To leave the public sector for a less stressful role?

[twiglets7]

I work in communications in the public sector and I’m feeling really stressed, pressured and to be honest the job feels thankless. I’ve never worked in a communications or marketing job this stressful and I’ve put up with it for years, but now with a young baby DS I’m finding myself crying at work in the toilets, dreading work, counting down to annual leave and the weekends.

I know I’m good at what I do, so it’s not because I can’t do it. It’s the working conditions. I have a lovely manager and team, flexible working which works with DS so that keeps me there but with the way we work and it’s not going to improve, I’m not sure how much more I can take despite these things. It’s really tough.

have you left the public sector, or a stressful role for a less stressful position and not regret it?

Of course you are allowed to change jobs to suit your changing lifestyle. You may want to change again in future, if your new job isn't all that you hope, or as your ds starts school or other changes occur. Not sure why you mention public sector. There are some very stressful jobs in the private sector too. You just need to shop around to find what works for you. It's not easy being a working mum, but some jobs make it easier than others!

I think the first months returning to work post maternity leave are hugely difficult for a huge proportion of people, it's so very common to struggle with confidence, impostor syndrome, sheer exhaustion and the rest. It clearly was stressful before maternity leave so a change may truly be necessary, but change itself can be stressful so it's not something to do lightly.

What is it that you are finding so stressful in your current job?

Being clear about what the problem is - and what you don’t want in a job - and make sure you don’t end up in a similar position.

the things I’m finding stressful -
a complete lack of direction but being demanded answers
pressure when things need immediate attention, everyone panics which in turn makes me panic, you do the work and you’re not even acknowledged.
being pulled in what feels like 100 different directions.
teams work in silos and don’t work together
when you need help they’re always too busy so you feel like you can’t ask.
being expected to attend meetings or having difficult conversation with other people in the organisation when really a senior manager should be attending but not getting paid for it.
unmanageable demand.

could be a mix of returning from work following maternity and being exhausted enough as it is, and resilience being low.

I just want something less stressful without impacting my pay too much but seems maybe that’s impossible. Just feeling very low.