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I turned down a really good job offer because it was night shift hours. I will never work night shift again if I can help it. I'd rather make less money than be tired all the time.
Pro
I know exactly what you mean. I have left anyone job for this reason too.
Pro
Yeah, I have. Twice actually, and both times it was one of those “on paper it looks perfect” situations that had me second-guessing myself for weeks. The most recent one was about a year ago. The pay was a solid $18k bump over what I’m making now, $15k sign-on, full remote option after onboarding, better PTO accrual, the works. But I turned it down after sleeping on it for a couple days. The main factors: Commute killed it. Even if I only had to go in occasionally, the initial “on-site for the first 6-12 months” requirement meant driving 3 hours round-trip multiple days a week. I’ve got young kids, and that would’ve wrecked family evenings and weekends. I already feel guilty enough with my current on-call weeks.
Culture red flags during interviews. A couple of the current employees I spoke with off-the-record mentioned pretty brutal turnover in the group, constant “urgent” projects dumped last-minute, and a director who micromanages everything. The vibe was “we’re prestigious, so you should be grateful to work 60+ hours.”
I actually like my current team a lot. We’re short-staffed like everyone else, but the people are supportive, my manager fights for us, and I’ve got flexibility when life happens (sick kid, school event, whatever). That’s worth a lot more to me right now than an extra $18k that would mostly go to taxes, daycare overtime, and eating out because I’m never home to cook.
I countered asking if they’d do fully remote from day one with maybe 1-2 onsite days a month, but they wouldn’t budge. So I politely declined and felt weirdly relieved the second I sent the email.
The other time was earlier in my career. I turned down a retail management gig that would’ve paid more but locked me into 50-60 hour weeks with every other weekend. No regrets on that one either. It’s funny because both times friends were like “are you crazy?!” but a year later I’m still happy with the choices. Sometimes the “tempting” part is just shiny numbers that don’t line up with what actually makes your life better.
Have you ever walked away from something that looked great on the surface? What tipped the scale for you?
Pro
Thanks for sharing your experience. I have similar experience to yours, I turned down due to travel and flexibility. I have to be on site full time and its was 4 hrs travel everyday. I have a young kid which I prefer to spend more time with them than commuting. Our org is going through a restructure and that didn’t even tempt me to accept it.
I turned down a 30% increase last year. The job was located in another city about an hour away. I drove to multiple interviews and realized that it'd ultimately be way too much commute time, and there was no easy way for me to relocate. It was painful saying no to that money, but I know the lifestyle cost would not have been worth it in the long run.
Pro
Very hard decision! 30% is massive! I personally had to turn down interviews for the same reason, sometimes life style and family responsibilities doesn't let us to be more adventurous like when we were young. I hope you current job is well and you managed to get over that missed pay raise.
Pro
I did few years ago and main reason was that I found out another friend of mine has worked with the person who was going to my line manager and she left her job because of the management so I thought very carefully and declined the offer.
Pro
Wow! I call this lucky scape! If you didn't know you had to suffer and find another job.
Pro
Indeed! It was lucky scape and I am still so pleased for my decision.