Got passed over for promotion because I refused to travel every week | DadHQ

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Got passed over for promotion because I refused to travel every week

4d ago·1 min read

So apparently my boss saw my willingness to 'stay local' as lack of ambition. I told him I'm not leaving my 2 year old 4 nights a week and he basically said that's the cost of moving up. I'm genuinely torn because I don't want my kids to think dad doesn't care about his career but I also don't want to miss their whole childhood. Is there any way to be taken seriously at work without sacrificing your family? Or do I need to accept there's a real tradeoff here?

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Comments(4)

NNate K.New Dad3d ago

I dealt with this same attitude at my company. The travel expectation was ridiculous and they made it seem like saying no meant you didn't care about your career. Started looking for other jobs after that conversation. Life's too short to work for someone who gets it that wrong.

MMike R.Regular3d ago

Did you push back on that feedback? Because that's something worth addressing head on. Don't let them reframe your boundary as a weakness. You're being professional and honest about what you can commit to.

CChris M.Regular3d ago

This right here is why I left corporate. The 'always on' culture is toxic. You can be ambitious AND want to be home for dinner with your kids. Your boss sounds stuck in a 1990s mindset about what dedication looks like.

FFrank M.New Dad3d ago

That's messed up. Your boss needs to understand that being a good parent and being ambitious aren't mutually exclusive. Plenty of successful people don't want to live out of hotels every week. That's not lack of ambition, that's having priorities.