Thanks for the warm 'welcome home'.
I usually meet with my manager every other Wednesday. Since I was travelling last week and we missed our meeting, yesterday my manager asked for a 'catch up' meeting. For a little background, I've had the same manager since about two months after I transitioned, and he has always been incredibly supportive.
My manager is currently looking for a highly experienced person to fill an opening our our team. While Mainframe Db2 Engineers are needed by many large companies, there are not that many of us. My manager discussed this with the Group Manager, and the possibility of adding an extra, less-experienced person to the team was also considered. When he mentioned this, I decided to tell him about my plans.
Unless something changes, I plan to retire in Feb or March 2028. I told him that I would stay past that date under certain conditions:
1 - No more on-call (it causes too much stress)
2 - I would only support the products I currently work with
3 - I would not be required to work on any new technologies
4 - I would work part-time (reduced hours, reduced pay, but full benefits)
My manager asked how soon would I consider starting reduced hours, and I told him early next year would be fine. Going on reduced hours would reduce employees expenses, and that 'savings' could help offset bringing in an extra person (our team has never had more than four people). He said he would discuss this with the Group Manager to see what we can do. I have known several IT folks who have gone on 'reduced hours' at our company, but we have never had someone on our team take advantage of that option.
Many of the products I support have been on our systems over 10 years. I installed them, and I'm the only person who has ever performed maintenance on them. While some would say that is 'job security', I have no intention of using that as any form of leverage. The company, and my team, has been very good to me. I want to train someone on how to take care of the products, and I want to provide a smooth turnover.
For some reason, I suddenly have a profound sense of relief.
Love always -- Jessica Rose
