Is anyone in a mundane, low stress job?

[LegoTherapy]

Every time somebody posts about their job, especially if comparing themselves to a SAHM, or talking about their DH they always state how their job is high pressure, full-on, very busy, very important etc. They usually earn a lot too but that goes hand in hand I suppose with these high-flying jobs.
It got me thinking about if there are any mumsnetters in mundane, low stress jobs that aren’t “very important” (I think all jobs are important both to the individual and society as a whole) because nobody ever talks about it. It’s as though posters have to validate their situation by saying how stressed and important they are.
I was a nurse and thinking about it it was very busy and demanding but I didn’t really think about it at the time. It’s only looking back. I didn’t consider myself important either. Most people are easily replaced in jobs.
I expect mumsnet has a higher than average amount of higher earners with very important, very busy, very stressful jobs. I suppose they could also be mundane so maybe mundane wasn’t the right word to use.
is your job, or your DH’s relatively mundane, unimportant and low pressure? If so, what do you/they do? Similarly, what hobbies do you/they have? it’s obviously cycling.

Everybody’s a high flyer here then 😃

I’m a Senior Social Worker in an Adults locality team.
I’m a mother of 3, eldest 16, youngest 3.
I work full-time and sometimes over my hours.
Yet I think being a full time SAMH is much more stressful! 🤣 come Sunday evening I’m wanting to go back to work 🤣

Wouldn’t say I earn a lot at all but that’s public services for you, but I would call it important.

I used to go to work for a rest! 12 hours with nobody shouting “mummy!” No demands other than my patients and sometimes the boss. It was bliss! I loved that space away from home.

Bookkeeper , part time from home. Once into the swing of things it’s quite prosaic and (apart from the odd thing) low stress. Love it.

I’m a low earning, unimportant childcare worker but had no choice but to work full time as I ended up a single parent. I would have preferred to be a SAHM and found it less stressful than having to do home, work and kids.

Me! My previous job was low paid, but also not stressful in the slightest. I'm not sure mundane is the right word? It wasn't important, and some aspects were boring/repetitive, other parts I did reasonably enjoy/find interesting. I worked with some really great people, it was pretty flexible, and my manager was an absolute angel. It was a totally fine job, just a shame it was so poorly paid (minimum wage then got promoted to slightly higher).

I moved jobs after my second mat leave because with two lots of nursery fees to pay, I needed to reduce my hours further or it would have been costing us for me to work. Unfortunately they couldn't accommodate that request as they had a policy with a minimum number of hours which I already worked, so I had to leave.

My job since then is actually quite important - it's admin based, and for the NHS. Some of my team regularly complain about how stressed they are - I have never understood why, I don't find it remotely stressful. It's bad 3 so poorly paid but then as I say, no work stress, much better pension that I'd get anywhere else on that type of low salary, the work is meaningful because it is important for patients, and I do actually genuinely find it quite interesting about half the time. My team are also absolutely lovely and of course I got the limited hours I needed for my family. As an individual team member I'm not important at all though. It's a role that is semi skilled so I would say it does take a good 12 months or so to become fully trained and competent on it, and not a lot of people have the skills, but equally pretty much anyone could start and learn it like I have, so not super difficult to replace me or anything like that.

My DH also works in the NHS but is a band 7 healthcare worker. His job is more 'important', it's patient facing and obviously he earns a lot more too. It can be high pressure and stressful. I'm frankly glad I don't have a job like that, the decision making he does, I don't think you can really easily put salary figures on that type of responsibility. Same for anyone making clinical decisions including a band 5 midwife or nurse for example. It's just not something I could do, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. I'm a worrier and I just know I'd be a total wreck with a job like that, I couldn't do it.

I had a mundane job for ten years whilst my children were little, I did 3 days a week on Reception in a university leisure centre. It was great, I just went in and did my work then went home and didn’t give work a second thought.

Now my children are older I’m in a full time better paid, higher stress role (still fairly low stress compared to most) in the charity sector. I was very lucky to be able to go back into a good job after ten years out of the field.

Unimportant!? I wouldn't describe a childcare worker a unimportant! Definitely very underpaid but you are so important, you look after what is most precious to us! Thank you!

I have got a technical specialist sort of job, pay is in the £40k ballpark. I’m the only one qualified at my place to do the work so if I’m not there/do a cock up that would cause a big impact in another part of the chain. Sometimes people in other parts of the chain get a cob on and that can make it stressful but the work itself is pretty straightforward to me. I’m totally replaceable by someone else with my qualifications.

@Bryonyberries you do an exceptionally important job. Undervalued by much of society and underpaid but incredibly important.

There was a segment on LBC yesterday that touched (sort of) on this kind of topic - the discussion was about the binmen's strike in Birmingham and how this is a job that is typically portrayed as 'menial' and 'unskilled' with the subtext of 'anyone who does this as a job has to have failed in life' kind of thing. And yet, when these workers aren't there doing the job, the whole infrastructure of the city falls apart, so there is a strong argument to be made that these are actually the types of job that keep the country running and are actually vitally important.

One guy called in to say that if his CEO disappeared for a day people would barely notice, but the day that the cleaner was off sick and the toilets didn't get cleaned had everyone noticing and complaining. It's an interesting point.

Hmm. Im a freelance wfh draftsperson and designer. Having worked in a number of design offices this is by FAR the easiest. Mostly because when I started doing this I sold myself on the parts of the job I really liked and got rid of all the fecking admin, and spreadsheets. I also mostly work as a subcontractor for other company's so I have very infrequent dealings with the customer/public. I think these three things (work from home, not customer facing and minimal admin) is what makes it less stressful.

Saying all that. I think my least stressful job (although not as enjoyable) was working as a council officer. Compared to design offices, the pace was glacial and standards were so low.

I went from daily criticism for minute details to being treated as some kind of design deity in a handful of days just because I could actually put a coherent scale diagram together and use graphics software.

Me. It's great. Spent years being proactive and suggesting better ways for things. Got ignored, people left,people came and left. Managers making stuff up, fudging figures to suit etc. Complaining about spending money on train fare or petrol if they have to come on site (50k plus jobs). My colleagues and I now sit back and watch and just do what we need to. No promotions, incentives,training are given or offered. Might be an opportunity but this means do X for free and it will become your job.

Part time 3 days 9-5 WFH coordinating job in the private health sector. Very low stress for me - although many on my team find it extremely stressful. Not a high value paid job.

I’m a relatively low paid, part time, low stress marketing person. I’ve been there, done that with the money/status/stress of a senior role and you (literally) couldn’t pay me to take that on again - I’ve simply decided I prefer my life with less money/status/stress.

Part time PA for disabled clients and with sight impairments.

I don't deal with stress well, never have so it suits me but it would have been nicer to have been a higher earner but I couldn't handle it so have just excepted that the older I get. I'm 52 and looking forward to retirement in a few years.

Yup. I’m a technical writer, wfh, 9-5, no clients, I don’t even have a phone number.

Earn c.£80k and zero stress. Unbelievably lucky but also kind of bored so I might shoot myself in the foot and go back to client facing…

Me. Mine is quite mundane and non important. I do accounts, not qualified because failed a paper many years ago. I can do it with my eyes closed, no stress, I actually enjoy it, it's relatively well paid, I work 4 days, I'm home at 4.30pm, and when I log off I don't worry or think about work when I'm at home, it's repetitive and mundane which I like, but then I have a problem/issue/project that gives me enough of something to get my teeth into. The people I work with are fine, pleasantly ok. What's not to like?

I’m retired but had nearly 20 years in a stressful minimum wage job, packing mail order parcels, with impossible deadlines and heart-thumping volumes of orders to get packed, labelled and ready for the various couriers. I took redundancy when the business moved and had a couple of years part time on a supermarket checkout, for a few pence over NMW but oh, the bliss of not seeing a mountain of work and knowing it could not be completed in the time available!

I’m in a low stress mundane job but unfortunately it comes with a very low salary. It’s NHS Band 2, but sadly for me the department is being phased out so I don’t have a lot of time there left. Bloody love it though.

I'm low-ish paid and work in a school. Not teaching but support and the only person doing my role. It's not particularly stressful, but it is busy as points.

I'm working well within my ability and comfort range though, which probably helps with any stress.

Hmmm I only have one child a toddler but find work much more challenging mainly because of pressure, expectations etc. I really enjoyed mat leave and didn’t find it difficult other than it was a bit boring. I can see how looking after children is more relentless than some jobs, but your time is your own at least, there is no pressure, and no one is going fire you if you mess up.

I have an incredibly boring, low stress job and I don't work a minute over my contracted hours. £56k
I don't think I can hack it for more than a year or so I am so so bored and unfulfilled

TBF the CEO would be doing a terrible job if the company couldn’t run for a day without them

Ooh what do you do, I sometimes really long for this