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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think it is ridiculous to say "I will never work again."

28 replies

MiaMarshmallows · 14/02/2021 22:27

Once made redundant because of coronavirus?
I am as worried as the next person and do think I will struggle to find a job. But I do think I will be in a job in the next few months as will my daughter and other family members who have been made redundant.
With the restrictions set to be easing sooner rather than later, I don't understand the pessimism? I know more people will be going for the same job but it will ease in time and things will go back to normal.
I have heard a lot of people say they doubt they will work again. This would not be sustainable to have huge amounts out of employment and on longterm UC?

OP posts:

Aurorie11 · 14/02/2021 22:30

I was made redundant a few months ago, 30+ years in a public sector organisation. Started a new job a few weeks afterwards, different sector, lower paid, less hours. Not a forever job but a job, there are jobs but just might be different.

thepeopleversuswork · 14/02/2021 22:30

I agree its not very realistic but people catastrophise when in bad situations.

I suppose also if you were getting towards the end of your career or thinking about taking a career break it could be a subconscious "excuse" to take your foot off the pedal.

PersonaNonGarter · 14/02/2021 22:35

YANBU - being positive is half of the battle.

However, maybe be gentle cos some people will never work again. Not many, but some.

bumblingbovine49 · 14/02/2021 22:43

I think for older people 50,+ it is not castrophising if they mean they won't get another ' good career type job in their field.
It is incredibly difficult to find another good
middle management professionall type job once you are aged 55+
.Yes you can get some sort of work but it is likely to be at much worse pay and prospects

This doesn't apply to Senior management ( board level) who can get paid a fortune for being on a board a couple of days a month but the vast majority of professionals in the private sector who are made redundant after 69, struggle to work again

bumblingbovine49 · 14/02/2021 22:44

Not 69 obviously. Not sure where that came from!. After 55 I meant

AbsitivelyPosolutely · 14/02/2021 22:54

My best friend was an events manager. Made redundant early on. Got a job as a care worker straight away and has worked all hours since then to try and bridge the gap between her current wage and her old salary.

On Friday she was offered another role similar to her old one. But it's taken months.

WannabemoreWeaver · 14/02/2021 22:58

It will take a while but things will get better again. I think at the moment people get overwhelmed by the negative stuff and cant see any positives. But bad stuff has happened before (even pandemics) and things get better.

Whitecup4 · 14/02/2021 23:35

They probably mean that if they don’t take a shitier less paid job.

LizzieMacQueen · 14/02/2021 23:38

Well just looking at the arithmetic, many many of those made redundant will not find another job because so many jobs no longer exist. It's a perfectly reasonable statement to make.

Jent13c · 14/02/2021 23:55

My DH was made redundant and we said that we thought it would take 6 months. No idea where that estimate came from but we both just automatically had that in our head. He diligently applied for around 4 jobs a day for all that time and 6 months to the dot was offered 4 jobs in the same week. If you want to work again you will but may need to adjust expectations a little.

Defenbaker · 15/02/2021 00:05

It depends on the age of the person saying it. If, like me, you've been made redundant in your late 50s, it's realistic to think that getting a job will be an uphill struggle, as unemployment is high and employers seem happy to take on young people for NMW, rather than pay for experience.

I'm 59 and am willing to work for NMW, but I'm not willing to take all sorts of shit and stress, while being paid peanuts. So, I'm being selective about what I apply for, and maybe I'll never do paid work again, but will do voluntary work instead. Money will be tight, but we have no mortgage or debts, so we'll manage. I really miss my job, it was a niche role and it suited me, but so many are in the same boat so I try not to dwell on it.

LemonSherbetFancies · 15/02/2021 17:55

I think most people will be in jobs again by the end of the year. Everything is going in the right direction. I was feeling a bit worried about this the other night but now feel a lot easier about it and less anxious.

toconclude · 15/02/2021 21:08

@LemonSherbetFancies

Hmm. It's good to be optimistic, but I have to disagree with your assessment. Brexit plus pandemic = trouble ahead. Not necessarily for you personally, but on a natonal scale I believe it's undeniable.

LemonSherbetFancies · 15/02/2021 22:18

I have to disagree. I think the economy will roar back and unemployment will be fairly low by the end of the year.
I was very pessimistic up until today but am really heartened by the new data coming in.

Proudboomer · 15/02/2021 22:23

It depends. If you are 50 plus who has spent a 30 years in retail then I can see they could have a point.
Retail was on its last legs before Covid but Covid has put the final nail in the coffin that was the high street.

StanfordPines · 15/02/2021 22:24

I think it depends on where you are in the country, your age and your area of employment.

In my town a lot of shops have closed. If you are a 60 year old person who has spend the last 20 years at Edinburgh Woollen Mill I think your prospects will be limited when there will be so many other people going for any retail job.

MrsTerryPratchett · 15/02/2021 22:28

My friend has spent 30 years working for airlines. She was fired and it's incredibly unlikely they'll hire her back when they could hire a younger, cheaper person. Her experience and second language mean that travel is niche for her. She might get a job but it won't be anything on par with what she was doing/paid.

EileenGC · 15/02/2021 22:33

It really depends on the industry. As a general statement - YANBU, things will start off again soon (I hope). The vast majority of people will find new jobs.

However, I work in performance arts and many of my colleagues won’t ever work again in the same way they used to. Which is devastating because their passion doesn’t lie in what became financially viable during the pandemic (aka tutoring online via zoom). Performing full time will not happen anymore for many of them. Because of how the industry has changed, and because some of them have discovered financial security for the first time in their lives and they’ve chosen to continue down that route. It doesn’t mean they don’t grieve for the life they’ve lost.

Being on tour every 3 months is very different to sitting in your living room in front of a laptop for 8 hours a day. Touring for UK artists has become extremely difficult due to 1) Brexit and 2) the fact that almost all other countries kept the arts open even during lockdowns and Britain classed most artists as non-essential workers so a lot of them have been out of the picture for 11 months. I toured in the autumn through different countries. My colleagues in England couldn’t even go into the venue to work alone in a room. That takes you off the international scene a bit. For some of these people, the statement is true - they’ll never work in their job again.

RedPaperLantern · 15/02/2021 22:35

This is going to accelerate a lot of structural changes. A lot of jobs won’t come back. There will be new ones, but they might go to people who are younger, have different experience etc.

Plus, it’s ok for people to vent about their worries in such circumstances.

DenisetheMenace · 15/02/2021 22:35

I think it very much depends on your age. If you’re made redundant at 60+ I think it will be difficult to find another job, especially in the “professions”.

Original poster

MiaMarshmallows · 15/02/2021 22:37

For people who work in certain industries or who are older I get it. I just think that the doom and gloom attitude of 'We don't have a chance of getting a job anytime soon. Hundreds are all going for the same role.' is just not helpful or realistic.
I expect my daughter in particular to get a job in the next few months easily enough.

OP posts:

EileenGC · 15/02/2021 22:44

That’s good OP. Your daughter is lucky, I say this honestly. In Europe there have been 3 openings for my job since the pandemic began. Each one of them has had 50 applicants. Every semester the universities produce dozens of newly qualified students who add to the 50 applicants list. I really don’t know when we’ll be back to normal with enough openings for all of us. 2025 maybe? That’s 5 more years of graduates. A lot of people are in this position, which is why they don't look upbeat about their employment prospects.

Original poster

MiaMarshmallows · 15/02/2021 22:52

My daughter hasn't found anything but I expect her to in the next few months at least.
As others have said, it depends what industry you are in as to whether you will find work easily/quickly but I think the majority will even if they have to change careers or think outside the box as to what they could do.

OP posts:

EileenGC · 15/02/2021 23:00

True. I remain optimistic and hope most of us will be fine in the end. Will be tough for those of my colleagues who end up switching careers after training for 20+ years, since the age of 4. No one prepares you for giving your whole life up.

HoldontoOneMoreDay · 15/02/2021 23:06

I'm self employed but had started looking for a permanent role just before the pandemic started. I certainly won't find one now that there are hundreds of younger candidates with more up to date experience going for the same jobs I was going for. Ageism + recession + hundreds of candidates who were doing the same job title recently is too many hills for me to climb.

(I realise that I am fortunate and can stick with my business but I'd fallen out of love with it two years ago and it's tough to think that i have no other real options now.)

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