To not really want to work anymore?

[caranconnor]

I am 50 and although I have enjoyed working in the past, I would prefer never to work again. I feel I have done enough. It is not an option, I have to work for another 17 years. But anyone else feel like this?

I’m surprised how many people are chasing the ever decreasing pot of gold at the end of the rainbow called the state pension. It’s not the governments fault we are living longer and equality gave women the same pensionable age as men.

If your in your 20s or 30s I’d consider it pointless. Save now.

Don't want to work anymore

Be careful what you wish for !
Couple of years ago, I was made redundant, so I had no job
I was fortunate to gain new employment quickly

I used to work M-F with a long commute
Now work long shifts
Now have off shift days with a short commute

Now I put all my energy into enjoying my off shift days & less energy into working

Am I tired, not really, ask me in another 10 years

Surprised to hear that people are solo tired !

Am I tired

AHH predictive text

It should read - I am NOT tired !

Reanimated, I don’t believe that will ever happen

Re pensions, I’m 43 and don’t believe it will exist by the time I get there so when I talk about saving for retirement, I don’t think about pension at all.

I think SGB makes a valid point about many jobs seeming, or maybe in fact, being pretty pointless (although of course teaching, health care etc don't fall into that category). In conjunction with the weariness, the relentlessness of full-time work stretching out into the distance, the underlying sene of what really is the point of this just makes it worse.

in terms of meaningful work, it's a tough one

some people love their jobs whether they are meaningful or not

some people love being in an office and a team and all the stuff that I hate

there have been some complaints about homeworking in my office - which I love - because some people are lonely apparently (quite how that's a problem for workplaces, I don't know).

In general, I think living quietly is looked down on in today's society. A lot of people seem to believe we should all be at max setting on our economic productivity, even if we can exist quite comfortably on a lower setting without using someone else's money.

In general, I think living quietly is looked down on in today's society.

^^ this is so true.

I'm 44 and still enjoying my job, but I really wanted to scale down in about ten years and do some kind of part-time, flexible job that would allow me to be a bit less stressed and spend more time travelling, going to the theatre, etc. My plans around this are really detailed in terms of how I will spend my time and I fantasise about it a lot ... much less detailed in terms of what this magic job will actually be or how I would ever make it work in reality. Still, I've got ten years to plan it - surely something will come up. Ideas welcome!

In general, I think living quietly is looked down on in today's society. A lot of people seem to believe we should all be at max setting on our economic productivity, even if we can exist quite comfortably on a lower setting without using someone else's money.*

Yes, and great store is set by being busy and "on the go" all the time even if not doing anything particularly meaningful. We are losing the ability to just be.

Again, this is a problem of economic inequality. If you don't have wealth and assets, you will have no chance to 'just be': you will be starved into compliant serfhood. If you don't earn enough to house and feed yourself and your dependents, you are now expected either to take on a second paid job or demonstrate to some petty bully with a clipboard that you are dedicating any unwaged time to finding additional waged work (however pointless, unethical or environmentally damaging.)

Also a good point made upthread about all this 'career and personal development' shit for people on minimum-wage jobs where there is no progression possible. A lot of low-paid jobs actually fall into the category of necessary or even essential: things have to be cleaned, food has to be produced and prepared, the very young, very old or otherwise vulnerable have to be looked after. There isn't anything wrong with preferring to work at a level where you are doing the cleaning, the caring, the food preparation. It's just important that you are paid a living wage for doing these things.

I'm 50 and feel like this. I've worked full time since 18 so 32 years solid with no time off at all. So fed up of it now and wish I could stop. I'm not planning on working past 60 though and I'm hoping I can stop a couple of years before that. Its a catch 22, I don't want to wish my life away but I dream of stopping work. I need to thank my lucky stars really, I have a warm office job so not physically demanding but it can be mentally tiring. I just want to be free really and have time to myself.

I'm only 30 and would happily give up work tomorrow if I could!

I'm currently signed off with stress and as soon as my GP gave me a sick note I felt as though a massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I work a 9 hour day managing a team of 9, with two hours commute on top, all for just above minimum wage. It seems utterly pointless to me and I was regularly in tears as a result of it.

I might think differently if I earned a decent wage or did something I love but for me, a job is a job. I'll go back because I've been there a while and I want to have kids soon - and I qualify for their maternity package! However once I've gone off on maternity leave I don't think I'll be going back.

re the career development

there was one place I worked where the office manager had been the backbone of the place for 20 years. They put him on a career development plan and he was well pissed off because he thought he was in the type of job where that didn't happen.

It now happens in every job.

In one job I had - featuring the most complex appraisal scheme I've ever come across for everyone regardless of seniority - they decided one year, that no one would get a top "grade" in any category at all.

they thought it would be more motivating. They were amazed at the upset it caused and the number of people who thought "shit, I'm not doing my job properly".

with me, they picked on something that wasn't even part of my job, to say I hadn't done it and I should be thinking ahead of my job description. A director said to me "are you planning to work at this level for the rest of your life?" The answer was yes. Because that was the level I could pay my bills and not be too overloaded with stress.

Obviously I'm not omnipresent but I feel like there's no job where there isn't constant pushing to get more out of the person, which really just means the firm gets someone to work way above their pay grade.

the only way I can see it rolling back is if the population gets under control and there's not so much cannon fodder available.

Grumpy - great idea. Except 4 out of 5 businesses fail. I think now is the worst time to start a business.

With that attitude you won’t get anywhere in life.

cross post with adaline ". I work a 9 hour day managing a team of 9, with two hours commute on top, all for just above minimum wage. It seems utterly pointless to me and I was regularly in tears as a result of it."

shocking that you get just above minimum wage for that.

this is the sort of thing I don't usually say because I feel I might get struck by lightning or something....but I've had 2 long periods off work for illness and injury. Obviously in both cases I had a little extra time to make sure I was okay to commute and go back into an office and so on and I had a phased return to work because the injury was particularly serious.

Going back to work was horrendous. I cried every night for three weeks the first time. The second time, I didn't cry, but I basically got home and stared at the wall for a few weeks.

shocking that you get just above minimum wage for that.

Welcome to retail! Low paid, long hours and plenty of stress to go with it. I can't afford to live closer to work so the commute won't change anytime soon either.

I've been off for a week already and I have another two weeks to go before I'm back at the doctors. The effect it's had on my mental health is absolutely not worth it!

Obviously I'm not omnipresent grin but I feel like there's no job where there isn't constant pushing to get more out of the person, which really just means the firm gets someone to work way above their pay grade.

Which is really exploitation.

I do agree that there is no job where, if you feel you have reached a level you're happy with, they will leave you alone, even if you're performing perfectly well.

See, the one thing coming through here, is the fact that when you get to 50’s you do start to find work more tiring. How are people meant to retire at 67/70 or whatever, when they have disabilities or issues or whatever? Surely the cost to the nhs and jobseekers would almost equal the cost of the rise in pension age?

For me, this feels like an experiment. I wonder if eventually it does become impossible to actually work to whatever the pension age is, what will happen? Is it morally right to see an older person with maybe lots of disabilities struggling to work and have the same energy and drive as a twenty something? Is this not a form of discrimination? I’m just thinking aloud here, not stating facts or anything

I wonder if eventually it does become impossible to actually work to whatever the pension age is, what will happen?

I'm interested in this too - and it's already a problem with people who work in very physical jobs. DH is a plasterer - he's only mid thirties and already suffers from bad joints. His dad was also in the same trade and had to go part-time in his fifties due to bad knees and a bad back. Luckily they had paid of their home and could afford to live on PT hours but lots of people aren't in that position.

Yes, some people can work well into their seventies but the vast majority of people cannot work 40+ hour weeks for that long. What will happen to the millions people who physically can't work anymore but are too young to claim their pensions?

"I wonder if eventually it does become impossible to actually work to whatever the pension age is, what will happen?"

I would imagine one of two things will happen - keeping in mind I believe the state pension will go.

either they will just say you've got to save more as you go (!)

or they will have completely mandated pension schemes and alter the age flexibility on them. So I mean literally the govt will take a chunk of your wage to use for you later.

But that still keeps us in the ‘experimental’ bit.

I don’t have any answers, but at 56, I’m knackered, physically and mentally. I find it difficult just to keep up with the speed of stuff at work. That’s probably the menopause, but this is something that isn’t currently being addressed properly in the workplace.

I’m 51 and I love my job. It’s 2 miles from my house and I have a lot of autonomy - about 50% of the time I can work where and when I want as long as the work is done. You’re still young - would it be worth considering g for a job that better suits your needs now? Less commuting, maybe doing something you find more meaningful at this time in your life, negotiating a 30 hour a week rather than a 40 hour a week job, etc. retain in something you can make money from more flexibly, consultancy if you have a particular skill? I don’t know if any of that is possible, and it may not be, but some of it might be worth thinking about.

Emoji, sorry, what's experimental? I'm just thinking aloud.

if you are looking for actual solutions, sorry I don't have any.

The only things I can think of would involve regulating the housing market, which is basically being used as an alternative to investing in gold or something, and then people might be able to save more instead of it all going on housing costs.

42, no dependants and no mortgage, but I still need to work to pay the bills. My job just gets in the way of my "real" life.

Well is people are too ill to work they can claim ESA and possibly PIP I suppose. ESA can be based on your NI conts. But it is changing on universal credit. i understand there is some kind of allowance for health meaning they expect people to work just a few hours. It would not be much money though.