How is your work life balance?

[JulianCasa]

I’m having to work 2-3 hours a night, 4-5 nights a week. I do 40/45 hours actually physically at my job too. It’s not a flexible wfh type job.

I know I need to get out. But I’m wondering if I’ll be out of the frying pan and into the fire or whether other jobs have better work life balance.

So, please tell me what you do and if you have a good work life balance? I am on £40k but I’d actually happily drop down £10k as I’m not actually living my life and it’s not worth it.

More money does not always mean more hours/poorer work life balance.

Im not working currently. I was bullied out of my last job of 13 years and now having a baby. Aside from the bullying we went through periods of working 16 hour days after a huge increase in workload and I was told me and my team were not working efficiently 😂

My DH earns a very good salary and works 8/9-4. He can wfh 2 days a week and attend site 3 days a week.

What kind of job do you currently do? If it's say shop work stacking shelves there is no point in us talking about office jobs if you're not say IT literate as you would have to train before getting a job.

Perhaps the question you should ask is regarding your present role. How did you start doing this extra work and why can't you stop?

If you're covering say a sick colleague perhaps it's time to say you're no longer in a position to work evenings as of next Thursday so could they reschedule your evening work to someone else?

What dues your contract say? Could you move to a different role within the organisation?

Could you do training within the organisation to move to a managerial role or something else which would be less stressful?

What are your options?

Same. AHP in the NHS, working from home. Work through my lunch break and leave 30 min early. Laptop closes at 4.30 and I am off to the gym. With the October uplift, I am considering going down to 4 days a week when my fixed contract ends in March.
Previously worked in a private sector, 10-11,5h plus extra admin at home. And I wasn’t even on 30k at the time (10 years ago).

40 years a week seems a bit excessive

What’s the extra 2-3 hours a night every day, on top of the 40-45h of paid work?

And what’s the scope for progression? I might suck up working 45h a week for £40k if the next promotion was £60k or whatever.

If that’s just the job, you can probably find something less demanding for a similar salary elsewhere IMO.

Excellent work life balance.
learnt a long time ago not to take on and do more after hours or it becomes expected. If I can’t do it all, I prioritise and set clear expectations on what can be done when

£58k salary for context op

However… this is very much industry dependent I think? Some industries it would be expected to work more?

eta agree with previous posters about enjoying the job but also don’t take less pay find a better paid more flexible role

I'm in exactly the same boat.

I think sometimes the more senior you become (in certain roles anyway), the more flexibility and fewer hours you do.

Im on a six figure salary but rarely work over my contracted hours, have tonnes of flexibility, wfh etc. I am acutely aware that I am privileged and count my lucky stars every day this is the case. I'm sure it won't last forever, but I'm enjoying it whilst it does!

Are you a teacher?

I work FT for a not for profit. Earn around £53k

I work my 35 hours compressed so work 4 x 8.75 hours. It’s fantastic. I WFH most of the time and have huge amounts of flexibility.

Teacher here and used to do similar. Now have two children under four and decided to stop (currently head of core faculty). I work very hard at work 8-5, 4 days a week, and usually equivalent to a couple of hours a week at home depending on marking time of year. I read fast.

I decided to stop doing things that didn’t have much impact, use all my planning time and breaks effectively, and spent thinking time on strategies for sensible marking and feedback policies. So basically to transfer to your job; try to look afresh - is there anything that if someone else new came in, they’d stop doing or change? If you describe your job to someone else would it be helpful as they might spot some things to change? Chat to your manager about expectation - I’d be horrified if my staff were doing this at home.

I presume you’re a teacher?

I wouldn’t recommend it as a job to my worst any any more!

I'm a teacher.
You can probably guess.

My job is very flexible and whilst flexitime isn't in the policy we all do it. I work 2 days from home which allows me to drop and pick my daughter up from school. Often if I'm called after pick up she's in the meeting with me.
I leave at 2.45 one day to do pick up my daughter and then log on at home to make up the hour.

I work FT from home. I have SEN DC and ASD DH and just don't have time for work. DH works FT from home too. Whereas I pick up house things during my working day (empty/reload dishwasher, wipe kitchen surfaces, xfer laundry from washing machine to dryer type of thing) in-between breaks, meetings and while listening to meetings but not actually needing to speak, DH says he is not capable of doing this and does nothing house wise in the day (but does have time to cook himself a lot of food and watch some tv. Enough said). I also oversee home schooling for 1 DC and am heavily supporting him through one specific subject that I excel in. I sit in on this subject lesson with him for 40 mins every day. I take this time as my lunch time. Then there is all the home admin (yes, I call it this and yes it takes a lot out of me mentally), general school stuff, cleaning the house, dropping DC to clubs etc, socialising, gym, seeing family, weekly food shop. DRAINING. Work has to fit in around all this, which is a huge struggle to achieve.

Mine is great.

WFH three days a week and in the office two. Contracted 35 hours and probably do 40 but generally set my own schedule. Tend to finish by 5.30 every day and no issues if I need to take time during the day for an appointment etc.

Sr. corporate services role in the engineering sector. High salary, big team and have the stress of needing to make a lot of decisions that have big legal impacts.

My work life balance is excellent. I work 24 hours a week for the council. I would be on £32,000.00 if I was full time. I work permanently from home. I have to be in the phones until 5:00 one day a week. The other days I have flexibility on start and finish times. I can pop out to pick kids up from school I just have to record it on my flexi sheet. If I work over 24 hours a week I can take the time back as flexi.

Primary teacher...work life balance is shit 💩 Prior to the start of this current year, I very easily racked up 70 hours a week (we don't get paid overtime...the mantra is 'do it for the children' and we are supposed to smile sweetly and say 'give me MORE work', as we flagellate ourselves publicly 'for the children')😩

I've just taken my teacher pension and cut down to three days a week teaching...I'm still racking up 45-50 hours though (despite only being paid for 19.5 which is our 3 day contracted hours). It's a joke! A full time teacher is only paid for 32.5 hours (which we've worked out doesn't even cover the core hours in school since the 'school day' was extended last year!)

This is not even including the incessant, mandatory 'online CPD' training that we are all mandated to do outside the school working day! I have put in a formal complaint about this to our Trust (this term alone we are mandated to complete 4 of these, totalling 14 hours of unpaid training!) Last academic year we completed 57 hours of online CPD in our own time 😩

At 60, though, I have no illusions that I'd be good at anything else, let alone considered employable by another industry.

I’m a primary school teacher. Just started at a new school and the previous teacher hasn’t left any resources for me to adapt so I’m starting completely from scratch.

I know I’d be an excellent employee in another role once I got to grips with it, I’m really hardworking and despite all the hours I am super efficient! but knowing where to look etc is tough!

I work in financial services. Would be on 62 if full time, but I work 21 hours term time only.

Try not to work overtime, but am happy to be flexible.

Was it that obvious 🤣

Are you out? If so, what have you done next?

It was very obvious! A few of us guessed it, probably all ex teachers.

I develop and deliver in house training within my organisation now. So bloody easy in comparison and more money.

Good luck.

I work from home 9 - 5:30, earning £45,000. I never start earlier than 9 or work a minute past 5:30 - our calls come through a switchboard and it's not possible for clients to reach us outside of these hours. We are actively encouraged to log off at 5:30. I also take my full hour lunch break every day.

There is an a limited number of other jobs where you’re expected to do 2/3 hours a night on top of a full working week!

I’m still in, unfortunately, but very unhappy and desperate to leave. Not quite sure which way to turn though and don’t want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire.

I was doing 3-4 hours a day extra in addition to my full time hours for no extra pay- I voted with my feet and got a better paying job which only required my full time hours and have since been promoted and can absolutely stick to my hours - I do do more than my hours but I do get a great work balance and it isn't every day I do extra - and I get some flexibility in return.

Ps I was not a teacher

And my additional hours were for 47 weeks a year (as I had 5 weeks hols)