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!!!

YANBU OP. I feel exactly the same. I dream with finding something I can in the evenings and weekends that can grow into a small businesses. Or winning the lottery.

I echo all of this. I'm in my early 50s in a senior role with a much younger manager.

She is fiercely ambitious and her whole life essentially revolves around work. That's fine but I just find it exhausting as pretty much everything we do as a team is a way of improving her CV.

Luckily I have some fabulous colleagues and on the whole I enjoy work but i am weary of all the corporate claptrap.

Unfortunately the downside of having kids in your late 30s is having to work well into your 50s and 60s to support them financially!

I feel exactly the same! I’m 60 and aiming to retire in 18 months. Just do the job and think of the freedom ahead!

But the question is, why did you end up doing something that you aren't enjoying?

Money. Its not rocket science. Financial security, having plenty of money for good food, family holidays.

why not just do something different?

Have just made a sideways move, now part time & really enjoying it.
Bit miffed that new line manager (started the same week as me) less keen on me designing & introducing an appraisal system than the panel that interviewed me.

OP posted in AIBU though. Yeah she asked for help but I think she just wanted a rant. And for people to agree with her.

It's ironic that people are using their age as a justification for being blockers/CBA. But then, other threads complaining about ageism in the job market. Looks like employers are justified in their attitude if this is what they're going to get.

I agree, experience can be undervalued, the wheel constantly reinvented but ultimately, you're paid for a job. Most people don't like working. Most people aren't really enthusiastic about work.

They do it to eat and pay bills. And to afford a roof over their head. Life is getting more and more expensive so people are desperate to move ahead quickly.

I have this little game I'm playing where I pretend I don't know what I'm doing and ask for help, then suck up and say nice things when the help me out and then quietly point out their mistake....what if x happens.....

And then I sit back and have a laugh, very stupid and very petty and really not me, but gawd I wish I could retire.

Clearly in the wrong job.
It's different to those who've been in the workforce for 30- 40 years.

Having worked all your life isn't the same as being stuck in the wrong place or not wanting to work in general.

Not wanting to change jobs because of commute, childcare etc is a choice.

I was inspired by a doctor who retained at 40 to become a chef. Despite the sacrifices of getting through medical school, it wasn't the life she envisioned and took the leap.

Scary at first and challenging as you settle in but achievable.

It could easily have been the mens retirement age lowering.

Leaving more jobs for young people coming into the job market.

Women only have jobs because governments realised they could double the tax take. If governments didnt need the tax, women wouldn't have jobs. <<<my opinion.

Well, it is you as you are not only doing it, bit gloating on here about it.

I’m late 50s and have just gone back to work, and am loving it.
You really need to consider getting a different job if you feel like this.

But there is a vast difference in pay scales from dr to chef.
I'm betting the years before 40 paid a lot towards the years after 40.

We cant all do that, some of us are on min wage or just above. Dont want to rock that boat for 5p an hour

@Gettingbysomehow That was a ridiculous and insensitive request, i agree.

Smile and nod.

Leave! Find a casual job. Help out in M&S or another store over Christmas on your terms till you get straight.
I worked for a big camping organisation, dream job. Outside interacting with clients and running a smooth ship, paid just over minimum wage and put in a whole load of unpaid hours of work but great fun. That was until the young bean counters took over. Funnily enough they’re all on bonuses too! Smart ideas and increased workload all to make money. Nah! Slowly but surely the staff are all either leaving or only doing the hours they are getting paid to do. A great job with a work/life balance to die for ruined.
If your unhappy leave.

I don't think for some people it's as easy as "just leave". I'm now retired (early) and if I wanted to retrain or take up a casual job, I could. I have really no restraints (I currently look after my granddaughter full time but they'd have to find an alternative if I wanted to go back to work) , I now have the time to retrain and I could also take a casual contract on minium wage because I can afford to do that.

But it wasn't always this way. I've stayed in jobs because the money was paying our mortgage. I've stayed in jobs because the benefits at the time were what I needed. I've stayed in jobs because coming out of them ,meant I was only likely to get a temporary contract, and I couldn't do that with a family relying on me. I couldn't afford to retrain and start on the bottom wage again, let alone all the schmoozing that comes with a new job. I had a family at home who relied on my money and also my hours. I worked in teaching so I could predominantly have the longer school holidays off with my children. I couldn't go and retrain as a doctor, lawyer, chef whatever because I didn't have anyone to look after my then small family.

It's easy to say just leave, but it all has to add up, all the factors have to right. Of course, if you can afford to leave and have the support infrastructure, go for it. I just couldn't.

Then take out the money and benefits, some people are in minium wage jobs with neither the money or any benefits and they still stay because there is little alternative. It's hard getting a job these days on minium wage, a lot of people are chasing them. It could be that your minium wage is still highly needed for your family or giving the right hours,circumstances or commute.

I'd love to tell people if it's not the right road for you, start paving another, but I don't believe it's just a case of "get up and leave ". I've wanted to leave my job so many times but it was a very selfish thing for me to do.

I completely agree. But building on that, I think it's very selfish and entitled for people to be moaning about things like change initiatives and annoying young people.

Maybe I'm being jaded and cynical. But no job is perfect. Having stayed in jobs with toxic managers, bullying that actively destroyed my mental health.
I'll take one with constant initiatives any day!

Yes, if you are dedicated to your job , the lack of progress might annoy you. But as @Rainbowdottie you pointed out, we often need jobs to get on with the others parts of our lives.

So why moan. Just do what works for you within the hours you're contracted to work.

Now if you're actively being pushed out as an obstruction or something that's a different story. But a lot of people on here are just irritated by their job.

This isn’t remotely funny.
Trust me, you wouldn’t say that if you really were on the receiving end of genuine sexual harassment! I’ve been there and I definitely didn’t want or welcome it. I dreaded going into work everyday, and when I made it clear I wasn’t interested, guess what, I was bullied out of my job.

Was just going to say that….
presumably she would have built up a good financial stability to be able to pack up and retrain…..she would’ve also be able to dip in and out of temporary or consultative positions if the coffers were being depleted

I'm in my late 50s and feel the same. At my work, all the older managers have recently left (driven out) and been replaced by people a lot younger, probably because they are cheaper. It is not their fault but the lack of knowledge and experience is grating on me and I can't wait to retire now. Just received patronising praise from a 30 year old for pointing something out before it led to a huge/expensive error and felt like telling him it wasn't "well spotted". It was bloody obvious to anyone who knows how to do the job properly.

.

I've had this; 3 of us middle aged women being patronised by a 20 year old. It's hard to bite your tongue when she was stupid as well! She was outright rude to a colleague, telling her she was "the queen of the lazy bitches" while we were having a drink after work. It was meant as a joke, but no one laughed. Everyone seemed in thrall to her for some reason, even the colleague who was the target of the remark. I left 4 years ago, during Covid, and at 59 I'm semi retired, wising my state pension was closer!

This, exactly 💯.

I'm back at work after a career break as a SAHM for 6 years, and my health going through hell and back over the past decade after a head injury and post concussion syndrome then being injured by an off label antipsychotic 😢💔

I lost the ability to read after my head injury, not ideal when I'm an editor and journalist. I'm now a freelancer but it's part time so not highly paid but fits around the children's school hours etc. So in many ways, I can't retrain and don't want to as it's not practical or financially viable.

I was incredibly lucky to get this job a month ago and it is a million times better working from home than commuting.

This is a nice idea but not financially or practically feasible for most people…