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AIBU?

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51 and so very tired from working - but I have another 15 years to go yet

131 replies

chinesestirfry · 10/06/2025 08:10

certainly not wishing my life away BUT ...

I am just so worn out, tired, lethargic from working. Like the rest of the world, I have been working for 30 years plus. It's not the job, the job is not pressured at all. I work hybrid. It's very family friendly. It's the constant need to deliver/manage and keep going. Keep pushing at work, keep turning up, keep up the façade that I'm interested. keep up the enthusiasm, keep playing the game (so to speak). I (we) have another 15 years before the mortgage is paid off. I don't know how I will last that long. Technology at work is moving so very fast. It's all now beyond me and I don't care to keep up with the moving pace.

I have to carry on but I have nothing left in me to give

OP posts:
chinesestirfry · 10/06/2025 08:23

@TwoLeggedGrooveMachine yup me too, SEN & elderly parents. I am a carer to my SEN child (19) while also working FT. Sorry to hear about your horrible boss. I have also experienced that.

I literally have nothing left to give. I've made it into the office today. That was a struggle alone.

OP posts:
TwoLeggedGrooveMachine · 10/06/2025 08:18

Could have written this post OP 😩

I changed jobs because of a horrible boss but I’m really struggling in a new role. It’s all the many, many systems we have to use which were all set up wrong so I’m constantly chasing to get all the problems resolved. Dealing with teenagers with SEN and an elderly parent and starting to feel resentful that I won’t have a rest for 15 years.

edwinbear · 10/06/2025 08:18

YANBU OP. I’ve just been made redundant at 50, the thought of having to get out there, job hunting, interviewing, pretending to be all keen and enthusiastic, fills me with dread. Then there’s actually starting a new job, meeting new colleagues, learning new systems and ways of working - utterly exhausting.

In theory, I have enough in savings to not work anymore, but life will be far more enjoyable with two incomes coming in so I need to suck it up and get on with it. I am going to try and change direction though, it won’t be easy and will mean a big pay cut, but I’m hoping that will give me my mojo back a bit.

Fraudornot · 10/06/2025 08:15

Try and put as much as possible into a private pension or ISAs starting now so that it doesn’t have to be another 15 years. Or drop some days and start a side hustle so work is not the majority of your life.

RochelleGoyle · 10/06/2025 08:13

It's very sad OP, the world we live in demands so much of us. I'm younger than you but can already empathise. Maybe a change of direction at work might reignite some enthusiasm? Although the prospect of retraining may also be exhausting! 💐

lostinthesunshine · 10/06/2025 08:12

Maybe “a change is as good as a rest”. Could you switch careers to get your energy and enthusiasm back?