I hate my new job WWYD?

[turnofftheimmersion]

Apologies in advance for lack of specifics but I'll be easily outed if I give too many details.

In short, I left my job of 15 years in a particular industry last year. While I was very good at my job and earning a good salary, my priorities had changed in recent years, particularly after severe PND which took the guts of two years to pass.

My previous job involved long erratic hours across 7 days. Because DH is also working in a similar environment (earning twice what I did) and given my shift in thinking about life, I decided to row back and try to find a job with more "normal" hours so I'd see my kids for longer than an hour a day. I really wanted to be around them more, they're both under 8.

And I did, I landed what's seen on paper as a secure, pensionable job. I started this job two months ago and I hate it. I have never hated a job before the way I hate this. The culture of the place is suffocating, it's taking days, weeks, even to get the most basic requests answered or sorted. My line manager is incredibly lazy and passing the most mundane of tasks to me (sending me an email asking me to send an email... she sits beside me..) There simply isn't enough work to do, there are three of us doing the work of one person really and the days are so long, tedious and frustrating. When I tried to buck things up, suggest other work we could be doing my senior manager looked at me as though I was crazy. I've accepted that I not going to change the culture of this place.

My mood has dropped alarmingly in the past month and I don't know if I'm becoming depressed or because I can't face going into this environment day after day. It's been 6 years since the PND and I've not felt this bad since then.

WWYD? Would you give it a full six months to get a better picture? I think if I have a goal date in mind it'll make life a little easier when I open my eyes at 6am and immediately think "I don't think I can face this again today."

[AfroPuffs]

Well the reason you changed jobs was so that you could have more time with the kids....that was the focus. Has the job allowed you to do that? If so, I would give it 6mths and then see how you feel tbh.

[LaurieFairyCake]

I've had two jobs like this. Both in the public sector with great pensions. I wasn't able to hack either of them for more than 6 months as doing nothing is the hardest for me and makes the day go so slow. I was a lot younger then and I reckon I might be able to do it now if:

1. You can use the Internet freely - do your online food shopping/read a book/plan a holiday/

1. Can use headphones for a talking book/news/tv on your phone

1. Can leave on time every day

1. Aren't prevented from doing extra work like filing/tidying/moving furniture to maximise

I'm sure others can think of more time wasting activities - there was no Internet back when I had these jobs

[HairyMoose]

You forgot Mumsnet Laurie . I go on here and suddenly two hours have shot by

[turnofftheimmersion]

Afropuffs not getting much more time with the kids. I need to do a year's probation before I can apply for a shorter week. Even at that, any request can be refused and my boss could insist I take unpaid leave in one block. A three or four day week would be much more manageable. It's only a year of probation but the way I'm feeling now it may as well be 20, the thought of sucking this up for another 10 months is killing me.

Laurie, you've hit on the sector it's fulfilling every single stereotype I had heard of but refused to believe it could be this bad. A colleague was told off for wearing earphones and listening to the radio. Internet access to most sites is blocked.

I suppose I'm questioning my own sanity here. I've been wondering if it's me but in recent weeks I don't think it is.

[Thomasisintraining]

I think with your 15 years of service elsewhere one blip of a couple of months in your CV will not matter. Look for another job, that sounds stifling.

[LaurieFairyCake]

Wireless ear buds (just wear one so you can still hear what's going on) - smart phone in a drawer
playing the news/film/talking book

Thought of a good one - write a book
Write a blog/short stories

Awful your colleague was 'told off' - hate the kind of environment when you don't have enough work to do meaning all your work is done quickly and yet you get told off for 'slacking'.

[bettybyebye]

Oh OP this was me 7 years ago! Took a new job (also in the public sector!) which on paper was great but was exactly like you describe. I could not believe how little people in that office did, yet all they did was moan about how busy they were?! Oh and eat cake! I had assumed that all the stuff I'd heard about public sector jobs was exaggerated stereotyping, but in my case was completely real.

I hated it from day 1 - literally had nothing to do and whenever I asked for work I was told to "just enjoy it whilst you're quiet!" People told me I should stick at it for a minimum of 6 months but I didn't see the sense in that. However, I was determined to make the next move be the right one, and turned down a couple of job offers as I didn't want to end up in the same situation again, and in the end I left after 9 months. Moved for less money and it was the best thing I ever did! My career has come on leaps and bounds since then too.

Start looking for something else now op, life is far too short to stick at a job that literally sucks joy from you

[Viviene]

That sounds like my job! I cannot believe they actually employed me to do NOTHING. I can't clean or archive as it's somebody else's job and they hate me so I don't want to add to the tension. Somebody suggested writing a book but I listen to a radio, sent myself a pdf version of books I'm reading at the moment and read it off the screen. I've done all the online training available to us, I'm learning French but agree this is dire. Few more weeks and I can apply for home working 1 day a week... I keep telling myself it's just a job to pay my bills and provide for the lifestyle I enjoy... And we do get good perks. I watch Netflix sometimes ;) but tell no one...

[Viviene]

Oh sorry, the question was WWYD. Well I would run for the hills if I could :) you have the time to now look for a good job that you'll enjoy without stress or rush. Can you move posts within your company?

[turnofftheimmersion]

Viviene sympathies! You know what it's like, same as bettybyebye!

I can't move in my company at the moment, it's so rigid. I'll try to speak to my senior manager when she gets back from (long) leave and see if I can at least gain some experience in a different section.
I'll have had completed two courses by the end of the month, so if nothing else I'll gaining some extra knowledge!

So far this place has been a stream of procrastination and lethargy, apparently made-up strategies simply to result in endless meetings and produce a deliverable at the end. It all seems like massively artificial 'work', 99% of which is utterly pointless.

[WicksEnd]

I'm interested to hear which department you work in within the public sector as I have for 18 years and the work load is immense. Most days I work straight through, 8 hours,grabbing lunch at my desk. It baffles me that some departments work like mine and others are just spinning round on your chair filing your nails!
I could do with one of those for a bit! I am completely exhausted

[panegyricS1]

I've worked in the public sector and it's either one extreme or the other. No one seems to have a sensible, balanced workload. In my old place they fretted about the pressure on the telephone lines from the public, but didn't think to train in telephony, staff with too little to do! That said, some employees were perfectly happy to be freewheeling to retirement, and kept their heads below the parapet.

You'll never change the culture so if you really can't bear it, and the more senior manager isn't forthcoming when she returns (bear in mind that she may not want to upset the apple cart by acknowledging the problem), I think you should leave.

[RowenaDahl]

I moved to local government last year and the workload was horrendous. I left after three months. You're obviously not doing that job!

[OhtoblazeswithElvira]

What Whicksend said.

[rumred]

I second what pane said. It's so unbearably disorganised and extreme. Set a goal date for reviewing everything and get out if the cons outweigh the pros. I thought by moving up the hierarchy I'd have more influence to change and improve things. I don't. It's soul destroying

[hazelnutlatte]

I had a similar job once - it was in accounting and absolutely everything I did had to be scrutinised and approved by the finance director which meant I spent half my time faffing about waiting for him! Everything seemed to be done in the most inefficient way possible.
I lasted a month and then went back to my old job - thankfully they hadn't replaced me yet and we're happy to have me back!

[BeBe32]

I just wanted to sympathise really - from the thread I posted earlier you will see that I am also very unhappy at work at the moment - although for different reasons. I know how horrible it is and we spend so much time at work it's so hard when it's awful. I would love to leave, even the thought of doing another month seems to much at the moment - unfortunately I can't think what else I can do and there don't seem to be many jobs being advertised. If you can leave, do it, life is too short.