Woman Quits Job To Take A $200K Pay Cut Due To Lack Of Free Time On Nights & Weekends — ‘I Had To Respond To Emails Before My 7:30 Pilates Class’
She now spends her nights with her boyfriend, having dinner, watching movies, and drinking sparkling wine!
Kiefer Photography / Shutterstock A woman who has left big law has no regrets — even after losing $200,000 in salary. Now, she is experiencing the work-life balance she has always desired, even if it means that she is not making nearly as much money.
She took to social media to give others a glimpse into her new normal and urged them to take the risk if their free time was lacking.
The woman quit her big law job because she had almost no free time even during the weekends.
In a TikTok video that has been viewed nearly 20,000 times, a woman named Emily shared a “day in the life of me” video depicting her daily routine after quitting her big law job.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, “Big Law” refers to some of the biggest and most prestigious law firms in the country. “One of the reasons I’m quitting is how unpredictable this job makes your life,” Emily explained. “I can never count on free time in the evenings or on logging off even before 10 p.m.”
Emily said that she worked from sun up to sun down, which left her little time to get even a workout in. “Another [reason] is how much responsiveness is expected,” she said. “I had to log on and respond to a couple emails before my 7:30 Pilates class.”
She further explained that working in big law required constant communication with your managers so they knew you understood and were aware of the tasks you were supposed to be doing.
On the particular day she was filming, she revealed that she hit the billable hour minimum of 1,900 hours, which would make her eligible for a $75,000 bonus. Unfortunately, quitting negated the bonus.
Emily said her decision to quit had been weeks in the making, and she still had to create a succession plan for potential employees who could take over her position.
In the meantime, she was working from home, which she said took the stress off her shoulders claiming, she probably “would have broken out in hives” if she had to handle the transition in person.
After quitting, she admitted, “I just felt so free, and I realized how stressed I’d been about giving everyone notice.”
At the end of the day, Emily and her boyfriend celebrated with a home-cooked dinner, sparkling wine, and a movie.
She took a job as an in-house lawyer, which would free up her schedule drastically.
Others applauded Emily on her decision to leave big law, assuring her that she would not regret it despite the significant pay cut.
“Happy for you! I left a big law firm 11 years ago to go in-house. I live a really balanced life. It's great.
“Leaving big law and going in-house was the best decision I’ve ever made!” another user shared.
While working is a crucial part of our lives that allows us to earn enough to make a decent living, none of us should have to spend the majority of our time hunched over a computer.
In fact, working too much actually hinders the workplace and productivity as a whole. If employees are overworked and burnt out, they are far less likely to get all of their tasks completed and their work ethic will start to crumble.
Chinnapong / Shutterstock
It is important to establish a fair work-life balance that allows you to wrap up all of your work by the end of your shift and still have time to spend with your loved ones, get a workout in, run some errands, or even just have a self-care night.
If you find that your job is cutting into your personal time, you may want to consider finding a more flexible one, even if it is for less pay (if your lifestyle allows it).
Work should be a significant chapter of your life, but certainly not the whole story!
So quit your big law job to find something a little more manageable and get signed up for those Pilates classes today!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.