If you're in your mid or late fifties and still working full time, how do you feel?

[IamRoyFuckingKent]

Because I'm knackered! Is everyone else? And do you feel old at work? Or are you surrounded by a lot of people your age?

I have been working FT OTH for a long time it feels and I'm starting to feel old at work. If you don't, why not?

58 and tired. Not so much from the job, but the commuting although I am hybrid working so not always in the office.

I'm dropping a day next year and can't wait

Thank you for posting. I’m mid 50s and exhausted. Working from home full time.
I also feel old due to brain fog and just lack of speed which I’ve put down to menopause.
id love to go part time but worry about the money and also about just doing the same number of hours for less money.

Mid 50's. Physical job.
Makes me tired but keeps me fit.

Late 50's and tired, although that might be due to the 4.30am alarms this week (early shift). This is also our busiest time of year and my job is very physical so I do ache in places. I love my job though and I hope I can keep going for a fair few years more.

ETA we have a wide age range so I don't feel like the "old" person at all.

These replies are so interesting! I mostly WFH but was in an office this week for a day and found it much more tiring, I think my ability to be sociable has reduced actually, I just find it knackering. I had a few days off recently and really noticed how much less tired I was just from not being at work. The lie ins helped too I'm sure, as did not having to use my brain much.

I think maybe I'm deficient in some vitamins as I am inordinately tired despite sleeping 9 hours some nights and not drinking in the week. I think I need to lose weight and give up sugar as well, that's probably not helping. And I find it hard to exercise when I'm at as desk for 8+ hours a day. I wonder if I would feel a lot better if I lost weight + took vitamins + exercised? Worth trying probably!

Whoever said their bullshit tolerance is reduced is right too, I do bite my lip sometimes although don't need to too much as I'm relatively senior.

I mostly don't feel that old at work but have done this week - my boss is 17 years younger than me. She's lovely but I'm conscious that when I had my first child she was 14. And someone I worked with yesterday talked about their dad and he's 65 which is only 7 years older than me.

I cannot imagine doing a nursing or other physical job, I think it would finish me off.

I’m nearly 59.
i work shifts, but not nights.
some days I start at 7.30 and other days I finish at 11.30pm

I feel fine, I’m usually always busy. I’m getting fed up of ll the extra on line training we have to do.
ive just had two weeks of nd ve got some great ideas to implement when I go back.

Im 55, work hybridly and do a nine day fortnight so I feel fine (most days!) - couldn’t go back to commuting five days a week, that would be too much. I do get fed up of the politics and sorting out various issues in my team, but overall I’m glad to be working and increasing my pension, and will do so until I feel I can’t.

58, full time and tired, but have just been diagnosed with a chronic illness so that could be why I'm knackered. Struggling to keep memorise all the stuff that I need and previously found easy to do.

At 57 I was knackered beyond belief and really only going through the motions. Then my boss said the two most beautiful words in the English language: "Voluntary Redundancy".

As a result, the quality of my life has improved no end!

I was talking to a friend (49M) in the pub the other night and he's self employed as a conveyancing solicitor employing 2 staff. He's said he's seriously thinking of closing down his business whilst he's young enough to enjoy good health as he never set out to be HR, manager etc etc...

Mid 50's work full time on 12 hour nights. Knackered all the time.

I was working full time until 60. Then part time. Wouldn't say I was knackered but I had a very stressful job which was taking its toll. Have been working since I was 16. Big mix of people in the office so never felt too old for the job.

I’m just a tiny bit amazed at all the people WFH, and wondering what their job is. Not a criticism, just curious. I’m assuming banks, IT, customer services, consultancies - but really I’ve absolutely no idea. Maybe I should do a thread on this.

I'm clearly very out of touch at 62, and retired (ill health).

Tired and resentful as DH has retired ages ago and he is only slightly older than me

Love this…. I need to work until I am 67 too. I love my job which like yours isn’t physical .

55 and knackered.
Primary school teacher and dropped to 4 days in January.
I have got some health issues.

We're downsizing and I'm going to retire in 2 years.

Im early 50's and own a small cleaning business. I work around 30-32 hours per week and yes, I'm Nucking Fackered. My knees are going and my back is always stiff. I don't have a pension (bad advice win the 90's) and retirement is nowhere in sight. I need a windfall!

59 here and working FT. Had kids late so 3 teens still at home and at least 2 will go to uni so no end in sight for me. I only go into the office 2 days a week. Couldn't do 5 days in the office these days. I exercise so am quite fit but feel knackered a lot of the time. Plenty of similar aged people where I work so I don't feel like the oldest person there.

At 54 I'm actually the youngest in my team! But it's a small niche team fully wfh, where my colleagues are people who have already retired and came back to do a couple of days a week. My oldest colleague is well into her 70s! But this gives me hope that I'll be able to do something similar if I need extra cash when I officially retire.

It's a rung below my last job but I was totally burnt out. This job I could almost do in my sleep! It's so easy. For what it is, the pay is good. It's one of those gigs where I'm being paid more for my experience than my actual work.

I 100% could not go back to FT in an office. Let alone do a job where I was on my feet all day. I live near a tube station and see people heading to work and I just think thank god that's not me any more!

Almost 55, and WFH I'm doing OK, but if I had to go into office full time I'd be knackered.
I live alone so all the house, car and garden upkeep is on me, plus I try to go to gym 3 times a week, get out for walks, and have a social life (albeit an early night's one)

I need to work till 67 so if I had to do a physical job I'd be doomed!

My friend is 61 and just gone back to working in a school. She's loving it as it's not as demanding as teaching but is still a full time role.
She seems to have energy but has always been a gym bunny and healthy eater with lots of supplements.
In fact she has way more energy than me and I'm over a decade younger.

I'm 50. Full time teacher of 11 year olds. That definitely keeps me young! DH makes fun of me still listening to Radio one and trying to keep my 'youff' but it does give me half a chance to know about some of the stuff they go on about.

It's tiring mentally and physically (duties, PE lessons etc) and I am counting down until I retire at the earliest to do something a bit less stressful/challenging at 60. Maybe part time for a couple of years before then.

But when I leave, I'll miss it dreadfully!

This is a great thread, thank you OP and those who have posted. It’s something I’ve been wondering about for a while.
I’m mid 40s but had kids relatively young so will have an empty nest by age 50 if they all go away to uni etc.
im trying to make a 5 year plan to really go for it at work and get to a very senior position which is doable I think, and I want this in place by 50 so I have something new to focus on once the DC leave home.

Because I'm knackered! Is everyone else?

Not me I am pretty energetic.
It helps that my hours are flexible, I might work 4 days one week & 6 days the week after that, and start finish when I like, or 2 hour break in middle of day, etc.

And do you feel old at work? Or are you surrounded by a lot of people your age?

No & No. The colleagues I see most are age 35-68 ?. The most emotional is a guy age 35. OMG, men in their mid 30s really should not be allowed to come to the office. They are too emotional for professional work #sarcasm. I was chatting to 40yo yesterday about looking after our elderly dads. We find things in common. One gal says she is retiring, she must be close in age to me. I prefer going to an office. For a while my commute was almost 2 hours each way & then it was nice to also WFH some days. It's a sedentary job.

There is so much to do, I never stop moving on my days off. My Young adult DC say I have way more energy than them, too.

55, still working, and no plan on retiring anytime soon. But I had an easy life in my 30s and early 40s, working for myself, earning good money but not having to work that hard. So unlike other people my age who feel worn out I still have the desire to carry on.

I changed careers mid-40s and now work have an employer. It's much harder than working for myself and I don't particularly like being a slave to the rota, but such is life.

I have reduced my hours so only work 3 shifts a week and get 4 days off - which gives me a good work-life balance. I'm not sure I could face retirement just yet. I have just had 5 days off between shifts and despite keeping busy I was starting to get bored and missed using my brain (what is left of it).

However, brain fog is something I suffer with, despite taking HRT. I can't access information as quickly as I could when younger, which is a bullache and I have to write notes all the time so I don't forget what I need to do.

In my 20's I worked 9-5 in an office, with a 3 hours commute every day. If I had was still doing that I think I would be ready for my coffin by now 😝.