Being a skier and corporate life

This had not been an issue in the past because I didn't ski all that much: more than 1 week a year, but not every weekend, nor disappearing out of sight the whole winter season.

My preferred skiing has been out west. And the more I ski out west, the more I like skiing out west. So one week out west was never quite enough. I eek out 2 trips each year without impact on my work life (which I happen to enjoy quite a lot).

But the collision was just waiting to happen though. Although I have 4 weeks vacation, taking all of them in the winter means I'm not around the office a lot more frequent in the short 3-4 months period in the winter. That also happens to be the typical "busy" time, due to the stupid reason that majority of management takes their vacation in the summer!

The above may sound like a rant but it isn't really a rant. Reality being, my company's annual "performance evaluation" period is always near the end of year. This year, I have a new boss following a corporate-wide restructuring. I could start lining up my ski vacations now, at a time when the annual before Christmas layoff are being considered. Or I can sit tight till the crunch is over and spring my vacation plans on the boss. The latter not only makes planning harder, it's also like this every year! (I haven't had the same boss for more than 2 years, so the same scenario repeat itself practically every year)

So my question really is, if there's a better way to manage this in a corporate environment. Those who work for themselves or in smaller company and/or more stable work environments could probably work it out with the boss once trust is established. But in a larger corporation where management changes constantly, it's kind of tricky.

I'm reaching the stage of my life that I can devote a lot more of my free time skiing. But working out the scheduling in a faceless corporation is causing heartache than I'd like.

A few thoughts:

Skiing aside, your work environment sounds pretty dysfunctional. Most places don't reshuffle managers constantly and have annual winter layoffs. You might get everything you want by switching to a more stable environment where everyone recognizes your contributions and understands that you take vacations in the winter months. What you want is not particularly extravagant or unusual.

If western skiing is really your thing, you could move out there. There are plenty of corporate jobs in and around Denver, SLC, the Bay area, Seattle, etc. Not all of these are right by skiing, but it'd be a lot easier to make quick trips.

You could get more weekend or long weekend trips in the East without missing more than a day or two of work at a time.

Good luck making it all work for you.

While my company does have a lot of change going on, somehow I've managed to have the same manager for 12+ years. My manager has had at least 4 different managers in that same time-frame though...

I'm lucky with the flexibility my manager allows me. She knows I love to ski and has no problem with me taking days off during the winter with minimal advanced notice (to accommodate a sudden projected Friday snow storm for example). I'm also able to work from home on Fridays so I can get a head start on leaving earlier to get to the mountains for the weekend.

I could probably make more money if I left and found another job, but this flexibility for now I value more than money.

That sucks. I managed it by moving out west while I could in my career. It was a hard transition at first considering that my networking out here was hard and there was a cultural difference. I was pretty damn scared moving out here without a job, but I got things on the right track and ended up in a lot better place than I would have been when I was in Vermont.

I guess the only thing I can say is be direct and honest about your plans and needs.

And if you are in a place where you might be able to move, feel free to PM me and I can help you network.

Life is too short to deal with shitty work environments and useless stress. Move and do what makes you happy. I'm sure everyone on this board at one point has hated what they thought was a needed job, eventually quit, and realized there is better out there.


Of course this is easier said than done (especially if family and partners are involved) but I'd rather make less money, piss some people off in the short term, and have more free time to do what I love than look back one day and have regrets. Moving just two hours from home and my career pursuits have definitely ostracized me from my family and I'm missing some things but my new home makes up for it ten fold.

Go for weekends in Utah. Its costly. But minimizes time missed at work.

The tricky part is I actually like my work!

The conscious side of my brain tells me I should be able to find similarly interesting work elsewhere or at least in another industry or company. But past experience points to the opposite!

I've been in jobs where the boss was NOT accommodating. I've been in jobs where the work itself was shiity. The list goes on.

My immediate boss is quite fair and accommodating. But he's got a new boss, who unfortunately sits NEXT TO MY CUBE.

I know this situation is unusual. Still, the general theme has been that Jan-Jun is typically the busier part of the year where there're more projects starting and more deadlines occurring. As I said, I quite enjoy the work part of my job. But when I'm away too much, I also risk missing out on jumping onto some of the more fun projects and end up with crumb work.

I am still in college so I am more curious than informed but why not trade stepping up in summer when your coworkers are away for less work in the winter?

Interesting topic. Even now that I am semi-retired since Jan 2015 and working ~20 hrs per week I face this issue. I am expected to report to work pretty much every other day. It is hard to disappear for numerous weeks during a short winter period of only few months. I took four weeks off last winter and hope to take four again this winter. I will spread them out and take a week in each month of Jan, Feb, Mar and Apr. I work with a good and friendly team that is willing to be flexible on this because they like the same consideration. I have more responsibility this winter, so it remains to be seen if my absence will cause stronger repercussions. Bottom line is you have to take care of the job for your family's security. Skiing might have to be throttled back a bit, or maybe you get back into skiing more on weekends closer to home? I'd keep playing the game you've been doing and wait for dust to settle before presenting your vacation plans. As others have said, if it gets too ugly you might have to look for a new job. How long until you retire

PS: In between my brief retirement and my unretirement I took a two month ski trip in 2015. I'm really glad I did that as it could be a few years before I'm able to do it again.

Worst comes to worst you can always just ski in south america during the summer!

benski said:

I am still in college so I am more curious than informed but why not trade stepping up in summer when your coworkers are away for less work in the winter?

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Most likely that is not possible. Workloads are rarely consistent year round. When the bosses/heads take a vacation, the work will slow down and so there isn't exactly much slack you can pick up, the work just isn't there. For example, I don't know about ABC's work, but mine revolves around grant funding with specific deadlines. When the bosses decide to apply for a grant the workload then revolves around that date. There's no stepping up that can happen during the off months as there just isn't as much work. I'm lucky in that we typically have more work in the early summer rather than midwinter though.

Seems like most everyone I know wants the benefits of a secure, emotionally rewarding and financially rewarding career as well as the benefits of not having to actually put in the time that a career demands of you. Since you (we) have picked snowsports as a point of focus in our life, there will always be the angst of wanting to ski just about whenever we want to, versus showing up at work just about all the time which is what our employers want.

In order to find some type of balance between the work/ski thing, I have found it helpful to get the most out of each side of the coin. The work thing is easy, most good paying jobs are mon-fri or require 5 days a week. I recognize that, and have learned to get my ski fix by focusing on my weekend ski time in New England, specifically Vermont where I get lots of options. Sure, I love getting out west or to Europe, but that takes bigger chunks of coin and time to make that happen. If you make week long trips your primary focus, you also have to recognize that it does not work well with long term planning. Your planning might be at odds with your employers planning. Especially if your direct supervisor views you as a tool to get things done for him and nothing else. After all, they are running a business first and foremost. Then you are screwed. Personally I would be freaking out if I had to sit around on X amount of weekends, waiting for my western trip to materialize. I choose to ski every weekend, and go out west just once a winter. I get in 60-70 days a season with 90% in Vermont across 6-7 months. I work my m-f job and take off time for long weekends plus larger trips. It is the balance that makes me happy enough. If I could bear to take weekends off and skip skiing until I jump on a plane, then so be it. It is not my boss or employer who is dictating my ski situation, it is myself. We must all remember that being away from our jobs for one week at a time presents more issues to most employers versus taking off Fridays, Mondays, sick days, single vacation days. I do not expect my employer to change their work schedules or job requirements because I want a number of weeks off at specific times of the year. Actually, wherever I have worked it has always been appreciated that I am around just about all of the 6 month off season when staffing is stretched by many vacations, and take off my time (winter) when most of my fellow workers are in house.

If you are lucky enough to be starting out in a career path versus being stuck in one, try hospitals/health care. Lots of opportunities for a varied schedule including working on a weekend in exchange for having midweek days off, but still you must be prepared to be there when expected or needed.

Or you can save your money, invest in a small business, and have the luxury of taking off time whenever you want to. You may soon find out that you will be working far more hours than a traditional m-f job. I know a lot of people who get such time off, but they have worked 20-30 years to get into that position in their life. We all want to be in their shoes without paying their dues. Just shut up and ski as often as you can any way you can. We cannot change most of the world around us, only those things that we have control over.

Miserable and employed is better than Miserable and un employed in my book. Others may not agree.

If you have a steady income flow you can make it work.

Think outside the box.

Consider some 3 day weekend trips and Cherry Pick some east weekends.

I take 4 weeks a year in the winter to ski, plus a the Holiday weekends. I can't take more than a few days in the summer due to our business cycle, so it works for me. I make it out every weekend. If you went more weekends locally you might get into it more. I take a 3 day weekend ever weekend from Mid December to the end of March. Every week is a vacation week.

Jully said:

Most likely that is not possible. Workloads are rarely consistent year round. When the bosses/heads take a vacation, the work will slow down and so there isn't exactly much slack you can pick up, the work just isn't there. For example, I don't know about ABC's work, but mine revolves around grant funding with specific deadlines. When the bosses decide to apply for a grant the workload then revolves around that date. There's no stepping up that can happen during the off months as there just isn't as much work. I'm lucky in that we typically have more work in the early summer rather than midwinter though.

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Yep, I'm in one of those jobs that the work load isn't even.

I was once in a job where the job was even year round. There, working more in the summer did earn me enough good will to take more time off in the winter

Unfortunately, that's not the case now.

Tin said:

Life is too short to deal with shitty work environments and useless stress. Move and do what makes you happy. I'm sure everyone on this board at one point has hated what they thought was a needed job, eventually quit, and realized there is better out there.


Of course this is easier said than done (especially if family and partners are involved) but I'd rather make less money, piss some people off in the short term, and have more free time to do what I love than look back one day and have regrets. Moving just two hours from home and my career pursuits have definitely ostracized me from my family and I'm missing some things but my new home makes up for it ten fold.

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+1. The only constant in life is change. You can fight it or embrace it.

Many times we fight a change and then look back and wonder how we managed before we made the change. We think we are smart and have things all figured out.

We don't. Do what makes you happy; if you are just thinking about quitting a job, it's probably the best thing for you to actually do.

Welcome to the club ABC. You are so right when you say skiing out west makes you want to ski more out west.

Ski Magazines are riddled with stories of people who dropped big time jobs in NYC and became ski bums out west, just don't see myself ever doing it. I could only move out there with a steady job.

We have our eyes on out west in the future, but not yet. Denver was really booming when we dropped our son off at school in August. Couldn't go 2 blocks without seeing "help wanted"signs a good indication of a good economy. There's a bunch of offices around the area we go to in Utah as well.

I've always been impressed with your trip reports and the places you are intending to go with Mountain Collective. I think in one discussion you were talking 3 or 4 trips out there. 2 is all we can squeeze in but more power to you if you can do more. I can see how you would be really torn.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

You just have to become a weekend warrior on the East coast and take trips out West. That is what most of us do and have fun doing it because skiing is better than not skiing.

tumbler said:

You just have to become a weekend warrior on the East coast and take trips out West. That is what most of us do and have fun doing it because skiing is better than not skiing.

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Exactly our plan for the time being. Max Pass is a good buy for this. 7 weekends, each at a different resorts, + 2 trips out west to Colorado and Utah, pretty pleased with the plan. (+the home bump for all other times)

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

4aprice said:

Welcome to the club ABC. You are so right when you say skiing out west makes you want to ski more out west.

Ski Magazines are riddled with stories of people who dropped big time jobs in NYC and became ski bums out west, just don't see myself ever doing it. I could only move out there with a steady job.

We have our eyes on out west in the future, but not yet. Denver was really booming when we dropped our son off at school in August. Couldn't go 2 blocks without seeing "help wanted"signs a good indication of a good economy. There's a bunch of offices around the area we go to in Utah as well.

I've always been impressed with your trip reports and the places you are intending to go with Mountain Collective. I think in one discussion you were talking 3 or 4 trips out there. 2 is all we can squeeze in but more power to you if you can do more. I can see how you would be really torn.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

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Another sign is people want to move out there. I am thinking about it for after college and can name 4 people who did despite not knowing a lot of graduates.