To suddenly not want to work anymore?

[MasterGland]

I want to sit at home with my cats and read books. Perhaps bake occasionally, play board games with my son. Weed the garden.
I have realised that I can easily fill my days with these things. They make me happy. I am really struggling with motivation at work. I used to be quite career oriented, but now I keep calculating the minimum I need to retire, and how I might do it as soon as possible.
It is a sudden change for me, and not sure if it is related to the current lockdowns... but have not directly been affected by them really as worked straight through both. Anyone else had a sudden change of heart about the pursuit of endless work?

I'm with you. I've felt like this since about 6 months into my first job after graduating. Sadly this lack of enthusiasm for work means I lack the wherewithal or motivation to make the necessary progress in my career required to realise the dream of early retirement. Vicious circle really.

I think there are a great number of jobs that are far more demanding that teaching. The lazy option of giving out work sheets and looking at the birds is appalling. There are points where a class just needs to settle down and work in silence. You have no idea.

I retired last year, a few days before my 58th birthday. No regrets at all. I’ve never been happier.

DH told me he feels the same, recently. He has always enjoyed his job and has been doing ok. But lockdown, etc. has changed his priorities.
Unfortunately, it's not an option for him, because I haven't worked since having children so he's the breadwinner.

Not impressed about the teacher bashing on here.

I’m a teacher. My mental health has been destroyed 3 times due to endless horrendous workload and pressure. Ugh. Teaching is a nightmare at the moment.

@SummerBreezemakesmefeelfine

What this thread tells us is that many women really hanker to be at home. No great surprise there, because that is what many women in previous generations always did. Lots of unpaid work went with this.

My Grandmother never "worked". She brought up a family, supported elderly relatives by having them live with the family and provided social care and end of life care for them. When her husband became ill, she cared for him at home and finally in her later years had some time to herself.

Maybe younger generations of women need to think about the old way of doing things.

Ugh. I’m single and childfree.

Assuming mum dies before me, after that I’m never doing care for anyone again.

Being free from the treadmill of work has nothing to with getting on a different treadmill!

I’ve taken two long breaks from work. I cried so much when I had to go back, I can’t even begin to describe how sad it made me.

It’s unrealistic to think we can all pay bills doing something we love.

I’ll look at that money moustache blog and see what I’ve missed...

You couldn’t pay me enough or give me enough holidays to persuade me to be a teacher. No way. It sounds hellish tbh. I feel really sorry for anyone starting out in teaching now. Fair play to them. I couldn’t do it.

To be fair it's only one or two people on here doing the teacher bashing. Most people do realise it's a really hard job.

My job gets lots of hate too (not going to disclose it though!)

In Europe they see our obsession with property ownership as a kind of insanity. Most people there rent until their 40s/50s, at which point, if they can afford it, they either have a house built somewhere or they go to live in the family house with their elderly parents.
Where I live in "Europe", most people don't suddenly become able to buy when they're 50. Most people keep renting. Their parents also rent.

Omg this is me.

I am a high earner, sole earner, working full time in a desk-based/office job, though wfh due to covid.

Felt very jealous yesterday of some friends going for an early morning outdoor swim after the school run. I would love to have mornings to myself to be able to exercise, get outside and be productive in a pottering around kind of way.

I don’t do SAHM well, though haven’t done that since the maternity leave, maybe I would feel differently now they are at school but think I would find the transition from working at full pace, to not working, difficult though tbh. I’m so used to my life being screen/email based, I get a bit weirded out when I don’t have desk-based work pressure. Like I don’t know what to do with myself or how to motivate myself. But I guess I would find ways to fill my time.

My current game is to see how many meetings I can cancel throughout the day.

Teaching is a crummy job as you get older - I have met very few teachers who have happily continued until normal retirement age. Massively repetitious - a constant stream of new pupils you have to give the same lessons to, decade after decade. Spending every day getting on stage and doing the same old tricks to entertain an audience of hecklers and people who don't want to be there. Even if you have the strength of will to keep up the quality and come up with new ideas, it's pretty relentless.

My current game is to see how many meetings I can cancel throughout the day.

I had a successful career, stayed at home for many years with the kids, now work part time in a role that is beneath my qualifications. I like my life, but I'd still give work up in a heartbeat. The only thing I realise, is that my days at work make me appreciate my days off more. Whilst I loved being a sahp, I did take it for granted.

Whilst many of my colleagues are totally stressed, the fact that I know we would financially manage if I walked away tomorrow, makes it fairly stress free for me. I think that is part of the problem for many. The fact they can't leave because they are the breadwinner, piles the pressure and stress on.

I’m not ready or wanting to retire (only 33) but a combination of COVID and being about to give birth to my first child means I’ve realised have been living to work rather than the other way round and so am contemplating how I can get some time back to myself. I usually work at least 60 hours a week and so don’t really see my family at the weekend, don’t get to engage in my hobbies much etc. These last three weeks on maternity have made me see how fulfilling having time for yourself is! I also want to have the time to dedicate to my child!

My niece is a teacher in very tricky school, and she is at home by 4pm after collecting her child from another school.

She's either not being entirely truthful or not being entirely professional. She does this every day? 5 days a week?

Totally agreed with you OP.

In my position (divorced almost 20 years) I do have a house and mortgage but have a few years (10 maybe) to pay off the mortgage. I could do it sooner I suppose but bills keep rising.

My private pension is quite good but could be better.

I do think job wise satisfaction in a job helps. I'm fairly happy in mine for now but would love to WFH more in the future which wasn't a possibility before.

I've never liked work tbh. I'm early thirties and in month 10 of my life not working (we were supposed to go travelling for 3 months in Feb and it turned into 8 due to Covid) and I still don't want to work.

My coworkers who are all on the ladder in a highly competitive industry all immediately declared "you'll get bored eventually!" but it hasn't happened yet.

Be careful what you wish for 🤣 I've been an expat wife for many years now doing a lot of what you say but I'd absolutely love to go back to work! I've got myself in a situation of having huge gaps in my CV filled with 'bootcamps and bitches' whilst my industry kept moving forward of at the speed of light. I've been out of it so long I would need to completely retrain or change industry. It's all very well saying that but where we live, there's not opportunity to do either.

Good luck, I hope your dreams come true

I felt like this and decided to retire early at 56. I was a teacher and just felt burned out. I taught for 25 years and really enjoyed my career and one day after an illness when I had to stay home for 10 days I thought I feel less stressed and calmer at home. Gave in notice and expected to be home by Xmas but my replacement let school down at last minute so I agreed to work on until July on enhanced pay. I find plenty to filly time out of lockdown. I go to the gym 3 times a week. I cook meals from scratch. I visit my older sisters who are retired for overnight stay once every six weeks. I potter in the garden. I bake. I watch box sets. In the summer I sit in garden reading a book. I play with cats and walk dogs. I shop. In general I do as I please. I My dh still works and I have income from 6 btl houses which I now manage do take some of load off my dh. Next August I will be eligible to receive my Teacher's Pension. I will most likely defer it though.

Could you afford to work part time?

I agree.

I am a family lawyer in a regional high street firm. It is insanely stressful particularly at the moment as domestic violence cases have gone up; child abuse cases have gone up and more people are divorcing. Added to this is the fact that i retrained in my 40s and am newly qualified so I am a 50 year old earning under £30 k a year. So retirement looks even further off.

My parents were teachers and they retired at 54 and have really enjoyed their retirement.

I am seconds away from quitting most of the time. I particularly hate people who are not represented by lawyers and who take out their anger and hurt and frustration with their former spouses on me. One of these threatened to stab me the other day, and we had to ask the police to go around and have a word.

What I am trying to do (and i say trying, because it is easier said than done) is to carve out moments of contentment each day.

I know what you mean OP. Government, economists, employers etc would love us to be desperately in pursuit of infinite money but I think many will have come through lockdown with a new view that enough money is all they want, and enough is less than they used to think.

I agree with all of you and would love to give up work.

My only concern is that my professional qualifications require a certain number of hours work a year which, in turn, require you to pay for professional registrations and insurance. It is expensive to keep them going for very little work and scary letting them lapse as there's no going back. It makes it seem like a very big step to give up something that has taken years to achieve and has been part of your identity for so long

Noticing the trend of teachers getting burned out in their 50's. A very demanding job.

I’m 35 and feel like this now
Mits being off this year (on mat leave) that’s made me realise how much I love my home and just being

I’ve become so creative and actually selling some of my makes too
Unfortunately not enough to stay off long term