Anyone else fed up of the whole work culture in the UK?

OP I could not agree with you more. It is all complete and utter bullshit.

Not sure what you're trying to say? That because I don't hate my job I'm now in a oppressor role? Or have I misunderstood?

What I was saying is I don't know why OP made it seem like it's only the UK that has these problems - I've worked in awful jobs in different countries, and also good ones in both. So I was questioning why the location was so specific to OP.

I don't work in a rubbish job now. I promise you I don't oppress anyone.

💯

God OP I thought you were working in my old firm because that was exactly how you described it in your post. Performative’initiatives’, proud of fostering a caring and inclusive culture, yadda yadda yadda. Then when it came to pay rises and bonuses you hadn’t done enough outside your role to warrant receiving anything. After my boss complaining to my line manager that the menopause was affecting my work (it wasn’t, I just decided I wasn’t putting up with their rudeness and shit) I retired. Probably wasn’t the right time or the right decision financially thinking back, but I really couldn’t take it any longer.

Curious as to why all these posts saying they love their job and work culture, and that the corporate schlog OP describes is NOT typical for the UK - refuse to say what industry and position they’re in?

From what I’ve been told if you’re not the one feeling like an oppressed underling, chances are you’re the one oppressing the underlings and blissfully benefitting from their silent struggles.

Yep. They gave one area a big pay rise and obviously people complained and the directors decided it was jealousy. They say anyone can walk into the jobs on assembly so the general ops dont deserve it like the machinest do (yes, im a machinest but not one who got the money). Anyone can do a job they're trained to do, you can't just turn up at the assembly line not knowing colours, styles, sizes etc but they dont see that. Think everyone has product knowledge... they dont 😂

What a smug self-centred approach

My company’s menopause policy was unveiled to much fanfare - the only concrete measure in it was to permit a desk fan for Women of a Certain Age. I remember thinking I’d never even considered the possibility that having a desk fan, by anyone for any reason whatsoever, might be a special concession! Underwhelming.

Sounds like hell and I would leave. There are way nicer places to work with lovely culture.

My husband's workplace wanted to show everyone how much they appreciated the hard work they had done during COVID (approx 25% of the employees got stress during COVID), so they gave everyone ..... (Drumroll! Tadaaaa!) : A coupon for a small cup of coffee ☕ in the cafeteria!!!

I hear you. My late friend from my previous workplace died unexpectedly in recent months. The employer advertised the job before the funeral, which I thought was distasteful.

I’ll never go above and beyond for a job ever again. We are just numbers.

Oh gawd. This is all so familiar. Does anyone have ideas for fulfilling work? I’ve already done one failed career change attempt from lecturing/teaching to tech.

I could have written this post OP! I’d love to retrain in something more fulfilling but would have to take a pay cut which just isn’t doable with a mortgage and dependents.
So I’ll just keep plodding on and try and fill non-working hours with things that bring me joy and meaning.

This isn't my work culture. I'd be looking for another role

Oh, menopause policies..what a load of bullshit. I was sat in a HR meeting being put on a PIP, whilst seeing doctors for problems due to menopause, which were causing the problems at work, with the posters on the wall saying how much they supported women going through menopause. I even asked them if they had read the policies themselves!
I left a month later.

Yep. No one gives a shit about you but you are expected to perform like a good little monkey at all times and say and do whatever today’s correct behaviour is otherwise you will be criticised or penalised. It’s abusive. Once you’ve been through a few restructures and regime changes it becomes clear that no one in charge has a clue what they are doing and couldn’t run a bath never mind a complex organisation that provides services or makes goods. I wouldn’t mind but they will never admit it and will double down and turn it back on anyone that points this out, however professionally.

Sadly it’s an employer’s market at the moment in the uk so opportunities to go and do something different or better are minimal. And uncertainty about the future combined with the high cost of living make it difficult to enjoy the fruits of your labour in the here and now. Maybe we need to go back to the view that work is what puts food on the table and isn’t what gives you a sense of purpose or satisfaction, but it sucks.

I'm in a customer facing operations role working in welfare

Is this why you need to be in the office for 3 days a week? Why are you on Teams calls all day to people WFH when you’re in a customer facing position? I would have thought this would mean you see or speak to clients regularly throughout it the day?

It sounds like you struggle with authority and hierarchy, and that you’re fed up with your role.

How old are you and how much experience do you have?

If you don't like your office culture, move job.Get some more qualifications. Earn a promotion.

I work in an office where no-one checks on us (we're grown ups capable of looking after ourselves).
No bonuses, but they pay for our Christmas party. No-one records us though (wtf?)
We can't swap days off, we have a leave system that we stick to. Generally we like what we do, have a good team and our office is usually warm and a comfortable working environment although without frills.

You do what you need to pay the mortgage and put food on the table. Nothing wrong with that. No one owes you a living.

I'm not telling myself anything. I'm quite able to see the benefits of continuous improvement and yes shared services is a very efficient way to reduce the amount of duplication across public sector.

I'd love to know why you, as a tax payer, would want public sector to be bloated inefficient and wasteful of your tax money. Wouldn't you rather the money saved went towards improved NHS provision, better schools and other public services?

Likewise if you are in a business, would you want them to carry on regardless of inefficiencies despite knowing there are better ways of working? They don't make redundancies for the fun of it, they do it because the business needs to cut its cloth according to is profits, that where your salary comes from.

Consider the alternative. While they're thanking you, you have a job, and they're happy with the work you deliver.

isnt that better than them checking your work and finding fault in everything you do?

There was a recent thread on here, where the OPs manager was using AI to pick holes in the OPs work, trying to show how crap she was at her job. That's a toxic environment. I'd say your manager was trying to do their best to be fair and reasonable to all their direct reports whose work was acceptable.

I suppose you have to tell yourself this in order to justify the job that you do, but organisational change is always about so called making efficiencies, which is always code for redundancies and reducing costs. I have been through several restructures and there are sometimes some positives change but usually it cuts staff and centralises processes, only for it to be changed back months/years later as it didn’t work.

Yeah it's desperate. You want me to be happy? Pay me more. That's literally the only aspect of my happiness that you have any control over. Anything else you purport to do towards it is a waste of both our time.

Re the cold: purchase an electric fan heater (get it PAT tested before taking it in or they may refuse it) and just plug it in and stay warm. I have thyroid issues and am always cold. No way could I work if cold.

I manage business change and hear people saying they are fed up with change, restructuring, job changes etc.

what they seem to be oblivious to is the need for businesses to evolve. It would be far worse if they stayed the same and became unprofitable, or in the case of public sector, continue to be wasteful and expensive to the public purse.

unfortunately change causes disruption, lack of certainty and risk to people's livelihoods. The alternative is inefficiency, duplication of effort, people doing work that is no longer a priority to the business.

If management didn't mention well being, didn't show any effort to recognise workplace stress they would be called uncaring and irresponsible. Of course there is a degree of corporate bollox going on, HR advising managers that they need to recognise MH. That's part of their duty of care under Health and Safety at Work Act obligations.

we all have the ultimate choice to work where we do. If it doesn't meet our needs then it's time to take action to locate something more suitable. Also build modern skills to become more useful in today's workplace because some automation will necessarily take place to remove mundane tasks, leaving the more complex aspects for people to own eg decision-making, interpreting data etc. gets skilled up, or get left behind!