So I'm working as a web-developer for over 10 years and had been working at a small agency (less than 10 people, owners and me included) for years. We built websites for various customers in a very wide range of sizes. I had a permanent contract. It was a great team, very friendly colleagues and a lot of silly fun on the work-floor.
The problem was that the owners were very bad at managing projects, as well as bad at estimating costs. There was no dedicated project manager so big projects always went 2 or 3 times over budget at least, making them essentially a loss. They however got money from all the completed projects that still paid fees for support and maintenance, so they were profitable regardless.
It was however always exhausting since they were always too late delivering and over-promising features. There was never any down-time. It was a treadmill from the first minute to the last day at 5pm when I shut down my pc. I often had stress-headaches from worrying about all my upcoming tasks and deadlines, but I could just manage it without burning-out. Even delivering a big project never felt positive because of budget/time/hours.
So recently they decided to stop doing big custom projects, and wanted to start doing WordPress sites with page-builders. Basically drag-and-drop website builders instead of custom code like they always had been. Also focus more on smaller clients with simpler projects.
Here the problem started for me; I always said that was not what I wanted from my work (it takes any technical skill out of the job) and it's just literally a step back in every sense. They then decided they wanted to replace me with a junior that would focus on WordPress (with pagebuilders). Probably cheaper and more moldable.
Because I had a permanent contract it wasn't so easy for them though! Due to our pretty good labor laws they either had to go to court and convince them they needed to change the company and lose me. That would take time and money. They however expected me to just go away willingly after kindly asking me to. On the other hand, I didn't feel like digging in and fighting with them for a year of my life.
I knew my rights and came back with some info they weren't expecting. There was a possibility that we could solve it together without the court, but it would cost them a couple of months salary. Basically the same amount the court would award me in this situation. Also they would have to draft a document stating this was all of their accord, so it wouldn't reflect on me if I didn't have a new job soon and would have to ask for government assistance. I went for legal assistance just to double check. They were flabbergasted and angry, how could I demand money from them! I was “trying to make a buck from the situation”. It was an awkward talk, but I stood my ground obviously. It was business for them, so it was business for me. I have a family to take care of. And these were my legal rights.
They eventually agreed and we tried to keep things friendly. I looked for a new job and found something at a bigger/better company almost instantly. Working 1 day less a week for more money at the end of the day. I could start immediately after my old contract ended.
They have longer breaks, go for walks together and it has been a blessing for my health (I used to drive to work, never walk, drive home. Now I use public transport). My colleagues have even been much nicer and more social. The best part is that the work is a lot lower pressure, and that's OK! They ask me for estimates and respect my feedback. There is even downtime between projects and especially the summer period is pretty relaxed.
So moral of the story, there's always something better out there!
I also wonder; what would you guys have done?