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?

every, single, day.

I do think I would struggle with total retirement - I quit my last job because I hated it, so I thought - brilliant! I'll have 3 months off, it'll be amazing, I'll be super productive and progress my hobby and work on my business plan, while going for nice walks.

Like hell that happened - with all the time in the world, I got absolutely nothing done and just sunk into the sofa watching Netflix all day. I got so lazy I didn't even shower or put the clean dishes/washing away, and fell into a miserable pit of loneliness and feeling like a useless lump. I was applying for jobs within a week (took 2 months to start one!) and could not wait to go back to work.

I'm one of those people who needs to be busy at work and have time constraints in order to get things done at home. I get more done now in 1 week of evenings/weekend than I did in a month of unemployment.

ItIs I hear you.

I need a bit of a pressure cooker to get things done and paid employment provides that structure and incentives. Maybe others find it stressful but it is a good motivator.

I am much more productive with less free time and feel useful and energised. Being outside the workplace is a little isolating and makes my world smaller. Being on constant holiday just somehow loses its shine.

A balance would be ideal.

A change is as good as a rest? I started to try new things at 36, 18 years ago. I'm self employed and feel what I do is massively worthwhile. I'd hate having to go back to working for someone on fixed hours in a fixed location.

" I got absolutely nothing done and just sunk into the sofa watching Netflix all day. I got so lazy I didn't even shower or put the clean dishes/washing away, and fell into a miserable pit of loneliness and feeling like a useless lump"

This happens to me when unemployed. I think I do better with a routine so a part-time job would be ideal.
However, I also think it's possible that after the first few months, people are able to set their own routine with their new hobbies, etc. I know so many retired people who are busier than they ever were when they were working with volunteering, clubs, societies, etc. The difference is that they can say no and don't have to take any shit from a boss.

Yes - part-time would be ideal. Enough to socialise, do something and have a routine, but not 5 days a week where it basically takes over your life and the weekend is for recovering.

I often wonder if the work I do as a primary school teacher is a social good or does it teach children to conform. Enjoy working 60 years in a bullshit job child!

I am much more productive with less free time and feel useful and energised. Being outside the workplace is a little isolating and makes my world smaller. Being on constant holiday just somehow loses its shine.

I haven’t found this, though admittedly it’s early days - only retired in May. If anything I feel my world has enlarged as I have more time and freedom to explore it, not just physically but through reading and learning.

I'm 50 next year. I work full time. It's hard. The peri menopause has set in and I just don't have the energy I had 10 years ago. In my mind I have but physically I don't. Im also finding I have a lot less in common with my younger co workers and I seemed to have developed a 'seen it all before and can't be bothered to get excited about it anymore' attitude which I know isn't great. I work in the Nhs.

Started a professional course late 50s and finding it hard going so relate to comments re the wisdom of training late in life to be a teacher.

World of difference from training, with study days etc, to actually doing the job, and I’m now questioning my decision.

Interesting viewpoint.
Three of my grandchildren are completely home edded ( 15, 12 and 10) and are very much their own people

That was to biggobyboo

I work in a school in a deprived area. I try to be encouraging and positive as possible, in reality most children will end up working in a lower skilled job. Many of the parents are lovely and say they want their children to have a better job than them.

In a decade or two it’s likely that routine / lower skilled jobs will be largely automated. What happens to the millions of people in those jobs? Most people can’t do a STEM degree and be a doctor or engineer.

I find it pretty depressing.

I'm in my 20th year of teaching. Just 25 more to go... 😳🤪

I often wonder if the work I do as a primary school teacher is a social good or does it teach children to conform. Enjoy working 60 years in a bullshit job child!

That child could become self-employed in the gig economy. It does not have to be Uber or Deliveroo-type jobs. A lot of skilled professionals (in IT, project management, doctors) work for themselves as contractors.

No need for conformist jobs. But they do have to have the ability to be adaptable and always learning to keep their skills up-to-date. That is what education is for. Even for lower skilled jobs, there is still a need for numeracy and literacy and being able to follow instructions.

Education is a noble profession.

In a decade or two it’s likely that routine / lower skilled jobs will be largely automated. What happens to the millions of people in those jobs? Most people can’t do a STEM degree and be a doctor or engineer.

Biggo, vocational jobs.

In the future, it will be even more pressing that people need to be flexible to retrain or move sideways if their industry dies or gets taken over by robots. Hence education, numeracy and literacy will be more important than ever.

My job is highly skilled but is becoming automated. Jobs in law are becoming automated. It’s not just low skilled or routine jobs.

I know someone who at 18 was told she'll never ever be able to work. She's now 35 and says she has no meaning to her life besides her daughter. She's lonely & miserable. Think yourselves lucky. I do

Some parts of law are becoming automated. That will be the more commoditised volume-driven end of the market - which is not interesting for lawyers to do anyway.

Machines will not replace the more analytical and bespoke end of the market, which is where the lawyer-training adds value.

If only half of children manage C grades / level 4 in maths and English at GCSE level, how can they be deemed literate or numerate and get high quality jobs?

Fair enough, Blue Shoes, but not everyone can be a high-end lawyer. What do average lawyers do instead? (I am not a lawyer and nor do I work in that field). I’m just using that as an example of how middle-class jobs are affected. I’m in a linguistic field and can see the writing on the wall.

www.educationdive.com/news/will-robots-replace-teachers-in-the-future/542239/

“Anthony Seldon, vice chancellor of the University of Buckingham, predicts that robots will replace teachers by 2027.”

I know someone who at 18 was told she'll never ever be able to work. She's now 35 and says she has no meaning to her life besides her daughter. She's lonely & miserable. Think yourselves lucky. I do

I think there's a difference between choosing to do nothing, and having it forced upon you.

daisypond I am afraid linguistics (like publishing and librarian roles) is very much at threat from machines and changing norms.

The death knell keeps being sounded for lawyers but honestly, even average lawyers would be doing quite nuanced analysis that a machine could maybe produce a first draft of but would still have to finessed by a thinking lawyer who solves real life problems to tailor the advice or document. The lawyer's skill is nuanced advice tailored to individual circumstances which is the exact opposite of a machine's skill which is to give the same answer for a controlled set of facts.

I am quite sure the product of a machine is probably going to be the subject of a negligence/malpractice suit if relied upon.

But anyway, maybe I will be in the dole queue in 15 years which is when I plan to retire.