One thing I can’t stand is people who refuse to take certain jobs seriously. You would never work at McDonalds, but you’re perfectly fine grabbing a Big Mac everyday?

Who do you think is making that burger for you? If no one should “settle” to work at Starbucks, then who’s making you your latte each morning?

But when this user’s spouse was laid off, he refused to take a job that would have been a drop in salary from his last, saying it was “beneath him.”

Was OP wrong to tell him their family’s security was more important than his pride? Decide for yourself!

AITA for asking my spouse to “settle”?

My spouse was laid off from their job almost a year ago.

While my income is technically enough to support our family (we have two elementary aged kids), it relies on my annual bonus being paid out at 100% every year.

Even in this scenario, it’s barely sufficient and has required that I reduce my 401k contributions. We aren’t able to contribute to emergency savings,

And if anything comes up as needing repairs with our house – we are stuck having to put it on a credit card.

But when OP’s spouse was offered a job opportunity by a friend, he said he was too good for it!

They have a friend that shared a job that would have basically been guaranteed they would have gotten (their friend was a former colleague and the hiring manager).

My spouse refused to even apply because it was “beneath them”.

The pay was about 30% lower than their previous job, and an individual contributor role vs management like before.

However – even at the pay rate of this position, it would cover the monthly cash burn delta by about 3x and take immeasurable pressure off of me and our finances.

And while OP was trying to be understanding, she said he needed to put his pride aside and do what was best for his family!

I understand not wanting to take a step back, but in my mind even one or two steps back is better than no job at all.

I can see that perhaps their perspective is that I do technically make enough for them to wait for the “right” opportunity.

Now I’m wondering how much effort they’re even putting into finding a job if they’re only applying for perfect fits?

OP is more patient than me! If I knew my partner wasn’t getting a job because they could rely on my income, there would be some very serious changes put in place!

Reddit came down hard on OP’s side, and wondered why he couldn’t take this job and still actively look for his dream job.

This user agreed, and pointed out it was always easier to land a new job when you already were working one.

And this person thought OP’s partner was letting his pride ruin the life he had built with his family.

 

Finally this comment said OP’s spouse needed a serious lesson in humility, and that when times are tough, you take any job you can get!

This job is “beneath” you, but being unemployed isn’t?

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.