Do you ever feel a wave of despair that your job is just never ending?

[whereisthestamina]

I'm not sure exactly how to express this, exactly. I'm talking mostly from the perspective of jobs like PR or marketing with ongoing never ending tasks that are never fully completed, with a line drawn under them. Sorry this probably makes no sense - I mean, yes, individual projects of course do wrap up but there is a wider sense of endlessness that I'm sure exists in plenty of jobs.

I am in poor health and suspect my lack of energy contributes to this feeling. But does anyone else ever get a sense of this never ending cycle of tasks and feel very stressed out by it?

Yep. It's like washing and ironing. It's never finished.

Accountancy - yes, constant dread!

Yup. All the time. It used to be tolerable when we had team building events and end of year bonuses, these things have largely disappeared due to budget cuts and it very much feels like all work and no play, it’s demoralising.

I find that I feel like this when I am tired or run down or stressed, but when I am full of energy I love my job. I think my perception of my job changes depending on my mood. I do definitely know the feeling that you mean though.

Yes. Teaching.

Yes in teaching. It not good forvthe spirit to feel you are never on top of everything

I am there right now, I do a task and another two fly in to take it's place. I feel completely overwhelmed most days. I had two weeks annual leave at the end of October and I still feel that I am trying to catch up.

I am spending too long trying not to cry at my desk.

Sounds like most job roles really.

🙋🏻‍♀️ yep, that’s me too.

I went back to a new job after maternity leave at the start of this year and it’s meant to be 4 days, but it’s not really a part time job and it feels relentless. If I take time off I end up working late nights and weekends to catch up. Despite being reasonably senior , I am a one person team so there’s literally no one else who moves things forward in my absence.

Can’t keep on stuff at home either.

Yes. Teaching. I'm partway through a 21-year long to-do list. It never ends.

Yes. I recommend maternity leave!

Yes. Student support.

Had a bit of meltdown yesterday about relentless household drudgery. Had never really thought before that I will have to clean the kitchen every day until I die.
Had to go sack it off and go to bed to get over myself 😆

Yes, teaching. I swear I could work an 80 hour week every week and I still wouldn't have time to do everything I'm theoretically supposed to do.

Yeah, murder squad here. I wish people would stop killing one another.
This will have a shelf life for me. I've got five years left in me, I reckon; then I'll look for something with flowers and puppies and kittens.

Yes. Children's safeguarding. There is no end and the tidal waves just keep coming.

Yep, A&E / urgent care

I got out too. Saved my sanity.

Surely most jobs are like this though? You have individual projects that start and finish but it’s all part of a rolling ‘whole’ that is your job.

my job involves correcting everyone else’s data mistakes, reporting stats monthly, and then a whole constant churn of tweaks, enhancements, upgrades, tests, deployments, patches, hotfixes, training…. Ad infinitum. As soon as I don’t need to do that, I don’t have a job….

My job is operational and it’s never ending. Even when you think something is getting better, another crisis comes along and you’re straight back to the start

HR. Whenever I see the woods from the trees, something comes up. A tricky employment dispute. An unexpected business decision that has an impact on employees. A project about to be put to bed and an unexpected spanner appears in the works. No matter how efficient and organised we are (and we're pretty slick) there's ALWAYS something. I love my job, but I live for my holidays!

Yep. Work in Tech. It’s literally never ending. My colleagues are also exhausted, dropping like flies with various illnesses and stress but many still continue working even when they are sick because of the continual pressure. It’s horrible.

I’m very well paid for what I do but I wake up most days with a feeling of complete dread. This is no way to live.

Yes, nurse ward manager. You can never be on top of things because your workload is entirely unpredictable and just when you feel like you are getting your ducks in a row, something will happen that turns everything upside down and demands hours of your time and untold stress. Then you get moaned at for not doing the basics! Horrid job.

I know what you mean if you're knackered it can be a bit draining and demoralising.

But the thing is, a good job shouldn't really ever just stop should it? A job you enjoy and find stimulating and worthwhile is worth the investment and a bit or nurturing. A lot of jobs with long-form projects require a long lead up and a lot of preparation. Some jobs require you to be really connected with people in your sector and liaise with a lot of other people in similar roles to you. That's something which requires ongoing commitment and momentum. That's the nature of the beast.

But personally I'd much rather have a job with a bit of intellectual and emotional involvement than one where I just clock off and stop thinking about it. I could do with a bit less work sometimes but I wouldn't want to feel my job had just stopped.

Yes, education here. Relentless firefighting and a small team means I never feel I’m performing at my best. 7 days until the out of office goes on though…

I feel that way about domestic chores! A neverending cycle of laundry, shopping, cleaning, cooking, tidying etc.