Age 56. Can't be arsed at work anymore.

Enthusiastic idiots know no age ime.

Be openly (constructively) cynical - you can actually make a difference.

I'm 35 and feel the same.
I work to pay bills and childcare at the minute. I couldn't care about anything else.

Oh we talk about this all the time. My friends and I call it the 57 cliff. That seems to be the average age at which the women I know decided they couldn’t stand it any more.

I am 58 so have already gone off the cliff. I can’t afford to retire yet. I earn OK and actually like my colleagues and the work is interesting. It’s just all Groundhog Day.

Yes we are genetically the same humans who used to be done at 60. I could stand that. I think most people take the later retirement age as nothing more than a financial headache of how to fill the gap from 60-67.

I can go at 62 once the mortgage is paid and the 3 young adults who can’t afford to move out have had enough time to save. Anyone want to move to Sri Lanka with me? 🥳

Absolutely feel you and OP. I'm 45, perimenopausal, been awake since 3 which is very common. I've zero motivation at work, company has been taken over a year ago and all the bloody bright young things and emails upon emails, I'm done, I'm tired of it all

I guess it depends on your job & your field OP.
At 60 I’m the oldest by a long way in the small business I work in.
A lot of the team are the age of my kids.
i love working with younger people and seeing the energy, enthusiasm and fresh ideas they bring.
But I’m in a rapidly evolving and challenging industry.

60 feels too young to retire
change your job
change your free time

Sounds like you need to change jobs, regardless of age if you don't have respect for the company you work for you should change.

Go and do something ypu enjoy, if you are retiring at 60 this is your last chance.

I’ve felt this way since I started working 😂

Can you have a chat with your boss and say you are happy to stay doing what you are doing and not progress? Or get a job elsewhere doing something that is less demanding? My plan is to pay off the mortgage in my early 60's then work in a garden centre or plant nursery, mobility allowing. I would never get bored looking after plants.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/28/more-needs-to-be-done-to-tackle-barriers-faced-by-older-uk-jobseekers-say-experts

Don't worry OP, there are moves being made to address the difficulties of older people in the workplace.

Feeling a bit snarky having woken up as a 55 year old in the target demographic of this article with its slightly head patting tone meant to reassure that despite our tendencies to be smart and efficient, we can be gently encouraged to play nice in dynamic environments by dressing down and not asking too many questions.

I appreciate you're still working I assume, but due to a series of unfortunate events and 7 years of self employment I am not, and am staring down the barrel of attempting to get a job with clear memories of being told by a 12 year old recruiter at 42 how my options were severely limited due to my age then. I had to take off all my management experience from my CV as I'd had a "career break" then and employers would expect me to start at the bottom and be grateful if they could find me a nice minium wage slot. Mustn't go around with ideas above my station.

And I do think my sex played a role on this.

Ended up in a call centre selling insurance and pretending how motivated I was by the thrill of winning a Moscow Mule on a Friday if I hit target. The admin job I got a bit later was better, but it was in a construction company where the "bantz" from the project manager was inclusive of every stripe of phobic you can imagine.

Don't want to be state dependent for any longer than I have to, but the future fills me with dread. They did mention caring responsibilities in the article. I've got those, growing by the week with 5 elderly relatives all crumbling to varying degrees for whom I am part of the last defence against decrepitude.

Am trying to cultivate a positive mindset, but I hear you OP. It's not exactly a fun time to be alive if you're over 50 in the job market.

I’m 48 and feel like this. I could cry knowing I have nearly 20 years before retirement. No early retirement for me, I was left as a single parent working around children so never built up a career or had high enough pay to put into a private pension. It sucks.

Mid 50s here and the director I report to has landed the team in the shit again by taking on a project with a totally unrealistic deadline that he tells me daily we have to meet no matter what, I just smile and agree as this is not the first time (or 20th) that he has done this and I am so over working through the night and weekends. Every time we get to this situation I promise myself this is the last time, it is the same when they tell me about restructure and initiatives.

I get through it by wfh on a 3 day week most of the year.

Yes. I work in a field where it's expected you do extra, bring initiatives, implement them......the same ones cycle around, and apart from doing things in your time, the system stays relatively the same. I would like to be able to be consistent, to stay educated in my field, to show up, and do well whilst there....... I hate that isn't seen as enough

I’m 47 and feel the same.

i’ve got a new manager who openly admits that they’ve moved into management after feeling completely fed up and burnt out of being in a public facing role.

They seem much happier, however they’re inept as a manager. Lots of changes have been made and I’ve not been informed which has left me looking unprofessional on a couple of occasions. I really resent this new manager for that. My job is ideal hours and in an ideal location so I’m in the biting my tongue phase but not sure how much longer I can keep it up for!

Any new job would make home / school runs etc more complicated so I’m loathe to do that.

I’d love to retire early but can’t see it happening before 62.

If you can’t afford to retire early you haven’t got much choice but to suck it up.

I’m well into perimenopause and I feel the same. For the last two days I’ve been awake by 5am, and I’m concerned I might make a mistake at work due to this. I so wish that they’d put women;s retirement back to 60, I’m sure it was that for a reason.

62 and the end is in sight thank goodness.

55 and feel exactly the same - will have to leave this job at 60 and live frugally as my mind and body are done

I'm a similar age but with virtually no pension (yeas of part time work and prioritising the mortgage over contributing in the days when not all employers offered a workplace pension).
I am sick of it all. I manage people which I no longer enjoy but when I think about changing jobs I'm not sure how I would fell not being in a leadership role and being managed more closely myself.
I'm doing the lottery a lot!!

The last few years of my job I just did what I needed to, did it well but made it absolutely clear to management I was not looking for advancement or personal bloody development.

if they’re a decent manager they recognise that too. My company supported people on the “wind down” in ways such as going taking a sabbatical or going PT.

Good luck OP, I feel your pain.

There's a junior manager where I work who thinks he's above everyone else.

Also has a shit attitude, is lazy and rude. He's been getting away with it for years. Way before I joined.

I am mid 50s and done with people's shit. I am THIS CLOSE to telling him to go fuck himself... but I must not as I can't afford to retire until I'm 60.

Look up quiet quitting.

I felt exactly the same at your age OP and when voluntary redundancy was offered to our department when I was 59 I couldn't wait to accept it! Financially it wasn't a good move - I only worked at temp and part-time jobs afterwards - but I have no regrets. Now very happily retired and so pleased to be out of the work world.

Are you in teaching?

Can you smile, agree, say the right words and then carry on regardless?

I'm 40 and the same. Most work it total BS. I need to make a change.