AIBU to think people do worse things as part of their job?

[Shockedshell]

An acquaintance recently told me I must be pretty heartless to do my job and she doesnt know how I sleep at night.
I'm a Housing Officer for the Local Authority, part of my role involves instigating enforcement action for tenancy breaches and can ultimately lead to tenants being evicted . I need to convince a Judge to grant a warrant of eviction before I carry one out so not just my decision alone. Most evictions are for rent arrears then ASB and I try very hard to work with people to turn things around first.
I sleep at night because in the case of an ASB eviction I know the local community will have a better quality of life once the perps been evicted. In the case of rent arrears every situations different but I know I work hard to help people but sometimes they still won't treat rent as a priority debt.
So do you do worse things as part of your job? If so how do you sleep at night?

Yes. Lawyers & judges have to do things and make decisions that in an ideal world would not been needed.

But we don't live in an ideal world.

Like you, we sleep because we do our job the best we can to try and provide (as close to) the best outcome for the people concerned.

In my job, I could attend to an elderly faller and make them a cup of tea, have a chat about the good ol' days etc then attend a major incident the next. Terrorist or otherwise.
Then go to a belly ache.
Life goes on.
Messes with your head.

I'm in housing too and have been to so many evictions. Some quite distressing.
However, as you know, there isn't one of them that hasn't been given a dozen chances to turn it around, start behaving or start a weekly repayment payment.
I console myself with the happy family waiting to be rehoused in their place who need that house and will make their neighbours lives bearable.

Actually I don't sleep well unless medicated.....

The ones I wonder about are the barristers and lawyers that defend the evil ones. Can't they turn it down? Awful

You are not evil OP everyone has their place and role to play

Yes many people do. While it's sad for the people being evicted, you will first have tried your utmost to support them to prevent it from happening. In the cases of ASB, their neighbours will be profoundly grateful for your intervention.

Stop: everyone should have a competent defence. It's one of the things which marks us out as civilised.

I commission drug and alcohol services, cut funding by 20% by closing buildings but this has hit women and families hardest, service is only just clinically safe, not even sure if it counts as treatment anymore - no individualised counselling, just prescription and group work.

Its a running battle to get premises as no one wants it visible, rough sleeping on the increase, mental health need increasing and deaths increasing. Keyworkers are burning out. Recomission is coming up, another cut and a worse service,.

Yet people still get off heroin, and they are incredible, absolutely incredible.

Gnome

I know / sigh

But there are some cases that are so awful I struggle

But you are right

A lot of people have a ridiculous view of certain jobs. I read a post on here once where the poster said how devastated she'd be, for moral reasons, if her daughter did certain jobs. One of those jobs was defence lawyer.

You just have to try not to let the many morons and dickheads in the world get you down.

I said to DH after Grenfell that I did wonder how the people who signed off on that cladding were sleeping plus the company that sold them. DH is an ex-housing officer. We both shuddered.

The one that REALLY got me, and I can't remember the details, but it was in France a year or two ago. They'd commissioned these new swanky trains for gazillions of Euros and on the day of launch they were (something like) to wide to fit into the stations. I imagine the guy who'd signed on THAT dotted line had quite a sleepless night! "zut allhore" doesn't quite cover it! "Medre"? (sorry for my poor French spelling!)

Yes yes why don't we all do nice fluffy stuff? Because the world won't turn. I'm sure your apparently grim job can be satisfying, as you are making a difference.

Having said that there's no way I could do a job that involves insects or spiders.

YANBU

KeepServingTheDrinks yes that French train case was toe-curling. My heart really went out to the poor person responsible!

There is a lot worse jobs out there but I think it all depends on the person, you could have a really nice job and its the person who makes it a horrible. For example. Midwife - amazing job bringing a life into the world but damn some are heartless (my first told me to get on with it and labour don't hurt, refused me gas and air or the epidural. baring in mind I'd been in labour 10 days and 21 hours!!)

I have had a awful experience with a woman who was a housing officer who wanted to evict me for rent arrears though. It was the judge and my solicitor who was nice and understood (there jobs can't be nice sometimes) I was In a DV relationship and my ex took all mine and my kids money off me leaving me in just under 4k of debt, not all rent. The housing woman knew this and I set up a payment plan. She argued and argued with the judge to get me charged £350 and a CCJ and even brought my ex into the room defending him! After that I made sure to change housing officer and the one I've got now has helped me so much.

I used to work in Housing for the local council many year ago.

Once the Poll tax came in I resigned as I strongly disagreed with it and couldn't chase others to pay it when I was refusing to pay it myself

The job I'm in now only gives me sleepless nights worrying about some of my patients and whether they'll still be around in the morning

I used to work in the oil and gas industry. I am very concerned about the environment, and about health and safety. And yet I have met people who were really when they found out about my job, and seemed to hold me personally responsible for the Iraq war, every cover up and suppression of data and every environmental disaster that has ever happened. (Most of these people still drove cars and flew away on foreign holidays regularly, of course. And naturally the end of the coal industry was a terrible, terrible thing but the end of the oil industry will be wonderful).
Hopefully we will continue moving towards a world in which fossil fuels are no longer used, but until that happens isn't better to have those who are very conscientious about the environment working in the industry? Isn't it better to extract oil and gas from stable, highly regulated areas like the North sea than from dodgy, exploited, poorly regulated places?

I sleep fine at night.

...And no, I have never fracked a thing in my life.

Child protection social worker = damned if we do, damned if we don't. Struggle to think of another job which is so universally criticised by the press...

Stop: everyone should have a competent defence. It's one of the things which marks us out as civilised.

I get that in principle. In reality it often gets very uncivilized - rape victims having their dirty underwear held up in court, being asked about their sex lives, other victims/witnesses having their sanity questioned, being shouted at, etc.

I know it's a job that needs to be done, but it looks like it would only be well done by the sociopathic.

Yes. My mother in law works in adoption and has to approve or turn down applicants. You're just doing your job within the guidelines that you're given.

I'm the chair of a housing association. I have to approve evictions after the sheriff court grants a decree (scotland).

I don't even get paid for it.

I reckon I owe it to the 99.9 per cent of our tenants who respect their tenancies though.

I know it's a job that needs to be done, but it looks like it would only be well done by the sociopathic.

I'm sure they aren't all that way, but I know of one who describes his job as "keeping the guilty on the streets to persecute the innocent' or something along those lines. Pretty sure he has no conscience whatsoever.

I couldn't do it.

Senior Crisis team worker.

I have to regularly tell people no sorry, we can't come out to see you. We really have to be very boundaried in who we do see face to face. But I'd genuinely love to pop out and spend an hour with the anxious old person who just wants some company.

A mental health crisis is a very subjective thing and because of resources we have to be very pragmatic and really prioritise.

I think your job is going to get much worse once universal credit comes in op. People are struggling now with sanctions bedroom tax and rent arrears.

I retrained and studied/qualified to become a Funeral Director and embalmer. It is a job, that while not 'hated', most say they could not do.
I do not sleep well at night as I am 'on call' a lot, or trying to get work done so I can spend more time with my family. I have missed Christmas dinner, birthday parties, family events...or left early, to meet heartbroken families and friends.

The privilege of looking after a loved family member and ensuring the grieving family are 'ok'...that feeling is what makes me carry on each day, it is truly a vocation not just 'a job'.

When emotions are high and you are doing your best to resolve situations, whilst hearing abuse or being seen as 'the bad guy', it must be difficult OP! It is hard not to take it personally but you are doing your job, working hard, to keep a roof over your own head! YANBU at all!

Stop - I know someone who specialised in defending paedophiles because as well as making sure that everyone gets a fair trial, she tried to make sure that sentencing included appropriate therapy and rehabilitation rather than just "lock em up and throw away the key" (whole of life sentences being extremely rare these days)