Job hopping hurts families, advice columnist warns parents

Title: Job hopping hurts families, advice columnist warns parents

A mother with a 7-month-old daughter wrote to advice columnist Dear Abby, seeking help with her husband’s pattern of frequent job changes that threatens their family’s stability.

The woman, who signed her letter “Stressed-Out Wife and Mom,” described her husband’s habit of seeking new employment every few months, often in different cities or states, despite earning decent pay at jobs that offer little financial improvement.

“He’s constantly on the lookout for a new job,” she wrote. “Every couple of months he says he’s bored and wants to work somewhere else. These are decent-paying jobs, but they never pay much more than what he’s earning now.”

The situation came to a head when her father mentioned a business opportunity out of state that offers similar pay and benefits to her husband’s current position. Despite both spouses being employed less than a year at their current jobs and having just signed a new apartment lease, the husband wants to break the lease and relocate.

Abigail Van Buren, who writes the syndicated Dear Abby column, advised against the move, citing potential credit damage from breaking the lease and the lack of financial benefit.

“I don’t know what your husband’s problem is — whether he has trouble getting along with his co-workers or attention deficit disorder — but things won’t improve until you determine the cause,” Van Buren wrote in response.

The columnist emphasized the importance of job stability for families with young children, particularly as they approach school age. “Neither of you has a solid job history,” she noted. “In a few short years, your daughter is going to be in preschool, and you do not want to constantly disrupt her education or socialization.”

The advice reflects broader concerns about job mobility and family stability that affect working families. With the woman having been at her job less than six months, the pressure to relocate adds complexity to their situation.

Van Buren recommended the couple “stay put until a move will be more financially beneficial,” suggesting that lateral career moves without significant advancement can harm rather than help family finances and stability.

The Dear Abby column, founded by Pauline Phillips and now written by her daughter Jeanne Phillips (Van Buren), continues to address family and relationship concerns for readers nationwide.