Furloughed Yet Again

 Ugh.  It's happened again.  And again, it's not my fault.  For the second time in two years, I have been placed on mandatory leave through no fault of my own.  The first time was because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our business couldn't sustain and they couldn't afford to pay me.  This time is also because the business can't afford to pay me.  We weren't generating the loans that we needed to.  And oddly enough, our business is down largely due to mortgage rates skyrocketing, which is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  This COVID pandemic has put me on furlough twice now and I'm sick of it.

If you recall the first time, I was on leave for about four months before fully quitting and finding another job.  It ended up being a blessing in disguise as it led me to a much better job; a job I enjoyed doing so much more and a job that I got paid more to do.  This time, at this point it's hard to see how this will be a blessing in disguise.  The best case scenario I can see is that I get back to work in 2-3 months and my boss is ultra appreciative of me sticking around.  I still would have lost out on 2-3 months of pay. 

It's a bit different this time--I'm still keeping in touch with my coworkers and I'm still "working".  We agreed upon a deal that I won't really delve into, but it's a deal that kind of benefits both of us. 

Again, I'm left with a bunch of time on my hands.  And this will be the third time in four years that I had a 2-5 month break, and they all happened around this time of the year.  After getting let go by Safeway in 2019, I went 4.5 months from mid-April to the start of September without work.  After getting placed on leave because of COVID in 2020, I went 5 months from mid-March to mid-August without work.  Now this time I'm placed on leave/furlough in May.  Boy, these spring months have not been kind to me.

I'm really hoping this time is not 4 months or more.  My boss told me 60-90 days (expected).  Like the other times, I have savings to fall back on, but if these three months pass and there's no sign of me coming back, I may have to make a difficult decision.  I don't want to have to look for another job.  I hate that process.  And I really like my job, and I highly doubt I could find another job that is comparable in terms of work and pay.  

With this time, I may try to find some work I could do from home (Just a side job).  I want to try to lose weight by going on long walks and working out.  If I can lose some weight and get back to work in 2-3 months, this break actually may end up being a blessing in disguise.  I've always thought that my biggest obstacle to losing weight has been that I don't have the time.  Well, now I do.  

Also, I thought I'd add that my employer is in the process of moving to another office.  We had been working out of my boss's garage, but my boss recently purchased a new home and is moving there, so we had to find a new office.  We did find one, but they wanted too long of a lease term.  So it sounds like my coworkers are going to be working at my boss's new home until they find a new office.  My boss's new home is in Auburn, which would be an absolute bitch of a commute for me as I live in Bothell.  

I hope to update here in a few months with a positive update!  I'm optimistic that I will be able to return.  My boss built a successful business model and I honestly can't imagine someone who could come out of this better, given this situation.  I asked him how confident he was that I could come back, and he said he was as confident as he could be.  We're fortunately at a time of year where business could pick up.  If we were heading into winter, I wouldn't be as optimistic. 

Worst case scenario, we end up parting ways.  I think I'd try to find a position in the same line of work.  But I really don't want that to happen, enough that I just don't want to discuss it here anymore.   I have savings to fall back on, and I'm willing to give my boss and our company even more than the 2-3 months he said, because the alternative is simply not an appealing option in the slightest.  What sucks is that I had plans to use that savings for a down payment on our home in 2023, so hopefully my savings doesn't take too big of a hit.  I'm going to remain optimistic and I'll update here in a few months.  Wish me luck!