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!!!

Yes. I work in a field where it's expected you do extra, bring initiatives, implement them......the same ones cycle around, and apart from doing things in your time, the system stays relatively the same. I would like to be able to be consistent, to stay educated in my field, to show up, and do well whilst there....... I hate that isn't seen as enough

Mid 50s here and the director I report to has landed the team in the shit again by taking on a project with a totally unrealistic deadline that he tells me daily we have to meet no matter what, I just smile and agree as this is not the first time (or 20th) that he has done this and I am so over working through the night and weekends. Every time we get to this situation I promise myself this is the last time, it is the same when they tell me about restructure and initiatives.

I get through it by wfh on a 3 day week most of the year.

I’m 48 and feel like this. I could cry knowing I have nearly 20 years before retirement. No early retirement for me, I was left as a single parent working around children so never built up a career or had high enough pay to put into a private pension. It sucks.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/28/more-needs-to-be-done-to-tackle-barriers-faced-by-older-uk-jobseekers-say-experts

Don't worry OP, there are moves being made to address the difficulties of older people in the workplace.

Feeling a bit snarky having woken up as a 55 year old in the target demographic of this article with its slightly head patting tone meant to reassure that despite our tendencies to be smart and efficient, we can be gently encouraged to play nice in dynamic environments by dressing down and not asking too many questions.

I appreciate you're still working I assume, but due to a series of unfortunate events and 7 years of self employment I am not, and am staring down the barrel of attempting to get a job with clear memories of being told by a 12 year old recruiter at 42 how my options were severely limited due to my age then. I had to take off all my management experience from my CV as I'd had a "career break" then and employers would expect me to start at the bottom and be grateful if they could find me a nice minium wage slot. Mustn't go around with ideas above my station.

And I do think my sex played a role on this.

Ended up in a call centre selling insurance and pretending how motivated I was by the thrill of winning a Moscow Mule on a Friday if I hit target. The admin job I got a bit later was better, but it was in a construction company where the "bantz" from the project manager was inclusive of every stripe of phobic you can imagine.

Don't want to be state dependent for any longer than I have to, but the future fills me with dread. They did mention caring responsibilities in the article. I've got those, growing by the week with 5 elderly relatives all crumbling to varying degrees for whom I am part of the last defence against decrepitude.

Am trying to cultivate a positive mindset, but I hear you OP. It's not exactly a fun time to be alive if you're over 50 in the job market.

Can you have a chat with your boss and say you are happy to stay doing what you are doing and not progress? Or get a job elsewhere doing something that is less demanding? My plan is to pay off the mortgage in my early 60's then work in a garden centre or plant nursery, mobility allowing. I would never get bored looking after plants.

I’ve felt this way since I started working 😂

Sounds like you need to change jobs, regardless of age if you don't have respect for the company you work for you should change.

Go and do something ypu enjoy, if you are retiring at 60 this is your last chance.

60 feels too young to retire
change your job
change your free time

I guess it depends on your job & your field OP.
At 60 I’m the oldest by a long way in the small business I work in.
A lot of the team are the age of my kids.
i love working with younger people and seeing the energy, enthusiasm and fresh ideas they bring.
But I’m in a rapidly evolving and challenging industry.

Absolutely feel you and OP. I'm 45, perimenopausal, been awake since 3 which is very common. I've zero motivation at work, company has been taken over a year ago and all the bloody bright young things and emails upon emails, I'm done, I'm tired of it all

Oh we talk about this all the time. My friends and I call it the 57 cliff. That seems to be the average age at which the women I know decided they couldn’t stand it any more.

I am 58 so have already gone off the cliff. I can’t afford to retire yet. I earn OK and actually like my colleagues and the work is interesting. It’s just all Groundhog Day.

Yes we are genetically the same humans who used to be done at 60. I could stand that. I think most people take the later retirement age as nothing more than a financial headache of how to fill the gap from 60-67.

I can go at 62 once the mortgage is paid and the 3 young adults who can’t afford to move out have had enough time to save. Anyone want to move to Sri Lanka with me? 🥳

I'm 35 and feel the same.
I work to pay bills and childcare at the minute. I couldn't care about anything else.

Enthusiastic idiots know no age ime.

Be openly (constructively) cynical - you can actually make a difference.

I am assuming you can afford to retire at 60, that's not the point of your thread in any case.

I had the conversation with my line manager, having a similar time of my working career remaining. Made it clear I intend to do my job professionally and reliably for the remaining time, will ensure that knowledge is passed on to whoever takes my responsibilities. Perhaps think about the same.

I hear you. I have started a new job, colleague (only one doing same role) goes into the office from 0800 - 1800 out of choice and has only taken two days annual leave this year. Makes me look bad but also I’m questioning the role.

Can you change roles?

I’m in my 30s and feel the same….theres no hope for me is there?! 😂😂

These 30-40 year olds saying they feel that way. That's a change jobs feeling not a 'I'm completely done with work now' feeling.

I did change jobs - not only can I still not be bothered, but the new job is worse in many ways and I really regret leaving. I’m still fed up but the option of coasting has gone. And I feel so worn down by the whole drama of deciding to leave a job that was comfortable but no longer challenging and discovering what a bad decision that was, that I have no energy or confidence to go through it all again. No, I’m just totally fed up with my career / profession / routine.

Why don't you start looking at doing something else?

Work should be fulfilling not just something to pay the bills.

You're not too old to retrain. Plenty of people carry on self employed part time into their 60s and even 70s doing something they love.

Look at all the actors, working till they're 90!

I've friends who trained as counsellors when they were 60, and a counselling friend who worked till she was 80.

Presumably you're in the public sector that means you can retire at 60, or in the private sector where you can access your pension but not the full amount.

How will you support yourself if you retire at 60?

You could have another 30 years of life- can you fill that constructively?

I was like this a few years ago. Over 30yrs working for a huge corporate and by the end it was all about bloody performance management, objectives and KPIs and I was done with it. Fortunately for me I was able to take voluntary redundancy during Covid and I got a decent payoff.

I thought that was it for me but six months later I took a role with a very small company doing something completely different and I became alive again. It's worth seeing whether a job change would make things better rather than giving up entirely.

I did have to give up the other job after 2 years to become a full time carer to my terminally ill husband. Still several years short of my state pension (I'm 60) I've decided to draw my private pension instead. It gives me enough to pay all my bills, and my mortgage got paid off with the life insurance. It won't last forever though, which is a concern, as the state pension isn't great..

I retired at 50. Best thing I ever did. I do a few paid things, but they are on my terms. Why work yourself to the bone for someone else if you don't have to?

God, me too!
I started reducing my hours as soon as I could. Figured I could get by only working 2 nights a week and have done that most of my working life!😊
(doesnt mean Im not looking forward to 60 though and early retirement).😄

I’m 58 and I hear you. I feel like there’s a lot of us out there gradually doing a slow fade towards retirement.

I stepped back from being a manager and am now just a team member. I just want to get on with my job, be polite and pleasant to my colleagues and go home. I don’t want to write paragraphs of personal goals and what motivates me to build my personal brand.

My company was taken over last year by a huge multinational and it’s all buzzwords, enthusiastic jargon and every week a new cause to celebrate. I don’t care. Let me crack on with what I’m doing and leave me in peace.

Accept it, unless plan b, I left work at 59 health reasons, not really my choice, I coped and I could.

Could you change the way you make money?
Freelance? Self employed?

I am 62- am a sole trader and run a small business I run from home, I enjoy what I do, it generates a good profit, flexible hours and allows me to attend a yoga class every morning and enough free time for other pursuits. I have no plans to stop earning.

I feel you op. The only reason I stay working for the company I do is because my boss is equally as 'can't be arsed' as me.

He's supposed to set me objectives, but he doesn't and we cobble together responses at year end. He signs off my CBT courses and my 121's consist of installing about holidays. He lets me sort my own diary out and as long as my customers are happy he leave me to it.

I couldn't bare to have to work in a company that expects me to push the envelope, think outside the box or exceed expectations