What would you do if ...

dtmMon 09/04/07 12:35

... you were in my position. I've been offered a new job which is a partnership with someone I'm already working with (and completely trustworthy) on a part time basis.

To give a bit of background, my day job is doing my head in at the moment. I like the work, I like the people I work with, for the most part, although my team leader does make my life more difficult than anyone else in my team, so much so that another team member has recently put in a complaint to her boss about her bullying me. Im the stricty literal dictionary definition of the word, she is, I don't think of it like that. I don't feel bullied, I worked for 7 years in a Jobcentre before so am used to people ranting and going off on one, and I can see exactly what she is doing - she wants an argument and I'm refusing to give her one, plus it winds her up more by ignoring her. Equally I don't want to put a complaint in myself as it would affect the whole team dynamics of my office and I get on really well with everyone else, including her boss, who I have had several chats with about the complaint and general treatment. This has been going on since around August/Sept. last year.

Examples include things like on one of employment programmes we have 5 people, I have to "baby sit" these 5 and have to do all their reviews. On all other programmes the clients are shared equally, and in our other offices its no different for this programme, its just different in mine. The client group have specific needs that I've had no training for whatsoever, but yet am expected to deliver. Another example is, on another of the programmes both myself and a colleague were allocated a new client, his paperwork had a note stuck on it saying "please conduct initial interview within 10 days" mine had a note stuck to it saying "find new employer we have not worked with before and with a realistic chance of a job outcome."

Its that sort of thing together with the sarcastic comments and sniping that have made a job I enjoy into something I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach each day now.

The job offer is in a partnership with someone, they will be financing it (no comeback on me if it doen't work out) but I will be doing the work. I will be able to draw a wage from day 1 and that with the payment I get from the other partnership I'm already in with them will equal the wage I get from my current day job. The first 2 years anything after my wage has been paid is spilt 50-50, then in years 3-4 the spilt will be 70-30 (in my favour) and year 5, 90-10 (in my favour) after that I will be solely running it as the other person wishes to retire. The other partnership I'm in with them alreadya nd working part time started mid January has already cleared its start up costs and is paying each of us something, (there are 3 of us in that one, but the third one can't leave her job yet to do this new one) and this new one will be doing something very very similar but in a different location, ie a neighbouring town.

I've done some research over the weekend and the potential is there, and while there are a few others doing something similar, the market is no where near flooded,a nd the added bonus is it is something I enjoy doing, I get a lot of job satisfaction from it.

Going part time in the day job is not an option either.

So my question is, if you were in my position would you give up the security of a full time paid job (the firm is also going through a 'lean time') that you used to enjoy but the politics and pedantic-ness have gotten in the way off, to work solidly at this and to put all your efforts into making a success of it?

Ticks for yes, Crosses for no.

Feel free to ask any questions, I'll try to answer them as honestly as possible but without identifying what I already do, what this is doing, and names of people. I'm not basing my decision on this, but it will give me an insight into what other people think, besides friends and family.