway. I’m sure I can one day get back to that salary again - but even if I don’t, there’s more to life than money.
When I talk to colleagues now who are still @ XOM and grappling with bad reviews that have zero merit, my heart breaks for them. These are GOOD, SMART people who are being mentally traumatized by a cr-p system. They tell me they plan to stick it out for a few more years, but I’m not sure they’ll have that kind of control. Maybe they will, or maybe their jobs will be outsourced to India.
If the only reason you are staying is for money… imagine the money being gone. Imagine your health being gone. Imagine BOTH being gone. I’m not convinced pensions will be around in another 5-10 years.
… and by then, you’ve given up the best years of your life for what? If ExxonMobil can save a dime cutting YOUR job, you better believe they will.
I got a 20% Base pump + 20% Bonus