To ask advice re work/ life balance

[London5000]

Well asking for a stressed friend who I met for a coffee today and I said I’d ask on here
So in the last few years , she has worked for 2 small businesses Basically she has been stressed as the businesses deal with clients paperwork and junior staff seem to make lots of mistakes which could have repercussions for her
She has raised this with business owners in both cases who have been supportive but unable to stop the mistakes happening so it has left her stressed and in reality she thinks that the business owners don’t want to get rid of staff for fear of an employment tribunal
Anyway , although she is only late forties she could feasibly retire as she has some savings and a dh with quite a good job She feels that if she does a similar job the situation will be the same
So is she unreasonable to retire early in this situation as it’s had / has such an extreme effect on her stress levels and a bad effect on her health and she feels nothing is worth that

Could she look at working part time in a different job first? Or try out something totally different? I can’t believe every company is the same as the one she’s with.

I’d be wary of giving up work totally and relying on the husband’s wage. You never know what might happen in the future.

What about her pension? If she "retires" now will she be living off her husband until 65 before she draws her pension? Or has she invested into a pension?

I understand that her job is stressful - is there any reason that she can't find a different job with a different company, hopefui less stressful?

I think she needs to have a straight/frank discussion with the business owners saying that she enjoys her job, likes the company she works for, etc but that the junior staff are still making the same errors, that this could have repercussions for her and that the stress this is causing her is intolerable to the point where she is thinking of leaving.

Maybe set a plan with the business owners about how this is going to be addressed with the junior staff - staff briefing, additional training, disciplinary action, and let them know that she will be reporting every instance to them. I think she also needs to set a plan about how they can support her with the stress this is causing her and make sure that repercussions do not fall on her. And I think they need to set a very tight timeline on when this being reviewed (eg. they aim to have achieved x, y and z in a month then review)

Once they've met and discussed all this if I was her I would summarise their discussions and what agreement they had come to in an email so that it's all in writing.

And I'd start looking for other jobs. Nobody knows what might happen in the future - he DH could leave her, become ill, lose his job, who knows? I certainly wouldn't take retirement 20 years early based on someone else supporting me. Look at going part-time or even taking a job in a completely different field, but retain some independence and a toe in the employment-market

Thanks for the replies so far Really good points- I will update her

I feel sure that she could find another job which wouldn't involve this stress. Maybe in the same role, or maybe a different one. However, sometimes when a person is under daily stress, it is hard to see the wood for the trees, and hard to find the time and energy for job hunting. I doubt she is in the right place to make any life-changing decisions.

But she does know that her current job is making her miserable. She is fortunate enough to be able to make ends meet for a while at least without any earned income. How would she feel about quitting her current job and taking a break from work for a couple of months to get her head clear? Then she could start looking for another job or consider a career change, or perhaps she will be certain that retirement is the right idea.

Thanks Saracen , I’ll put that to her as well