Dear Prudence,
I’ve been working as a banker for almost four years, and while I love my branch, my co-workers, and my customers, I’m getting a little burned out. I’ve been adamant about not wanting to be a supervisor, but currently my branch is me, my manager, and two brand new bankers. Which means I’m doing a lot of coaching and training, as well as just about all account opening, maintenance, problem solving, or anything that you have to be at the bank six-plus months before corporate will let you do. Which is a lot of stuff. I’m also my branch’s lead for a big system change that is happening in a few months, so I’m going to meetings and will be traveling for a week to learn the new system then coming back to my branch to coach everyone else.
On top of this, I recently spent two weeks stressed to the point of not sleeping or eating because I nearly got fired for trusting that my back office was correct when I was given permission to cash a check. HR did finally clear the issue and not take any action against me, but I had already started applying to new jobs.
My problem is, now that I’m not fired, if I end up getting offered a job that pays more and is closer to home, I’m going to feel horribly guilty if I leave my branch. My manager would be in way over her head with the amount of work she would have to do until someone replaced me. I had wanted to stay until September-ish, but I have a long commute and rising gas prices are killing my budget. Am I obligated to stay, or should I just do what is best for me, despite that being what is worst for my co-workers? How long after nearly getting fired do I have to wait before trying to get a raise so I can afford to keep my job?
— It Would Have Been Easier If I Got Fired