But one thing that has gotten me thinking and thinking and thinking is the huge differences in our lives since changing employment. Leaving BYU-Idaho for ATS Inland Northwest took a leap of faith. Our insurance payments went way up (double) and our coverage went down slightly (though it's still good insurance since they're self insured). Scott commutes to Idaho Falls every day instead of being located just a few minutes away. We weren't sure what this new job would entail or bring. But we knew that we felt good about it and we knew that we were ready to be done with audio engineering as a career, at least for now.
So now, of course, I'm so blissfully happy and I have this disease where I have to figure out why. *sigh*
Here's some things I came up with. Now, when writing these posts, I do it for myself. I do it so that I can remember and look back and recall impressions and promptings I've had. I'm very careful not to bash BYU-Idaho, because we so greatly LOVE BYU-Idaho and believe in its mission and goals. We fully support the university going forward and I hope that my kids get their education here. I love it. But working there as an audio engineer wasn't always peachy. We had amazing insurance. We had a steady job and stable income. We were so very blessed. But hi. As a mom with Post Partum Depression with 3 and then 4 young children at home, those 18 hour days 6-7 days a week were just not great fun. Scott is my best friend and it got pretty old saying goodbye to him all groggy in my pajamas and yesterday's makeup and not saying "hello" again until 11 at night back in my pajamas with whatever semblance of "getting ready" I had done that day being 12 hours old and in a state of complete exhaustion and survival mode. So there you have it. I'm really diggin' the 7-4 workday 5 days a week. Bliss. Pure bliss.
There are so many different things about ATS, and they aren't always black and white. It's not like "oh, BYU-Idaho did this so wrong and ATS has it perfect." But there are some subtle differences and some not-so-subtle. And some of those things are things that BYU-Idaho did and some were things that Scott's department or supervisor did. Confused? Yeah. I realize that's just mucky. So here's some examples:
- ATS sends my kids birthday cards. Holy awesome. So small, my kids probably won't remember while they're this young, but I will. Our family is a part of Scott's job. He doesn't have to segregate his life.
- ATS treats it's employees like blessings rather than acting like a blessing for their employees. Now, let me further explain this. We went to a lot of functions at BYU-Idaho, between the two of us. One of those is an all employee dinner where employees and their spouses come and mingle and eat and listen to a little devotional. We heard all the time that working at BYU-Idaho is so amazing and that God called each of us there and that management wished that every person could leave BYU-Idaho and work somewhere else and then come back so they could fully appreciate how great that place is to work. And ya know, I kind of agree. It is a great place to work. Those employees are working for something great, they're working for an amazing cause. And we did feel like Heavenly Father wanted us there and guided us to that job and opened those doors for us. But guess what? It's still "just" a job. I listened to an alumni webcast once where the speaker spoke about how he was sitting in his office working on something or other for work and then realized he was missing his kid's soccer game. And then that he felt comforted because he was where he was supposed to be and that his family would understand and support him. That just, like, SUPER bugged me. Dude. You work for BYU-Idaho. Yay. But your kid's soccer game is still more important. I don't want to judge, and maybe he made it to every other soccer game his kid played and I'm sure that he's an amazing husband and father. But this just didn't fit my idea of what I wanted for my family. ATS realizes that Scott's family comes first. They expect him to do his job and fulfill his responsibilities, but they also acknowledge that he has a family and that we need him too. And they treat him like he's an asset to them rather than the other way around. Does that even make sense?
- ATS doesn't do potlucks. Now, don't get me wrong. I love a good potluck. But when I get invited to a family appreciation event and don't have to make part of the meal, it's just an added bonus. I know, super entitled.
- ATS encourages spouses and families to accompany their dads on trips. For example, this week, we got to go to Miles City with Scott for a few days while he worked there. Scott was there with a coworker who was very accommodating and encouraging of us being there. BYU-Idaho does not allow children on business trips ever, and spouses only with special approval. I understand that family coming along can be distracting and I guess I understand why they say that. I'm not saying it's an awful policy. But it is nice that ATS allows and Scott's supervisor encourages him to use opportunities to take us with him. I do think it's a little lame that your employer tells you who you can and cannot hang out with and see when you're done working at 5 out of town...
- ATS is very transparent. There's not a ton of middle management. Perks of a smaller company, I guess. Scott has met all the higher ups and they're all very friendly and personable. At the Christmas party they made sure to all come and meet him and meet me. They wanted our picture so they could remember who we are. They treated us like family. I'm not saying this didn't happen at BYU-Idaho (it probably did more so in other departments, however). I'm just saying that it's a nice feeling and a nice bonus at ATS.
- I feel welcome at ATS. I've gone a couple of times to drop things off to Scott that he's forgotten or to take him lunch, and everyone always smiles at us. They smile at my kids. They know my name. Except Scott's boss, who calls me Juliet because Scott is so in love me that he's gotta be Romeo. And you know what? I like that he notices and doesn't have a problem with it!
- Room to grow. At BYU-Idaho, we could have stayed for 30 years and never gotten promoted. There was really no "up" to go, other than Scott's boss' job. There's small annual raises, but there's not a ton of room to move up. ATS? Tons. Of. Room. And they're very supportive of goals and ambition. Scott feels a whole new kind of motivation and drive. It's refreshing.
How many posts am I going to write about ATS being so amazing? I don't know. But man, it just is. And I am so grateful and love it so much.
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