I need opinions/suggestions for the below situation

Question

I live in the North of Ireland, in a town on the border. I commute to Dublin every mon - fri. The trains are at awkward times I arrive in after 9am, and I was told when I started that I could leave an hour early to get the 4.50 train, but I would have to take a half hour lunch instead. My Boss also gets the train with me.

However this was leaving the rest of the department stretched and I now get the next train 3 days a week to make up my hours, which is at 7pm, I get home about 8.20pm. The train leaving in the morning leaves at 7.42am.

Now, this travelling is making me increasingly tired and the trains are very unreliable. Recently the signals were broken due to lighening leaving everyone on the train for 4 HRS!!! This morning it was delayed for 40mins and then just outside Dublin the train broke down. I didn't get in till after 10.30am!

I dont want to move to Dublin cause its so expensive and im hoping to save for a deposit for a house, and at the moment Im doing very very well with the saving. The job is very well paid and will be the base from which Im starting my career, so I dont know if it would be good to leave it.

What should I do?

Answer 1

Does your company have any kind of flexible working policy?  If so, perhaps you could work from home one day per week as this would at least cut down your travelling time a little.

But basically, your problem is the COMMUTE itself, not the WORKING hours.  You arrive after 9:00am but expect to leave by 4:50pm?  In most professional organisations, people start by 8:30am and then leave at 5:30pm, and they're lucky if they get any kind of lunch break at all, never mind 30 minutes.  I think it's certainly reasonable that your empployer has now requested that you stay later.

Therefore, you've got two options - either move, not necessarily to Dublin itself but to somewhere closer in and that has better transport, or just put up with the commute.  If it were me, I would actually just put up with it.  You sound like you're relatively young by the way you say that it's the base to start your career, so I would suggest that it's probably worth doing for a year or two.

I myself live in South East London and commute to Reading twice per week.  The journey requires two tubes, a train and then a bus and takes about two and a half hours.  I leave home by 7:00am and arrive home by 8:00pm if I'm lucky; often it's more like 9:00pm.  Do I enjoy it?  h**l no.  I also have to miss out on a lot of things like catching up with my friends.  But I have decided that it's worth doing it for a short period of time in order to progress my career.

Answer 2

Try this. All you do is take surveys online and get paid for it. This site is safe, legit, free to join, and does not ask for any personal info. So check it out at http://www.AWSurveys.com/HomeMain.cfm?Re...

Answer 3

Is it possible to share an apartment in town with someone and just stay there during the week? I don't know your family situation but it sounds like you are spending too much time on the road and not enough at home. This way you could work the hours you are needed and have all your weekend at home. It is more expensive but perhaps you could work four  10 hour days and have a 3 day weekend. It will also free up some evening time to network and advance your career.

Good luck to you!

Answer 4

I would speak with your boss - if they originally agreed you could leave early to get the 4.50 train, it's not your fault if it's leaving the department stretched, and you shouldn't therefore have to make up for effectively what is their mistake.

I understand you probably don't want to rock the boat, and you want to keep your job - surely they want to keep you too! Explain the situation to your boss - afterall tiredness is not good for productivity.  If he/she is happy to let you leave for the 4.50 train, then they're a good company to work for and it shows they care. If they are inflexible and say you must stay to cover (even having previously agreed to let you go early), then you'll have a better idea of how they really like to treat their staff, and perhaps this might influence whether or not you stay.  

Answer 5

Well if you arent happy your savings wont help you much, There is affordable housing closer to Dublin?