To ask - is working life this shut and anxiety ridden for everyone?

[toebeans2]

Not sure if I'm particularly unlucky or if this is normal for most people's working lives.

I have only been working full time 5 years. In that time I have been in consultation twice, redundant once, and worked a year in a job that gave me immense stress and mental health issues. So I've always been looking over my shoulder and never ever felt I could breathe and relax.

Last year I landed a job that I thought would be the turning point, but they are now making redundancies due to Covid and I'm just waiting for the call.

I am not well paid - I've always earned between £17-24k so it's not like I work in fast paced jobs where you accept these things happen as it goes with the wage. If this is what working life is like forevermore I think I will worry myself into an early grave with all the stress. Is it just me?

*title should say shit not shut

Work for yourself. I worked for companies till my 40s when I finally branched out and worked for myself. I wish that I'd done it years earlier. No manager, no threat of redundancy (I'm hardly going to make myself redundant am I?) no BS HR stuff, no 360 reviews....and if I want to take Tuesday afternoon off to have a picnic I don't need anyone else's permission.

Find something you can do. Erecting fencing, fixing software bugs, clearing drains, restoring antique furniture, running coach trips, tourist guide......think of the jobs you have hired someone to do or a service that you have paid for. Then make it happen. Believe me, if you do it right you'll make more money than you ever have, you'll feel freer, happier and more fulfilled than you ever have, and you'll never go back to being a corporate wage slave again.

I think you've had bad luck. Does the job you do particularly expose you to risks from company restructure etc? I've been in a similar situation myself, so I now steer clear of working in certain departments.

Working for yourself might be an option, but would also come with stresses of its own, especially given the current economical climate. Not everyone is cut out to be self employed, but it's worth thinking about.