Need a break from my job

[Whenwillthiscoldevergo]

I am almost 60 & feel like I need a break from my job. I hate my line manager and the work load is too much. It's not a difficult job, just high volume.
I'd love to have a hybrid job really, or part time. I still have my mum who will eventually become more needy of my time & help. I'd like to help out with dgc in school holidays too.I used to have a proper home office, but it's become a dumping ground. As has the garage. Rest of the house is fine but does need a declutter & deep clean.
I'm very overweight & run down. Feel knackered & have no motivation to do anything.
My job is accounts payable & there seems to be quite a lot of work out there. Our company alone needs another body & we just can't find anyone decent.
We have plenty of savings & my dh earns enough for us both. In my case, would you take a break to get your house & health sorted & then look for another job? I haven't got the headspace for job hunting at the moment, or the confidence. I'm just scared of not finding something due to my age. I'm not ambitious anymore & don't really need to work; but I like having my own money & it's a lot of pressure on my dh to be the sole earner at 61 years old.
Sorry this is a bit long & jumbled, but I'm full of cold!

Retire, you can take your pension from 55. That's what I did and I treated myself to a gastric sleeve op which has been positively life changing.

Exactly, retire, private pension should be accessible if you have it?

plenty of savings & my dh earns enough for us both.

I mean, what are these savings for? What have you saved all your life for if you can't dip into them for this reason?

Stop working, sort the house, step back, do the things you saved all your life to do? Take the pressure off, even having someone at home may benefit DH?

Savings are for retirement, but I don't have a massive pension. Dh has a decent one. I also like to help our dc & dgc. I suppose I live for them more than myself & spoil them. Dh & I have a nice life too.
If I was at home dh wouldn't not have to do any household stuff so that would free up his spare time. I suppose there will always be menial admin jobs out there for us older ones who just want some money to tick over

You'll be able to pick up temping work easily enough, and probably something permanent as well. So if I were you I'd take some time off, spend a bit of it seeing the grandkids and then, maybe later this year, think about getting something else. Employers will always want staff in your line of work and it sounds as though you've got a lot of useful experience..

I’m not sure if for you taking leave or a sabbatical is an option? It sounds like as though working from home a couple of days a week could help; have you asked?

This would be a better first step than quitting and fearing not getting back into work. Your husband can support you both but you want to keep some independence and spare him the burden, which is understandable.

It’s hard when we have home stuff we want to deal with but work and life essentials take up all our energy. If you’re not enjoying work due to demand workloads and not liking your line manager that’s only going to make matters worse. Is that a personality thing or a clash in the way you work?

Hope you feel better soon.

Even if you don't quit you job, sabbatical is good, or drop your hours, three days a week, you'll still keep a hand in but have loads more time?

Yes, I would.

Take a break, prioritise yourself. Then reassess in 6 months/ a year or whatever.

You'll have plenty of transferable skills even if you don't go back to AP.

You won't get this time back OP and I think you may regret it if you don't take a break.

Take six months to start off with. Give yourself that time to get your health and your house back in order and see how it goes. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

If you want to spoil your DC and DHC then spoil them with time rather than money. And I am sure it would be better for all of you if you were happy and healthy rather than miserable and run down.

Look for a new part-time position now, in a different company, 2 or 3 days a week. Easier to get a job when you have a job and all that. A fresh start in a new company, time off every week and a new routine, you’ll feel reenergised.

Can you drop your hours . I have worked 4 days a week for a long time .. it changes so much 5 to 4

Tbh if your older i probably wouldn't take a break from work, I'd have thought it difficult to get back into work again.

I'd def look at going part time rather than no job. I've worked 4 days since having my dc and I hope I never have to work full time again as it is a great balance.

The moment I had enough money saved to tide me over til I could draw down my pension I retired. At 53.

If you have skills in accounts payable then you are likely to find work.

If your H is earning enough to cover it then do it.

I'd say take 3 months and work out what it is you want to do, spend the spring clearing out the house to give yourself clarity and room to work from home in comfort. If you ever want to. Maybe take up a hobby or do some private accounting insead?

Personally, I love being retired, and the thought of working again - nah no thanks.

In your shoes OP I would leave your current job and focus on your physical and mental health for a bit and then look for a less stressful part-time or temporary role.

It seems that your skills are in demand and could be suitable for home or hybrid working.

You have no immediate financial pressure so I don't see the point in continuing to work for an employer who is only too happy to let staff struggle with unmanageable workloads and does not want to address recruitment issues.

Hi OP,
Maybe there is a middle ground.
If you do feel it would be manageable financially to leave, but still want some money of your own as you mention, then there is no harm in having a conversation with work and saying what would work for you - I.e. when you get the second role filled, I will be moving down to 3 or 4 days a week etc. Worst case scenario they do not agree which would be OK if you were already set on leaving if necessary.
Good luck and wish you all the best x

Loads of options if your employer will support and others if not. Retire from current post and claim pension. Do that and get a part time job to supplement pension. Reduce your hours in current job. Take a 6 month career break. You’re not being unreasonable. Take time while you’re still young to get your health sorted and your home organised. You’ll feel better mentally then. Once you’re sorted then think about having more of your GC. If you jump into doing that first you’ll never get to where you need to be personally.

I work in accounts. Just last year I took on a new accounts / admin assistant who is 63. Having interviewed a wide age range she was the best fit, so don’t let your age worry you about getting another job, there will be something out there for you.
As a first step though, go to your current employer and ask for part time/ job share. They will make it work if they want it to.

https://www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs?keywords=Finance&UserHasGrantedBrowserGeoLocationPermission=No

Look for a remote or hybrid finance role in the charity sector, there's plenty about.

I have thought about asking to go part time at my current work place. The work load is so great that I don't think they'll go for it. We need another body as it is, & they're struggling to even get people to apply. Don't know why. If we have a bad rep, wages could be better if I'm honest; but we get 5 weeks instead of 4 weeks holiday. If they let me go part time then it sets a precedent for others who ask then & that's not sustainable.
I've been there for 5 years & get on well with the team. Line manager seems to speak to me like a piece of s* when for the same thing she'll speak to others normally. It feels like low level bullying really, but not enough to take a complaint further without sounding like a whiney child. It wore off for a couple of years, whilst I did a lot of unpaid overtime to keep on top of things. Now she has another lapdog to do that for her. We took a new lady on in the spring but she's already gone, probably because she became the one to be picked on. Now she's gone I can feel it coming back to me again, or she just ignores me like I'm not there. I'm a good worker who gets the job done. If I left it would impact the work load a lot & she has said that in general conversation. If she speaks to me like a piece of muck again it will tip me over the edge. It would be so satisfying to hand my notice in, without creating any fuss as I know she'll be even more stressed at being 2 bodies down!
Life's too short for this. If I can find some part time work or temping after a few months break, my house & health sorted, life would be great

This may not be relevant to you OP, but I just wanted to offer a slightly different perspective. The feeling of being overwhelmed and unable to keep up at home and at work, tiredness, always feeling run down, lacking motivation, weight gain, clutter build up at home. For me, these were all signs my thyroid had stopped working, although I didn't realise it the first time I was diagnosed. But now I recognise a pattern. OP, I wanted to suggest you get that checked before deciding on things that could affect your longer term financial security.