Pros
Being made redundant just before I hit 10yrs of service. I was ready to walk but waiting on my 10yrs to tick over so I could receive my long service entitlements. Instead, AECOM made me redundant and I was given almost a year’s worth of severance pay. Besides sorting out a few health issues (e.g. suffering massively from depression), I got to take 6 months off, not think about work or the BS workplace politics, got spend time with the family, sleep-in when I wanted and travel. Best thing to ever happen to me.
Cons
Everything. Expectation to work long days when there was plenty of work (wasn’t uncommon for me to work 80+ hr/wks) but heavily criticized when charging overheads during the quiet periods. When it was really quiet I was pigeonholed into travelling away on secondment (away for a total of 4.5yrs). As a result, I developed severe depression. The long days, isolated locations, working conditions (eg. extreme heat , dangerous work sites), boredom, loneliness etc. all took its toll on me. Made to perform tasks above my pay grade/qualifications. I’m formally qualified as a civil designer but was asked to take on the role of QA inspector on a large project. During this time, the superintendent was let go and I was left to sign off on all project/contractual decisions, QA documentation, progress claims etc. because no replacement had been allocated. I had no formal qualification to do so and raised this to one of the office directors but was told to pretty much ‘put up and shut up’.