Employee considers taking new job offer

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently received a job offer from another company that comes with a significantly higher salary than what I’m currently making. The role is in a field I’ve been wanting to move into for years, and while it’s a little intimidating, it genuinely excites me. When I told my current employer about the offer, they surprised me by countering with a raise that slightly exceeds the other company’s offer. On paper, it sounds like a win, but here’s the problem: I don’t actually enjoy my current job. I’ve stayed mostly because I have great relationships with my co-workers. I know the systems inside and out, and it feels stable. The work itself leaves me bored, unmotivated and drained by the end of the day. Now I feel torn between taking a leap into something new that could be more fulfilling, or staying in a comfortable role for the sake of security and familiar faces. Should I follow my heart toward the new opportunity or stick with the paycheck and stability I already have? — At a Crossroads DEAR AT A CROSSROADS: Is there any way that your current company has space to create a new role for you? Since you have a new job offer with security there, why not speak candidly to your boss? Explain that you feel you have outgrown your current job. You appreciate their counteroffer, but what you want more is a different type of opportunity. Find out if you can create a new role for yourself there at the newly offered rate — or if there’s anything they can do to sweeten the pot.