Age 56. Can't be arsed at work anymore.

[Whosaidthattt]

I'm a tired 56 year old. All these 'initiatives' and 'CPD'- I just can't be bothered anymore. Been there, did that 20 years ago. I have NO INTEREST in pretending to be excited/motivated by these 30 year olds and their enthusiasm! I get that they are young and excited about how they can change things but I just can't be arsed. Hoping to retire at 60 but that means another 4 years of excited puppies bounding about with their ideas. I'm not sure I can take it (or even care). How can I get through this final part of working life?? Help!!!

Sorry to hear this, I really feel for you sweetie, it really does suck 💐

I get it OP, I really do. I’m just 65, and at the age of 55 I literally stood up from my desk one day and walked, I could take no more of the pressure, the office politics, the backstabbing, the bullying and the disingenuous ‘friends’.
I then decided to set up my own as a cleaner, and wow, I’ve never looked back. I clean houses to a high standard then walk away, no pressure.
I could afford a drop in salary when I left office life so it was an easy decision.
I still clean, I charge £17 per hour, I’m good at what I do and I enjoy it, that’s important! I only work 4 hrs per day now, I simply cannot work for 8 hours straight anymore because the work is too physical, and that’s why no government should’ve changed the retirement age, it really does get more difficult as we get older.
If you choose self employment make sure you register with HMRC, that’s the law, and still pay your NI for a full state pension.
Next September I claim my State Pension… 66 yrs old for me… at last!
I hope this helps and lets you see there are options for change if you cannot afford to give up work. Good luck.

I’m 33 and feel the same way OP. I pray I find a good business idea and can work for myself or win the lottery

Ugh! My current 29 year old manager is completely useless! All she cares about is her LinkedIn account and how she has 500+ followers. A friend of mine was curious and logged in and the bulk of them are men from Pakistan & India who are totally unrelated to our business (I wonder if it is because she is very blonde and pretty). She spent all week writing a b/s puff piece that is basically a not very subtle glorification of herself. She over-uses trite cringeworthy phrases likes 'Sisters are now doing it for themselves', 'Girl Boss' and 'Empowered' while treating the rest of the team who are mainly women with little to no respect. She told one of the older women who expressed the desire to expand her skill set that there wasn't much point as she'd be retired soon which left my co worker feeling completely crushed and devalued... I am amazed she has lasted so long in her role but her MO seems to be to throw around pseudo feminist jargon so everyone is aware all the time that she is one of the few women at the table, although her contribution is very tenuous. It's like watching a career being built on tokenism. She has an older, quiet, mousey guy who has been there twenty something plus years who does all the difficult stuff (budget forecasts, etc). She tends to ignore him and leave him to get on with it. Luckily, I only have another six weeks on this contract... I will miss the money, but I won't miss her!

Clearly the OP is as arsed with work as the thread they started and haven’t come back to since.

Hmmmm… I can make the educated guess that you are! When you find a decent exit strategy let me know, and I will be right out behind you. I am knackered (52, chronic illness) and although I have spent years saying it’s ok, they are just kids, something has changed and the ones that used to ‘naughty’ or ‘trouble’ are now downright vindictive and nasty. There, I said it!

I'm 55 and feel the same I'm.done with it luckily I'm now a contractual home worker so mostly don't have to listen to it all been there seen it done it retiring at 60 only working now to have money for all the treats shows holidays etc I try to smile and nod pitely without losing it and saying what I really feel just over 4 years to go and I'm done yay

I’m 59 & desperate to leave work,have felt this way for over 2 years now. I don’t have much in private pension or savings due to divorce. Mortgage won’t be paid off till I’m 72 (had to take longer term to afford monthly repayments). My health has deteriorated rapidly since 2018. If I withdrew all of my pension & paid the tax due on it & used all savings it would almost pay off my mortgage. But I’d have no money to live on till I get state pension. I have purposefully budgeted and lived on £400pm after all direct debits since Jan 2024 to see if I could manage on that amount. I can most months but go over £40-50 once or twice. So I’ve decided to resign next month & I can live off my savings & pension till 67 then when I get state pension I’ll have more disposable income to reduce mortgage quicker. This isn’t how I thought life would be but I’m truly worried If I continue working I might die before I reach 67 and never retire. I’m not prepared to sacrifice my health any longer for wealth (did write money but then thought wealth rhymed better.)Good luck whatever you decide,

I used to work in change management and getting the older workforce on-board was the hardest. It's because they've seen initiatives fail and often they want to stick with what they know is effective. Frequently they are proved correct too. Let the younger staff have their optimism and be open to new ideas. My nickname is Cassandra because I can frequently see issues but no one wants to listen to them. Maybe see if HR can give you work that doesn't require a long-term view. If you work in teaching, sitting in those meetings is a great time to do long term diary planning for what you're teaching that term and what resources you'll need for each lesson. People assume you're making notes. This also works in other industries.

I'm 56 and am so over it.
I'm a professional; I'm experienced and I think I'm quite good at what I do.
My profession is full of youngsters who are busy reinventing the wheel. Simultaneously convinced that they knew all about it whilst stressing that it's all so hard and they can't keep doing it.
If they'd just listen to me, I might be able to help them.
So I just focus on retirement.
I'm so angry.

And yes I have clearly told them I have no interest in being developed promotion etc I am winding down and one eye on the door!!

Tanstaafl… yes, and tbf the majority of responses have been nothing more than a moan fest about how unhappy people are in their job, not very helpful for OP. Support and suggestions to help her make changes and move forward is what she needed.

I felt like this in my late 40s and I didn't want to feel the same 10 years later. I took a redundancy package, retrained and am now self employed in a job I love. I don't earn anywhere as much as I did and my pension was hugely impacted but life is too short to spend so much time being miserable for the sake of being locked in to a salary and pension. Honestly, there are options. Don't feel you have to stay for the sake of it.

Mid 50s here , and I think this is worse age to be working.

Lucky/ Rich friends are retiring, or definitely I their last few years.

You can start, for the first time, to see the finishing line. 10 years. Still seems like a lifetime.

The only chance I have of early retirement is receiving money from inheritance. Both parents are still alive, separated, single and mentally OK. We all know how dodgy relying on inheritance for future financial security is..

My job is secure enough, we are quite an 'old' team ..apart from my line manager who despairs of the apathy and non engagement of his staff.

Gosh there are a lot of us all saying similar!

I am 54 and was hoping to stay on working until kids through uni but I can stand it no more.....

I am angry, unmotivated and constantly moaning along with most of my colleagues and work is just miserable. So today I got a new for a lower graded ypaid part time job doing something I hope I will love doing.

I figured I would rather work to 65 doing something I might like than working for 4 more years miserably....

Fingers crossed I like it although I will have to work 3 months notice before I start!

I retired at 54. I couldn't bear the politics any more. The menopause had a lot to do with that, I do wish I'd started HRT earlier.

I was lucky and was able to start a small business at home. The actual work I do now is very dull, I miss my chums at work but at least I don't have to deal with twats.

Well said 👏

I’m 57 and had enough but have another 5 years on my mortgage. In 2 years I’m dropping down to 3 days a week, the thought of that is keeping me going.

42 and feel like this.

I haven't got another day in me, let alone 25 years 🤦🏻‍♀️

What did you retrain as?

I feel your pain,honestly!
when the company were looking for voluntary redundancies when I was 57 I nearly bit their hand off. It was a bad move financially but don’t regret it.My dear dad died 2 years before and said to me, you retire as soon as you can girl,the money I leave will give you a couple of years if you’re careful,so I did.
i tried to play the game and said the right things but my face told the true story,luckily my boss was very understanding.

Can you retire comfortably now? If so, go for it x

Leave now, life is too short. You'll find a way to make ends meet x

@MistressoftheDarkSide Perhaps a career in writing? I very much enjoyed your post.

😂