Jacking in your job
Discussion
Hammi159159 said:
A lot of crap managers love to get to know your personal situation - and then use your mortgage, car loan, family circumstances and financial commitments so they can use it as a gauge on how much pressure they think they can exert on you at work. They don't get to know much about me. I pitch up, put in some reasonable graft for a short period, then I'm off and on to the next random company that needs help for a few days/weeks.
This is how I saw the last 30 years, the perfect employee is the family man/woman who is inches away from defaulting on debt or mortgage and has an expensive lifestyle to maintain. It's all about leverage and how the worker can be made to work harder to make the manager look better.One senior engineer at my old workplace put it perfectly when he addressed the workforce, he said ' you lot are here to get me promoted'.
That went down like a s
t sandwich.Oilchange said:
This is how I saw the last 30 years, the perfect employee is the family man/woman who is inches away from defaulting on debt or mortgage and has an expensive lifestyle to maintain. It's all about leverage and how the worker can be made to work harder to make the manager look better.
One senior engineer at my old workplace put it perfectly when he addressed the workforce, he said ' you lot are here to get me promoted'.
That went down like a st sandwich.
What is wrong with that statement? Surely everyone should want to improve their lot?One senior engineer at my old workplace put it perfectly when he addressed the workforce, he said ' you lot are here to get me promoted'.
That went down like a s
t sandwich.
Oilchange said:
Hammi159159 said:
A lot of crap managers love to get to know your personal situation - and then use your mortgage, car loan, family circumstances and financial commitments so they can use it as a gauge on how much pressure they think they can exert on you at work. They don't get to know much about me. I pitch up, put in some reasonable graft for a short period, then I'm off and on to the next random company that needs help for a few days/weeks.
This is how I saw the last 30 years, the perfect employee is the family man/woman who is inches away from defaulting on debt or mortgage and has an expensive lifestyle to maintain. It's all about leverage and how the worker can be made to work harder to make the manager look better.One senior engineer at my old workplace put it perfectly when he addressed the workforce, he said ' you lot are here to get me promoted'.
That went down like a s
t sandwich.I was probably unusual in my job (society?) in being debt-free, in a resonable house, and no big monthlies, in my 40s. Not through being stingy or by missing on anything at all -just careful (no expensive cars, few takeaways, very much a "make do and mend" and DIY person, didn't increase outgoings in-line with pay rises etc.)
Although some friends have been encouraging, some quite well-paid, have been shocked that I was able to consider taking time away from a reasonable paying job.
Hammi159159 said:
The job for life was a thing in my grandad's day, and it was 2-3 jobs during my dad's life. My nephews are now told at school that their generation will likely average 18 jobs during their working lives.
With that level of short-termism, workers owe companies no loyalty beyond their contracted hours and notice period. There's usually no loyalty shown to employees in the event of cost-cutting or out-sourcing. A regret of mine is giving too much of myself to past employers, to the detriment of my health and family/social life.
A side effect of this very transitory labour market is possibly a reduction in output quality in some industries. With that level of short-termism, workers owe companies no loyalty beyond their contracted hours and notice period. There's usually no loyalty shown to employees in the event of cost-cutting or out-sourcing. A regret of mine is giving too much of myself to past employers, to the detriment of my health and family/social life.
Woodrow Wilson said:
Although some friends have been encouraging, some quite well-paid, have been shocked that I was able to consider taking time away from a reasonable paying job.
I can relate to this. I have had more people criticise than support to be fair. But dropping work for time.... That's been the winner of the century for me.OP here. I have had a happy time of it since leaving my old job. Oddly, I feel like a different person, even outside of working hours.
I am still doing some temporary work
-nominally "home improvement" stuff, which has included all kinds of things.
As somebody who has often learned things in order to do a job at home, make something or just for the challenge, I have quite a range of skills that often dovetail into one another and people have been keen to make use of them (it's been interesting to discover that some, what I would describe as, fairly trivial things are outside of the knowledge of many people) . I'm actually quite enjoying it, and it feels good to be paid for something I can do/turn my hand to.
I've also had more time to learn a few new skills and make some good things too.
...I am conflicted, though, as I feel that I "should" be earning much more (and there is a little part of me that still thinks that I should have a "better" job too, as I was "supposed to") , as I was in my previous (detested, futile) job... I would ideally do some well paid work 2-3 days per week, and some more practical stuff a couple of days per week. With a bit more experience, I should be able to charge more for the time taken.
My wife earns an OK wage. We are still able to afford to live (I am still baffled by how some people manage to spend so much every month, for apparently little benefit/enjoyment....), but my wife is keen to go on a nice foreign holiday or two, and that will require more £££s...
I am still doing some temporary work
-nominally "home improvement" stuff, which has included all kinds of things.
As somebody who has often learned things in order to do a job at home, make something or just for the challenge, I have quite a range of skills that often dovetail into one another and people have been keen to make use of them (it's been interesting to discover that some, what I would describe as, fairly trivial things are outside of the knowledge of many people) . I'm actually quite enjoying it, and it feels good to be paid for something I can do/turn my hand to.
I've also had more time to learn a few new skills and make some good things too.
...I am conflicted, though, as I feel that I "should" be earning much more (and there is a little part of me that still thinks that I should have a "better" job too, as I was "supposed to") , as I was in my previous (detested, futile) job... I would ideally do some well paid work 2-3 days per week, and some more practical stuff a couple of days per week. With a bit more experience, I should be able to charge more for the time taken.
My wife earns an OK wage. We are still able to afford to live (I am still baffled by how some people manage to spend so much every month, for apparently little benefit/enjoyment....), but my wife is keen to go on a nice foreign holiday or two, and that will require more £££s...
Edited by Woodrow Wilson on Thursday 12th January 08:09
Good to hear you have found some happiness. I think push aside thoughts of "should be earning more" / "have a better job or title" and remain focused on what brings you satisfaction.
Your idea of 2-3 days a week work in your previous skill set sounds a very balance to me and one i admire and hope to achieve my self some day.
Like you I am pretty practically skilled - I'm an accountant / FC (no aspriation of being a FD) and in 10 years time I will have worked for 30 years in the field - but have always been practical and i pull very little satisfaction from my career. I restore old cars and have learnt the skills required for automotive electrics, fabrication of metal and welding, pulling engines apart etc etc. I also do all DIY and over Christmas I built a 12.5 x 4m barn mostly alone except for the roof where i roped in my step Dad. I did get an electrician to put in the fuse box and the start of a socket / light circuit but I do the rest. I hope to do 2/3 days a week in something accountancy related without all the staff mangement and 2/3 days doing something with my practical skill set.
Your idea of 2-3 days a week work in your previous skill set sounds a very balance to me and one i admire and hope to achieve my self some day.
Like you I am pretty practically skilled - I'm an accountant / FC (no aspriation of being a FD) and in 10 years time I will have worked for 30 years in the field - but have always been practical and i pull very little satisfaction from my career. I restore old cars and have learnt the skills required for automotive electrics, fabrication of metal and welding, pulling engines apart etc etc. I also do all DIY and over Christmas I built a 12.5 x 4m barn mostly alone except for the roof where i roped in my step Dad. I did get an electrician to put in the fuse box and the start of a socket / light circuit but I do the rest. I hope to do 2/3 days a week in something accountancy related without all the staff mangement and 2/3 days doing something with my practical skill set.
OP update.
The potential opportunities I was looking into mostly fell through.
The small and/or new organisations I was speaking to were all a bit inconsistent, communicated sporadically, and regular work didn't appear very likely.
I have now found a position in a big company, but it appears to be one that could make good use of my varied skills and knowledge. It will be site-based, not WFH.
It is significantly lower paid than my previous job..... but other terms and conditions are good. I am hopeful that it will be a big improvement over my past jobs.
The potential opportunities I was looking into mostly fell through.
The small and/or new organisations I was speaking to were all a bit inconsistent, communicated sporadically, and regular work didn't appear very likely.
I have now found a position in a big company, but it appears to be one that could make good use of my varied skills and knowledge. It will be site-based, not WFH.
It is significantly lower paid than my previous job..... but other terms and conditions are good. I am hopeful that it will be a big improvement over my past jobs.
Woodrow Wilson said:
OP update.
The potential opportunities I was looking into mostly fell through.
The small and/or new organisations I was speaking to were all a bit inconsistent, communicated sporadically, and regular work didn't appear very likely.
I have now found a position in a big company, but it appears to be one that could make good use of my varied skills and knowledge. It will be site-based, not WFH.
It is significantly lower paid than my previous job..... but other terms and conditions are good. I am hopeful that it will be a big improvement over my past jobs.
exactly the same here. New simple job is less stressful overall, but i have some really difficult people to work with who make the simplest things utterly complicated and I cant fathom why... but that contract ends in a couple of months and ill be back to doing menial stuff again. Its easier, but im starting to miss the salary.... neither job is "good" - both have drawbacks - but both have benefits... So I'm not regretting it yet, but its not much greener on this side in reality. The potential opportunities I was looking into mostly fell through.
The small and/or new organisations I was speaking to were all a bit inconsistent, communicated sporadically, and regular work didn't appear very likely.
I have now found a position in a big company, but it appears to be one that could make good use of my varied skills and knowledge. It will be site-based, not WFH.
It is significantly lower paid than my previous job..... but other terms and conditions are good. I am hopeful that it will be a big improvement over my past jobs.
Other than the reduced money, my new job is a vast improvement on my old one.
Much more varied, more achievement (ie. There is some), with fewer restrictions and less bureaucracy (there is some, which I will need to keep on top of). It is far more interesting and I can make far more use of some of the wide range of knowledge I have gained over the years.
The people I work with are more engaging too, which makes a big difference.
I'm actually enjoying it
Much more varied, more achievement (ie. There is some), with fewer restrictions and less bureaucracy (there is some, which I will need to keep on top of). It is far more interesting and I can make far more use of some of the wide range of knowledge I have gained over the years.
The people I work with are more engaging too, which makes a big difference.
I'm actually enjoying it
funny timing with this thread.... ive realised in the last few weeks that I might actually be able to live without working.... i dont *hate* my job, but am continually pissed off with working 60hrs a week just to keep everything going there, with no support from the powers that be.... think im going to give it three more months (when the mortgages end, good chance i wont be renewing them-tbc) and reassess..... I have enough passive income to live, enough skills to be employed in about 10mins at a reasonable wage if thats a route i want to go down.... long time dead, and whilst im not ready to check out just yet (im 40) im not sure how much longer i can tolerate this situation....
Pit Pony said:
I've already mentioned in another thread.
I'm 56.
I've had enough.
I'm resigning next week.
We can survive without work.
I probably will look for work after a few months.
Good luck! I'm 56.
I've had enough.
I'm resigning next week.
We can survive without work.
I probably will look for work after a few months.
I’m planning on retiring around that age. I’ll probably do some volunteering to keep me busy, maybe a bit to part time work if I get really bored.
OP here.
The new job is still going well. I'm enjoying work more at the moment than I have since doing technical summer work when I was at university in the 90s. I really went the wrong way after university.
The atmosphere in the new workplace is one of "can-do", there are many things to do (not all of them would be my first choice, admittedly), colleagues are helpful and many people do appear to enjoy coming to work.
Most importantly, I get things done. So many jobs appear to have no purpose.
Having reflected on it a lot, I can see that my old job and workplace was just inherently de-motivating and depressing, other than to a very narrow range of people.
There was no real aim to much of the work, with rare successful outcomes, projects frequently eventually petering out or being canned. The "management" didn't really know what successful projects looked like and there were always reasons not to do things. It was very much a "can't-do" environment in what was an ultimately government-funded gravy train with decent salaries. Scandalous really.
If your work gets you down, you really should find something different. I stayed where I was for far too long, doing mostly unsuitable work in different companies for 20-odd years.
The new job is still going well. I'm enjoying work more at the moment than I have since doing technical summer work when I was at university in the 90s. I really went the wrong way after university.
The atmosphere in the new workplace is one of "can-do", there are many things to do (not all of them would be my first choice, admittedly), colleagues are helpful and many people do appear to enjoy coming to work.
Most importantly, I get things done. So many jobs appear to have no purpose.
Having reflected on it a lot, I can see that my old job and workplace was just inherently de-motivating and depressing, other than to a very narrow range of people.
There was no real aim to much of the work, with rare successful outcomes, projects frequently eventually petering out or being canned. The "management" didn't really know what successful projects looked like and there were always reasons not to do things. It was very much a "can't-do" environment in what was an ultimately government-funded gravy train with decent salaries. Scandalous really.
If your work gets you down, you really should find something different. I stayed where I was for far too long, doing mostly unsuitable work in different companies for 20-odd years.
OP follow up.
The new job is still going well. I am not dreading returning in the New Year.
Working on site, with a range of people, doing a range of tasks -planned and unplanned-, not too many meetings, technical interest and the ability to make improvements and have some influence are all great.
As with many workplaces, there are some politics, and there are some people (including me) who end up being given far to much to do -impossible to achieve within the contracted hours. The salary is too low for the responsibility anyway and I regularly work unpaid overtime, which I should really stop doing.
There will probably be an increase in responsibility pressure on me in 2024.
Although this job is much better than my old one and leaving my old was the right thing to do, I could feasibly walk into a job in a different industry that pays around twice as much (and I have had requests from people I know), so I need to have some serious conversations with my employer soon.
I never want to WFH full time again.
The new job is still going well. I am not dreading returning in the New Year.
Working on site, with a range of people, doing a range of tasks -planned and unplanned-, not too many meetings, technical interest and the ability to make improvements and have some influence are all great.
As with many workplaces, there are some politics, and there are some people (including me) who end up being given far to much to do -impossible to achieve within the contracted hours. The salary is too low for the responsibility anyway and I regularly work unpaid overtime, which I should really stop doing.
There will probably be an increase in responsibility pressure on me in 2024.
Although this job is much better than my old one and leaving my old was the right thing to do, I could feasibly walk into a job in a different industry that pays around twice as much (and I have had requests from people I know), so I need to have some serious conversations with my employer soon.
I never want to WFH full time again.
Woodrow Wilson said:
OP follow up.
The new job is still going well. I am not dreading returning in the New Year.
Working on site, with a range of people, doing a range of tasks -planned and unplanned-, not too many meetings, technical interest and the ability to make improvements and have some influence are all great.
As with many workplaces, there are some politics, and there are some people (including me) who end up being given far to much to do -impossible to achieve within the contracted hours. The salary is too low for the responsibility anyway and I regularly work unpaid overtime, which I should really stop doing.
There will probably be an increase in responsibility pressure on me in 2024.
Although this job is much better than my old one and leaving my old was the right thing to do, I could feasibly walk into a job in a different industry that pays around twice as much (and I have had requests from people I know), so I need to have some serious conversations with my employer soon.
I never want to WFH full time again.
WFH has killed me also for the last 3/4 years.The new job is still going well. I am not dreading returning in the New Year.
Working on site, with a range of people, doing a range of tasks -planned and unplanned-, not too many meetings, technical interest and the ability to make improvements and have some influence are all great.
As with many workplaces, there are some politics, and there are some people (including me) who end up being given far to much to do -impossible to achieve within the contracted hours. The salary is too low for the responsibility anyway and I regularly work unpaid overtime, which I should really stop doing.
There will probably be an increase in responsibility pressure on me in 2024.
Although this job is much better than my old one and leaving my old was the right thing to do, I could feasibly walk into a job in a different industry that pays around twice as much (and I have had requests from people I know), so I need to have some serious conversations with my employer soon.
I never want to WFH full time again.
constantly moody, wound up and bored.
i hear from most people id love to get paid to sit at home and do nothing. sounds great until you do it yourself for months / years
to me no money is worth that
Mirinjawbro said:
WFH has killed me also for the last 3/4 years.
constantly moody, wound up and bored.
i hear from most people id love to get paid to sit at home and do nothing. sounds great until you do it yourself for months / years
to me no money is worth that
It probably depends on the nature of the work and possibly where you live. My old job was lacking any sort of real urgency, influence or satisfaction. Living & working in middle England suburbia wasn't that good for lunchtime running.constantly moody, wound up and bored.
i hear from most people id love to get paid to sit at home and do nothing. sounds great until you do it yourself for months / years
to me no money is worth that
My current job has a good mix of desk based technical and reporting work, problem solving and going out onto site.
Reading this thread for the first time…
Well done OP
Hope the new job works out or you can find something satisfactory elsewhere.
Made me think about my own situation after reading these comments!
…err, I don’t sleep more than a few hours on a Sunday, and purposely keep a notebook by the bed for anything that pops into my head during the night…
we are talking about being miserable in your job not what your cv looks like .This is exactly why the world is so fd up.
Most employers just want shiny CV’s where everyone has all the qualifications they want and all the high-flying jobs that they want!!
Can’t imagine a HR dept. getting giddy over someone’s CV when they drop from an 80k salary in corporate world to two years on an Asda delivery van whether it was for the employees own mental health care or not. That’s why so many people are afraid to drop down careers even if to improve their lives. And I absolutely hate that
Plodding on for now, can’t afford to fk it and leave to go on an adult gap year as much as I’d like to, so we’ll see what happens.
Lots of sensible discussion on this Employment thread that I’m slowly sifting through. Thanks all!
Well done OP
Hope the new job works out or you can find something satisfactory elsewhere.
Made me think about my own situation after reading these comments!
Sheets Tabuer said:
If I felt like that I'd be off.
In my younger years I've left jobs because I started to dream about them
In my younger years I've left jobs because I started to dream about them
…err, I don’t sleep more than a few hours on a Sunday, and purposely keep a notebook by the bed for anything that pops into my head during the night…
911r said:
RDMcG said:
I would not leave for a lower-paid job personally. Not great on your CV.
doesn't look great on your cv ? we are talking about being miserable in your job not what your cv looks like .
d up. Most employers just want shiny CV’s where everyone has all the qualifications they want and all the high-flying jobs that they want!!
Can’t imagine a HR dept. getting giddy over someone’s CV when they drop from an 80k salary in corporate world to two years on an Asda delivery van whether it was for the employees own mental health care or not. That’s why so many people are afraid to drop down careers even if to improve their lives. And I absolutely hate that
Plodding on for now, can’t afford to f
k it and leave to go on an adult gap year as much as I’d like to, so we’ll see what happens. Lots of sensible discussion on this Employment thread that I’m slowly sifting through. Thanks all!
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