Life/career change

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

Really? I'm sorry the contract is so stiff. Does this count personal days? I am assuming you also have a sick bank accrued, right?

Yah thats just paid vacation. I have accrued up to 145 sick hours and we get 2 or 3 personal days a year. When you get to 196 sick hours they turn into a small portion of extra personal time.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Great questions to ask if interviewed and job is offered. The annual base pay is maybe $1k or 2 more than what I get now but I do get a lot of benefits with walmart with health/dental insurance, 401k & stock. Im not interested in getting to the top any where, Im interested in paying our bills comfortably, health insurance and taking care of my health and less stress so I can try to get pregnant. So if it offered health insurance, it would be a parallel job. I can be pregnant and work at a bank, not with me as a manager with walmart running around and as stressed out in that place. I feel that is part of the reason besides health why I haven't gotten pregnant is bcz of the stress.

I know this is a MENA topic but hopefully you won't mind me popping in to say - Work to live, don't live to work. I find when I'm in a crappy job that I come home and complain about it to my husband which annoys him, I think about it on my down time, I dream about it... it makes the money I make and the benefits TOTALLY not worth it.

One suggestion I have that you've probably already thought of, is find out about the health insurance waiting time. If you're currently trying to get pregnant, you don't want to get caught out getting pregnant during the waiting period and not being covered.

I've considered working at a bank and they seem to be pretty good working environments. You won't know unless you try! That said, if it sucks, will you regret having left Walmart?

Good luck with your decision!

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

also, a side note is that since Adam works for Walmart already he has the option to add me to his health insurance if I needed it. Its more expensive to do it that way but thats an option if I don't stay with walmart.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

At my 7th yr with Walmart I got 3 paid weeks of vacation. At year 15 I will get 4 weeks a year of paid vacation.

My company offers 2 weeks vacation after 1 year (you can even take the first week after 6 months;) 3 weeks vacation after 5 years; and 4 weeks vacation after 10 years. There are also bonuses for reaching milestones of service. Walmart is stingy.

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

NY BX: I've always wanted to work for walmart, be a wife then a mother. So far every thing but the latter has happened. My sister on the other hand wanted to go off to college and make a career, not be dependent on a husband and kids later in life. She married a professor, has two children and did not finish college. Dreams don't always happen the way we plan on them to. I will be happy as long as our bills continue to get payed as they are plus I be less stressed and with a schedule that works for me spending more time with my family. That is biggest reason we left Atlanta to come to Texas to be with my family and spend time with them. I need to make that happen more.

[NY_BX 397]

My company offers 2 weeks vacation after 1 year (you can even take the first week after 6 months;) 3 weeks vacation after 5 years; and 4 weeks vacation after 10 years. There are also bonuses for reaching milestones of service. Walmart is stingy.

And she stated 2-3 personal days + sick days. Which hence, will provoke a sick call due to personal emergencies, instead to using the personal time to, let's say, wait for the plumber when pipes burst. Some employers, then use your vacation time for these situations.

Walmart is just....smh.

Anyways, my organization starts with 2 weeks paid vacation + 1 week of personal time and 80 hours of sick time the first year. Then after each year of work you accrue an extra week vacation and 3 more days of personal time. For example, on the 2nd year you get 3 weeks vacation and 10 personal days; 3rd year of work 4 weeks vacation and 13 persona days... etc.

So, there are ladies that, when planning a baby, then save all their accrued time and use it all for the baby's birth. One colleague returned to work after 7 months of giving birth.

Truth is, this is not unusual. Many employer offer these benefits because they rather stop the revolving door of high turnover. Hence, employees are happier at work...

[NY_BX 397]

NY BX: I've always wanted to work for walmart, be a wife then a mother. So far every thing but the latter has happened. My sister on the other hand wanted to go off to college and make a career, not be dependent on a husband and kids later in life. She married a professor, has two children and did not finish college. Dreams don't always happen the way we plan on them to. I will be happy as long as our bills continue to get payed as they are plus I be less stressed and with a schedule that works for me spending more time with my family. That is biggest reason we left Atlanta to come to Texas to be with my family and spend time with them. I need to make that happen more.

I absolutely respect that. And that's your long term goal- which means you're in the right path. And I agree completely that sometime our hopes and dreams take a backseat and later disappear due to changes in life. That's life: a dress rehearsal for... everything.

[NY_BX 397]

OHHHH! I forgot to mention, as a side note, I lived in Austin, TX before moving to Atlanta, GA

All moves have been career oriented, although my sisters live in Atlanta.

Maybe I'm fortunate enough to see you soon in the NYC!

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

NY BX: I've always wanted to work for walmart, be a wife then a mother. So far every thing but the latter has happened. My sister on the other hand wanted to go off to college and make a career, not be dependent on a husband and kids later in life. She married a professor, has two children and did not finish college. Dreams don't always happen the way we plan on them to. I will be happy as long as our bills continue to get payed as they are plus I be less stressed and with a schedule that works for me spending more time with my family. That is biggest reason we left Atlanta to come to Texas to be with my family and spend time with them. I need to make that happen more.

Is your schedule at Walmart also a negative for you ?

I think you've given a lot of reasons to try to make a move. Your reasons for staying seem to be basically 1.) loyalty to Walmart, and 2.) the security of having health insurance. (Walmart's benefits do not seem to be especially great, though, in comparison to a lot of other employers.)

Your reasons for leaving seem to be 1.) get something with less stress and 2.) better hours. Lots of companies will offer you that, at comparable or better pay than what you're making now.

How do you receive the stock - do you buy it (at an employee discount,) or do they contribute to your 401K in the form of stock ? It's part of the compensation equation - as well as the personal time/sick leave/flex time comparisons.

But overall, it seems like there are more good reasons to move on than to stay. Also, look down the line to when you do become a mother - you want to position yourself now to the best advantage for the future of your family in terms of your paycheck, your hours, flexibility to take care of all those emergencies that happen when you're a mom, and most of all, your general happiness at work.

[Staashi 371]

Tam, I would be very hesitant to move to a bank. Banks are in serious turmoil right now. So many are being bought out by others and are consolidating. Typically, it will be last in, first out for job security. I'd advise you to find a different opportunity at walmart. Have you spoken to your store management to see if there is anything else you can do in the corporation? Also, maybe instead of walmart, you can see if you can work at Sams Club. Sams here in my town isn't as bat-sh!t crazy as walmart.

I would say that your benefits there are tremendous resources and are worth big money - in my position, my benefits including health, retirement, and vacation time are worth about $35k a year. I'm sure your benefits with walmart aren't far off. If you switch to a bank you start out on the bottom rung again with hardly anything.

[catknit 144]

Holy Cow NY_BX! That's a very generous PTO program....what type of industry are you affiliated with?

Typically, I've seen across many industries what WOM has outlined - manufacturing, automotive, telecommunications, fine chemistry, industrial food manufacturing, some retail....[a laundry list of the industries and workplaces of all my immediate family and friends!].

The most generous PTO I've ever participated in had 2 weeks first year, 3 weeks third year, 4 weeks in the 6th year, 5 weeks at the 8th year, and 6 weeks at the 10th year. They also had very generous medical benefits and a "don't abuse it" all you need sick time benefit. This was a publisher.

I was given a job offer by a local regional hospital that gave 24 days of PTO however that was inclusive of all holidays, any sick time, and any vacation time. As hospitals never shut, that worked out to the "typical" 10 federal holidays, 10 days of vacation [ie 2 weeks], and 4 days for sick/personal time. The HR rep went on and on about how generous the package was, ummmm no, it was pretty much "standard" as far as I was considered.

Things like PTO and benefits can make a huge difference in comparing apples to apples [or even oranges if need be].

[NY_BX 397]

Holy Cow NY_BX! That's a very generous PTO program....what type of industry are you affiliated with?

Typically, I've seen across many industries what WOM has outlined - manufacturing, automotive, telecommunications, fine chemistry, industrial food manufacturing, some retail....[a laundry list of the industries and workplaces of all my immediate family and friends!].

The most generous PTO I've ever participated in had 2 weeks first year, 3 weeks third year, 4 weeks in the 6th year, 5 weeks at the 8th year, and 6 weeks at the 10th year. They also had very generous medical benefits and a "don't abuse it" all you need sick time benefit. This was a publisher.

I was given a job offer by a local regional hospital that gave 24 days of PTO however that was inclusive of all holidays, any sick time, and any vacation time. As hospitals never shut, that worked out to the "typical" 10 federal holidays, 10 days of vacation [ie 2 weeks], and 4 days for sick/personal time. The HR rep went on and on about how generous the package was, ummmm no, it was pretty much "standard" as far as I was considered.

Things like PTO and benefits can make a huge difference in comparing apples to apples [or even oranges if need be].

Entertainment.

[Mithra 1,185]

Walmart is def. stingy with the PTO. I work at a law firm. We get 17 days (so 3 wks, 2 days) PTO the day we hire in plus 8 paid holidays (2 are floating). At 3 yrs it goes up to 21 days (4 wks 1 day), at 5 yrs it goes to 27 days (5 wks, 2 days) and 10 years it goes to 35 days (7 wks). Not sure if we get more after that. I've been there 7 yrs and a few months.

You'll want to make sure you'll get short term disability for maternity leave for when you do get pregnant, God willing.

I completely understand stress at a job affecting your personal life. It's no way to live. I hope you get a good offer wherever you end up finding another job. Good luck!

[PMartin37 161]

Tam, I would be very hesitant to move to a bank. Banks are in serious turmoil right now. So many are being bought out by others and are consolidating. Typically, it will be last in, first out for job security. I'd advise you to find a different opportunity at walmart. Have you spoken to your store management to see if there is anything else you can do in the corporation? Also, maybe instead of walmart, you can see if you can work at Sams Club. Sams here in my town isn't as bat-sh!t crazy as walmart.

I would say that your benefits there are tremendous resources and are worth big money - in my position, my benefits including health, retirement, and vacation time are worth about $35k a year. I'm sure your benefits with walmart aren't far off. If you switch to a bank you start out on the bottom rung again with hardly anything.

Having 12 yrs in with WalMart gives you good negotiating power to find another job within the corporation. Have you asked them about something else outside being "on the floor" so to speak. Like more of an office position with better hours?

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

Thanks ladies for all the advice and pros & cons. I just got home from work and I'll write more when I get up.