Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

To ask why you go to work

481 replies

IamthepermedowlofVeronica · 10/04/2016 22:10

Try to be brief but thorough....
Due back from 1 years maternity at the beginning of June. Hate job, don't want to go back. Have had offer of temporary ad hoc work between June and start of summer hols.
Wondered how much job seekers is whilst I apply and interview over summer hols. Did the online calculator tangy: If I work current hours and pay childcare I would earn £6 less than if I signed on job seekers.
So why should I go to work (no career, just a money earning job) and how does signing on work? Has anyone found it detrimental to confidence etc?
Hopefully I'll get another cash earning job in September or,something when ds will be 15 months

OP posts:
TeaBelle · 10/04/2016 22:13

If you voluntarily leave your job you won't be entitled to jsa. Morally if you are able to work then why take the money from a struggling benefit pot

Arfarfanarf · 10/04/2016 22:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BorisJohnsonsHair · 10/04/2016 22:18

I found that not working made me very isolated and insular. Most of my friends work, so very few people around during the day to meet up with. I also found that I lost my identity as a person and just became "mummy". I am now back at work by choice (I'm fortunate that DH earns enough for both of us) in a job that I quite enjoy and it has done me the world of good. The chat, the jokes, the moans ... I would really miss it all if I was at home all day.

Sighing · 10/04/2016 22:19

I don't work, nor receive any benefits. I get so much negativity about this that I am now attending counselling due to my dwindling confidence and self image.

FiaMarrow · 10/04/2016 22:19

With JSA you will need to prove that you're actively looking for work in order to get the allowance. So every couple of weeks you'll have to go to the job centre and tell them how you're getting on in your quest for employment.

If you are choosing to not work then you should not be eligible for JSA.

tethersend · 10/04/2016 22:21

Don't just think of the immediate financial situation- try to think long-term. Would a career break damage your future earning potential?

andsoimback · 10/04/2016 22:21

To put food on the table and a roof over our heads and so I have a pension for when I can no longer work. I really enjoy my job which is abonus.

EatShitDerek · 10/04/2016 22:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

EverySongbirdSays · 10/04/2016 22:22

You won't find being on JSA a barrel of laughs OP the days of sitting on your arse are long gone. You'll be expected to show you've applied for a certain amount of jobs every day, if you miss an appointment - you'll be sanctioned. If your appointment gets changed and you don't get the message you'll be sanctioned - sanctioned for not applying for jobs you aren't suited to and have to attend courses.

I don't know why you think it's an attractive option.

VoldysGoneMouldy · 10/04/2016 22:22

I can't work. I wish I was well enough to work, even if I hated it.

Also, what TeaBelle said.

minatiae · 10/04/2016 22:23

I go to work because I love my job. So much that I would still go to work if I won the lottery. It's a part of me and I'm very attached to it. It's a lot of work for not very much money, but it's extremely fulfilling, and I am very lucky to have been able to pursue it (requires a PhD).

Any possibility of changing to a job you don't hate?

ollieplimsoles · 10/04/2016 22:23

My DD is 5 months old, I love her more than anything but I'm already back at work. Dh makes enough money to pay for everything and build savings (which he does) but I worked long and hard on my career before I became a mum and I wasn't goin to just give it up.

I could see myself becoming depressed if I didn't have a career.

gamerchick · 10/04/2016 22:24

You think it's easy to claim jobseekers? Crack on Grin

I work because no kids are allowed there.

Original poster
IamthepermedowlofVeronica · 10/04/2016 22:24

So if I handed my notice in with current job even if it's to go to temporary work then when that's finished I couldn't sign on?
I'm loving being at home at the mo and struggling with leaving him even for a couple of hours, idea of work terrifies me, especially as I don't like job :(
Just trying to do a pros and cons list, esp with jsa meaning I actually gross more than going to work!

OP posts:
ssd · 10/04/2016 22:25

I work for money and company

thatsn0tmyname · 10/04/2016 22:26

I spent many years studying to be a teacher. I only earn £200 a month after nursery fees but we need that money. I also want to keep my skills fresh, not lose my classroom nerve and I have lots of friends at work. Things will improve when my children start school.

MsColouring · 10/04/2016 22:27

Are there any other option? Working from home?

Soapmaker34 · 10/04/2016 22:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

OwlinaTree · 10/04/2016 22:28

Wouldn't you need the child care for the temporary job anyway? And what about when he is 15 months? So that issue won't go away? Or is the temping working round your partner's hours?

OwlinaTree · 10/04/2016 22:29

I think you would have to be actively seeking work to be on JSA, which is pretty stressful!

EverySongbirdSays · 10/04/2016 22:30

I'm sorry but I'm finding myself getting the rage from your posts and I'm going to have to Biscuit

This is why genuine benefit claimants who can't work and would love to either be able to or have someone give them the chance to are finding themselves demonized

fusionconfusion · 10/04/2016 22:31

I can't work right now due to moving country and undergoing revalidation procedures on my qualification which is taking a very long time (been 18 months so far and is likely to be even longer). Other jobs available won't cover childcare. It's very miserable not being able to work. I miss having colleagues and a life outside of the home. Sometimes, I miss it terribly. I am really trying to "live in the now" and enjoy this time away from work but I feel uncertainty about finances so much and I hate not knowing if the career I worked for is absolutely gone down the swanny because of bureaucracy. It's a hard slog.

For what it's worth, after my first child I thought like you for a short while (though I did go back to work). Now I just can't believe how good I had it.

KP86 · 10/04/2016 22:31

My sanity!

I'm not a particularly good SAHM (you won't find me cutting up egg cartons to make caterpillars or having an afternoon dance party in a blanket fort under the table) and spending all day every day doing things just for/with DS was doing my head in.

So I got a weekend job working at a cafe, with other grown ups. It makes me appreciate being a mum so much more because I get a break. I have a chance to actually miss my boy and get to think about something other than nappies, next meals and tidying up the toys.

I am also lucky that it's not about the money for me, the small amount of extra we get pays for DS's one day a week with the child minder.

I am in awe of people who work full time with small children because child care is ridiculously expensive compared to wages. I couldn't afford it on my current hourly rate, I think I would be working for about £1/day after child care and tax, as we are not eligible for any public funds or tax credits.

KingJoffreyLikesJaffaCakes · 10/04/2016 22:31

I have a laugh at work. And I need the money.

I had a year off with depression and being summoned to the Job Centre monthly to explain why I was claiming ESA (despite the doctor's note) and being sneered at for wanting to claim benefits was enough to send me back to work part time.

The Job Centre staff are relentless savages who despise anyone who claims benefits and the Job Centre is a thoroughly unpleasant place to be. Hideous.

There's also the constant cock ups where you don't get your money and getting them to sort it can be really hard.

At least with a job you know the money will be there on payday.

Doobydoo · 10/04/2016 22:32

I work as main wage earner. My work dows not define me. We struggle. I would prob feel less of an idiot if I could claim all and sundry and be around for my children more.