Maybe I should flip a coin

Got a call from my recruiter yesterday telling me the "good news" - the global sporting company that I interviewed with is ready to give me a job offer. The recruiter told me the major terms and if I say yes, they will go put together a formal written offer letter for me to sign.

I thought I was well-prepared for this day to come. I mean, you go for interviews hoping that one day an offer will land on your desk, and when it does, you should be overjoy right? This is not exactly how I am feeling. I think since the departure of my boss, things have changed a bit in my company and now I am having second thoughts about leaving.

Perhaps I should just do what a lawyer always does - make lists.

Current company

Pros:
- temporary boss is a good guy with good values; and he is a Christian
- really good hours (those who know me would know that I leave office at 6pm sharp most days)
- my acting boss is in ShenZhen so I am the only lawyer in the HK office, hence the freedom
- the work I do is almost no-brainer; perfect for a person with zero ambition

Cons:
- office is in the rural (takes over 2.5 hours in commuting every day)
- requires travelling to SZ (my mum is not too happy about it; she hears all kinds of horrible stories involving kidnapping or cutting up people)
- in absolute terms (i.e. without taking in account the flexible hours I enjoy) salary is not fantastic
- dealing with PRC clients can sometimes be extremely painful
- whenever people ask me what I do and I tell them the name of my company, they will go "Which company?" It doesn't feel good if you work for a company that no one has heard of, when it is supposed to be a household brand in China.

Global Sporting Company

Pros:
- truly household brand (I would seriously wonder where you have been for the past 20 years if you do not know this brand)
- office is 20 minutes from my home
- including a discretionary target bonus (which the company claims were paid out in full to every staff member in the past few years), there will be a 22% salary increase from my current job
- no need to have frequent day trips to China

Cons:
- I heard that my future boss is quite fussy about punctuality (if you come into the office at 9.01am or leave for lunch at 12.59pm, she would greet you with a black face)
- from the due diligence I've done, a few predecessors of mine left the company only after a few months... intriguing.
- I will not have my own office - it's all open plan (I have never worked in an open-plan environment before in my life; I need the quietness in an office to focus)

So there you go. Will have to think hard and pray hard about it. Will keep you posted.