If you have a job with immediate outcomes...

[Underthemoon1]

Do you manage to leave work stress at work? Or do you find it still follows you home?

I have a project-based job - typically I will have a few projects on the go at once, each lasting several months. It's generally fairly low pressure but the projects usually drag on and I often feel so much dread about projects going more slowly than they should and huge reports needing to be finished. I find that I take home a lot of work stress because of the frustration of things taking ages to be finished.

I'm very seriously thinking of a career change and wondering if it's easier to leave work stress at work if you have a job with immediate results and activities that you can't take home. I guess I'm thinking of things like health workers, some types of financial, physical and construction jobs. I'm sure there are many more!

Has anyone else switched from one type of job to the other - how did you find the switch?

I think this is a 'you' problem not a 'job' problem. Whatever the role, you would go home and ruminate on the day. Have you ever tried to practice mindfulness? You can be in control of your thoughts rather than having to suffer them.

I agree with the above, this doesn’t sound job related. I also work on projects that take some time to complete. However, I leave work at the door and when I’m home it’s family time. Easier said then done I know but try a few different things and see what works. For me it’s listening to podcasts on the way home and then having dinner with the family. When I was struggling to switch off and was checking emails in the evening I used to remind myself that replying now will not make the project move drastically forward and that a well rested me is more productive the next day. Took some time but now I don’t look at work stuff outside of the office.

You're probably right. I do sometimes do things like mindfulness and try to make an effort to leave work at the door but I should work on it more before I make any drastic decisions!

Not necessarily a you problem. Are you supported if things go wrong? Will you be hauled over the coals? Made to feel like you're an idiot? If so then yeah its understandable that you'd worry all the time.

I would agree it's a mindset thing rather than a job thing. When I used to work in retail, which is quite immediate I would still think about work when I was at home and there was still stress in terms of what needed to be done the next day, work colleagues, hitting sales targets etc.

I also listen to a podcast on my way home from work that occupies my brain because I concentrate on it rather than thinking about the day. It is a good time to decompress and leave work behind. I also never look at my work emails on my phone when I'm at home unless something really urgent as happened as I think that's a slippery slope.

I do sometimes dream about work and wake up feeling like I've worked a full day already but I'm not sure how to tackle that one!

I understand what you mean OP. I'm a nurse, my working day can be stressful but when I'm at home, I can forget about it as the following day will have new and completely different problems to deal with. I can't take work home with me and any problems at work get dealt with pretty much straight away.
I recently spent a year doing a masters level qualification for work- knowing that the work was piling up week after week, and I had so much I needed to get done was definitely a different kind of stress.

@milkandblackspiders that's really interesting to hear how you found the different types of stress. I feel my brain does work a bit like that too.

I have a job with immediate outcomes but I’m also self-employed so leaving the job at the office isn’t really a thing!