Teaching- any other jobs that make you cry regularly?

I agree this is one of the major issues. It’s so frictionless for people to send mails they appear in a constant stream. It used to be we would get the post every day and then you already know in the morning what had come in for the day. There were extra phone calls of course but it was nothing like this never ending barrage. It’s soul destroying.

I work in law as well, I go into court for the day and come out to many people already irritated that a same day response was not sent to whatever appeared in my mail box. Not to mention voicemails and messages in team WhatsApp groups about different issues. It gets overwhelming.

If every job is making you cry though it indicates you are the issue rather than the job and you need to look at a different career

I don't think this is true. I've had many, many jobs and the workplace has changed. Where there used to be a team doing a job, it's now just one person, and the stress is palpable and just sent down the line from the top to bottom. Throw in some toxic bosses and it's a real struggle. Plus I've no tolerance left for all the bullshit. It completely frustrates me.

Corporate law here too! I like being in house though, it's not stress free by any means but I'm not having to do breathing exercises on the tube and crying in the loos is a rare event rather than daily occurrence.

Corporate law Magic Circle I used to just work round the clock. It became normal. Would meet Dh at Wagamamas by the office on Friday nights then go back to the office afterwards. Mental. Intense negotiations through the night everyone angry and stressed. The Fear of making a mistake.

Had a baby and never went back. Colleagues had day nannies and night nannies never saw their kids. Fuck that. Best decision Dh and I ever made was to walk away from the City and London. Met Dh there because that was the only place I ever was!

When we both left the other lawyers were shocked we were leaving! Everyone normal left. Work for myself now bloody love it and you know what?! Last year made the same salary I did in that sweat shop.

I am in criminal justice. When I joined my now department I was introduced to the crying table “where everyone goes to have a good cry”. I was like WTF.

I am not a crier but I am near to having a massive hissy fit as I am so stressed. I now know why we have this table!

Contact Centre, pretty much everyone has been in tears at some point, or just walked out

I’m a teacher, I have cried at work and I’m sure I will again but not every week or every day and certainly not several times a day. There are supportive, positive schools to work in out there!

What do you do now OP? I am a teacher, considering my next steps.

Well said!

And actually, if people in general stopped to think, accepted that the world does'nt revolve around them, accepted that people do get delayed, weren't so bloody self centred and started to be kind and considerate............the world would be a far better place!

Sounds like my job (teacher). Long, long days, working with limited resources and abusive parents.

Nursing - 30 years and counting down the years until retirement. I cry a lot!

Cried a lot in my last job which was local authority/NHS based. It wasn’t the job itself though, it was the vile people which I think is probably true the vast majority of the time when you have bad work experiences. I was only in that team for less than 18 months but it left me so broken I was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and PTSD. It was horrific. I cried multiple times a week- at work, at home, all over. I remember walking home once thinking it wouldn’t be the worst thing if I just got hit by a car on the way so it was all over with. I didn’t remotely deserve to feel that way but I bet the bastards who did it to me barely gave me a second thought once I was out of there. Moved on to their next victim no doubt.

IANA(C)L, however I have friends who are...

Pressure, long hours, demanding bosses...I've observed that people who do that job tend to be high achieving and self critical, with similarly high achieving and critical bosses, who don't react well to even small mistakes. Pleasing the client (to close deals/bring in the money) is the most important thing, even if it means you're up all night several nights in a row/working on your days off when you should be looking after your children ("that's what you're paid a high salary for").

I taught for 36 years, in secondary schools. All ability levels but mainly exam years, with lots of course work to mark in holidays. I averaged 60 hours a week in term time and half terms and Easter holidays were spent marking. My daughters are City lawyers,nearly 20 years qualified, They earn so much more than I did but their hours are ridiculous-14/15 hours a day. The stress is sky high. I think many jobs make people unhappy. Looking in, other people’s jobs often seem ideal.

That was the exact trigger for me leaving (family lawyer, mentioned upthread).

I was driving to work and wondering where I could go off the road- not enough to kill me but enough to be able to rest. I just wanted a rest. I had a colleague commit suicide the year before by jumping off a bridge. Ordinary high street law firm.

In my case it was a toxic environment combined with the relentless push for money. There was no sense of collaboration with other colleagues- we were all pitted against each other. No sense that you might go and ask a more experienced colleague for their take on something. That would take them away from their quest to put in billable hours and might mean that you did a better job than them. I can't explain all the toxicity because some of it is quite outing if anyone knows me on here and very specific but I have literally never experienced such a poisonous atmosphere. I recall going to work on my first day and saying to DH that night ' There is something very strange about this office'. But we had moved to start a better life in a lovely location and that was the job option that opened itself up to me.

I’ve been a teacher for over 20 years and I’ve never cried at work, I was thinking this only the other day as colleagues regularly cry. I do get bothered by stuff, but I manage to keep it in. It’s awful people feel like this.

SEND Caseworker, the constant abuse from parents and especially so called parent advocates who tell you that you are failing child/young person. When the requests are beyond what is reasonable. The lack of support from senior management who have no clue what you do. Blame the CWO for senior management decisions. This whole being expected to manage a caseload of 450 16-25 year olds.

Observing that children with knowledgeable parents who have the financial means, have packages that are easily higher than the fees for Eton, Harrow, Cheltenham Ladies. Yet children with corporate parents or care leavers have limited support. I believe in a fair system of distribution, recognition and pluralism this is currently not happening. Those who shout the loudest have access to an elite SEND education while the rest have to get by on scraps. All children and young people deserve an equality and equity in education and opportunities to thive.

There are those who work in SEND and I wonder why, is an ego/power thing. I work in SEND as I was failed by education, social care etc… I want to make a difference, and hope the SEND reforms change some things.

Solidarity too to the vets here… I have several patients who are vets and worry about them because vets have access to such lethal stuff … also I think the suffering of animals is just so so awful.

Yup. Sometimes at lunch if I ever got it.

My last job at the supermarket. The current store manager bullied me over my dyslexia. I was the 8th colleague to leave due to his behaviour. He made a similar ratio of staff leave at his previous store, including two decent managers. Everyone’s thinking he is still a store manager due to his religion. They are scared of him playing the racism card if he’s sacked.

Then customers who scream obscenities, being rude, nasty towards me when they are at fault but bloody deny it. These people don’t know how they are making staff leave.

Finally the selfish shelf stripping 5 years this week. We kept strong during the trade hours. Seeing 95% of the shelves being empty was soul destroying. The only things left on the shelves were sun cream, posh face creams, champagne and expensive whiskey. The situation increased the cortisol levels in me and I had covid a few days before the first lockdown. Didn’t get tested at the time as nearest test centres were 40 miles away! Had an antibody test in the early summer and I had COVID. I had covid in July 2022 and had LFT confirming this. Exactly the same headache. Something constantly hitting my left temple

Social worker here. I love my job most of the time but last week when I was driving to work, I was wondering whether a small car accident might get me a few days of rest. I love working with my children and families but the endless admin is too much, leaving too little time for the families we are suppose to be supporting. I’m about to log in to catch up with admin. Just enjoying my coffee first.

yup, unsurprisingly a nurse. To be fair it’s a lot better now in ICU as we are generally much better funded and better staffed although it still has its moments. Working in a gasto medical ward was the most horrific 7 years of my life. The constant stomach churning worry driving home that I had missed something and something terrible would happen because of it was awful. Because no matter how many times you read on here that nurses are lazy and just don’t care isn’t true but one nurse looking after 14 sick patients and being expected to do and remember everything just isn’t possible.

Working in healthcare with children.

I was a Clinical Director and cried all the time and thought I would be letting everyone down if I left. Eventually I did hand my notice in. Now 4 months on I work as a locum so I choose when and where and how much I work. I am much happier and healthier. I took a whole month off to recuperate first.
My husband has now admitted he was terrified that I was going to attempt suicide as he felt too much was being asked of me.
Sadly the business has lost me, some one with 26 years experience and now I go elsewhere I realise I am damn good at what I do. But my manager did not manage me correctly and pushed me harder when I was burnt out. This is going on all over the industry and sadly people are taking their own lives because of it.

Really sad reading though this thread as jobs being mentioned (nursing/midwifery/medical, teaching, social work etc…) are, in my opinion, the cornerstone of our society. These aren’t jobs, they are vocations - we need more support for people in these roles - they shouldn’t be feeling like this.

I work as an Accountant within the public sector, didn’t choose that route, kind of fell into it - the worse I can report is some days being a bit mundane, like what I’m doing doesn’t really matter. It’s so sad to see so many of the roles where you’re able to have a real positive impact on people’s life’s mentioned here.

You’re all doing an amazing job - THANK YOU!