Watering the grass I'm standing on

Well, the job that I wasn't impressed with or interested in actually called and offered me the position, for 5k/year more than I'm making now.  I considered it, but turned it down because A) a lot of that extra money would be eaten up with gas and tolls, B) no pension, C) the work area was depressing, D) no paid PTO days or accruing PTO hours until January 2014, and E) they were just weird and disorganized and strange through the whole process.

The other place brought me in for a second interview.  They remain very interesting to me, but who knows -- we'll see if they come back with an actual job offer.

In the meantime, last week I did it.  I got up the courage and marched in.  I didn't mention to my boss that I know that a half dozen people have gotten many thousands of dollars in bonuses so far this year because of the abandon rate that I have worked to lower.  It's half of what it was last year before I was hired, and it's directly related to my being there to forecast how many calls we will get, schedule agents at the right times to answer the calls, and to set hiring parameters to make sure we have enough agents.  The supervisors and managers have a hand in keeping the abandon rate low by controlling when agents log off the phone for breaks/lunches/impromptu training, however they do it by looking at the call volume numbers from my forecast.

I did mention that he told me, nearly a year ago, that if I did a good job they would reward me, potentially with bonuses.  I asked him if he thought I had done a good job, and he said yes.  I pointed out that my major responsibilities are actually somewhat above my title of Analyst, most of what I do is at a Manager level (and I also reminded him that a couple of times lately he has accidentally referred to me as a Workforce Manager).  

He told me that he would be happy to set me up with a specific compensation plan where I would be paid bonuses based on a scale.  I said that'd be fine with me.  He said he would consult with the director of the call center (who also reports to him) to get his feedback on how that should be set up/measured.

He also told me that he sees changes happening within the next 6 months that would mean the creation of a new Workforce Manager position.  He said while he couldn't promote me into that position (I don't know why not…?) and it would have to be posted as an open job, he thought I would be the obvious candidate given my experience within the company.

So.  Now I'm waiting to hear back from him about what kind of comp plan, and I'm wondering how much of a factor the potential new position should be if I should actually get a job offer.

I also told him that I had been offered a job making more money and with less responsibilities.  I told him that I turned it down, and that I am happy working for this company, and that I think it's a good company (which is true).  He said that he would encourage me, and everyone, to go out into the job market and interview somewhere else occasionally just to "see what else is out there".  He said that can have an impact on the "grass is greener" assumption.

I see his point, but it had the opposite result for me; I have found out that I'm making less money that most others at my level and I'm doing much higher-level things.  When interviewers ask me why I am considering leaving my current position, all I have to do it describe my job, and that answers that.

Still.  I do like it here, and I like having more responsibility.  Also, I heard a great saying recently:  The grass is greener where you water it.  So I'm trying to water my grass here.

For the past several weeks I've been consciously trying to let work go, to NOT check my email when I'm home, to NOT bring my laptop home, and to stop and question the situation if I start to feel pressured or stressy, to hand off work whenever possible.  I've found out that a lot of the stress and pressure I'm putting on myself, and I've been focusing on NOT doing that.  I still think about work when I'm at home, but less.  It's actually made a difference, a noticeable one.