Teaching- any other jobs that make you cry regularly?

[Whosaidthattt]

I quit teaching last year, after years in a negative, toxic environment, which I thought was my fault.
Most days, I cried on the way to work, at lunchtime in a cupboard or driving home. I now see that this was the culture rather than me. It took changing a 20 year career to see this.
Is there any other job out there that has staff regularly crying before/during/after work? It's so wrong!

Photo didn’t attach to my above post 🙄🤦‍♀️

Curious what you did for a living mantlepiece? 🤔

Another teacher here who cries regularly-sometimes actually at work (not in front of the children). It has gone from being a rewarding, manageable job, to something hideous.

Just looking online this morning at the new head of Ofsted saying that anyone who thought their changes to inspection would mean a removal of grades was deluded makes me despair as well. Here was a chance to make changes that might have plugged the mass exodus of teachers, but they are just planning to make things worse. It's so depressing.

You are absolutely right about the viscous cycle! The problem is being human. You can put up with it to a certain point before you begin to react.

In the case of disclosing mental/emotional abuse in personal relationships, you would be advised to leave immediately, and those who are lucky enough to be able to find another job, get out quick. In the workplace, you are expected to be tolerant or resilient.

Imagine a loved one telling you no matter how hard they try, they are being told and made to feel like they are useless, incompetent and not enough. Being shouted and blamed for everything. After a while it takes a toll on you and you either shut down and become cold perhaps as a protective mechanism, or it builds up and you react or breakdown.

Honestly, it is heartbreaking reading this thread….

I would certainly have drawn a parent into line. Part of my role as a headteacher is to set the ethos of the school and hold others to account for that, including parents.

However, as a graduate professional, I also expect that staff are able to be independent in also drawing a parent into line and uphold the same ethos.

Ofsted is not a factor. Evidence overtime shows parents’ views. Ofsted inspectors are like the rest of us and do recognise ‘that parent’ where there is a line voice.

I work in mental health in the community- cry pretty much every day- services are being cut left and right and there's very little support

Interesing my BIL and his wife are so wealthy its ridiculous.( both lawyers) .
My son has just been inducted by the Supreme Court, His gf is earning a lot at a social media company. They would not have taken her on without her law degree. It's a very useful degree in many ways,
..

A law degree can be invaluable. Working in law often not so great

I did draw her into line and firmly said, "No, I cant do that." I didn't bother to explain why I shouldn't need to as I said I was heavily pregnant and also why couldn't she do it? Sadly not all headteachers are like you. Another parent (male) shouted in my face at the top of his voice in front of a playground full of parents and the headteacher. Again this was during my pregnancy. I burst into tears and walked away. The headteacher did nothing. My colleagues complained on my behalf and again nothing done. Another incident a parent actually manhandled a member of staff and yes the police were called but the parent was allowed to return to school premises the very next day. There is a theme here. Parents thinking they can do and say what they like and sone headteachers not doing anything about it. It is not ok.

Rich doesn’t always mean happy. I have a friend who is an equity partner in a US law firm earning over £1 million a year and she's miserable because she doesn’t see her children enough. I wish she’d at least change firm in the hope of less pressure but she’s afraid to for many reasons.

I’m a teacher. I was made to cry by horrible customers when I was a waitress and in one office job when I had a nasty bully for a boss. I love my job now but, yes, it can be an emotional one for sure!

Also a teacher. I don’t cry regularly but I am often very frustrated and angry. If you look at this thread it’s all caused by a breakdown in society. People want everything instantly and their needs come before everyone else. Manners have been forgotten and individuals are not seen as humans but as transactions. There seems to be a complete lack of compassion and empathy with everyone out to point the finger. I don’t know what the answer is but it’s definitely wider society. Schools are a micro climate so it’s no surprise we are finding all of societies ills concentrated in one toxic place and expecting teachers to do more and more to compensate for it. All work places could be improved if we all started treating each other how we wanted to be treated ourselves.

I’m sorry you went through those experiences. That’s not ok. Even my Head who demonstrated again and again that she didn’t care about our wellbeing didn’t tolerate parents abusing us.

Ofsted is not a factor.

It absolutely is with lots of heads. Not necessarily just how parents are dealt with but the expectations of workload.

Gosh, this thread has made me feel so grateful for my job!
Honestly, get a cushy middle-management role in the private sector! You’ll never look back!

Me three ❤️

The positive with law is its flexible. I have worked in all types of firm and in several really different fields and now for myself. It’s knowing when to quit that’s the key I think. Dh and I enjoyed some aspects of City law - interesting international people / travel with work / money. But you need to quit while you’re ahead. The tragedy of the lawyers women especially that gave everything up including marriage and children for a job that cared nothing for them and ditched them without a qualm. That was hard to witness.

Running your own business, particularly annoying staff that rely on you. It's never ending, takes over your whole life. I haven't slept properly in years.

One of the kids wants to go into law, is it all that awful? I had no idea!

With surveys like that, though it's a self-selecting sample who respond. People who are unhappy tend to want to talk about it; people who are happy don't bother, because they're too busy enjoying themselves.

I don't agree that teaching is inherently stressful more so than any other job. Being in front of children all day is emotionally and intellectually demanding, sure, but it shouldn't be stressful. It should be enjoyable. Teaching a subject you love to kids who you have built a good relationship with and get to see learning and growing over the course of the school year is a joy and a privilege and I certainly experience that joy on a day to day basis.

Teaching is only stressful when the management structures in place within a school allow it to become so. In a school with weak and inexperienced SLT, poor behaviour management systems, overworked and underpaid teachers, and far too high a ratio of inexperienced to experienced teachers - then teaching can be incredibly stressful. However, no more stressful than any other job in which those same issues - weak and inexperienced management, badly distributed workloads, and a majority of inexperienced staff who aren't getting the right support because there aren't enough experienced staff to help them. Teaching sadly is not unique in often providing a poor environment in which to do the job. However, we don't have to stay in schools that are poor environments in which to work, and if you as a teacher are regularly crying, you need to find a new school. Not all schools demand blood, sweat and tears of you. Mine doesn't, and I don't feel stressed by my work pretty much ever. It's demanding, sure, but it's not stressful.

I just get frustrated with the negative press teaching gets and teachers saying oh god it's awful, it's so stressful, I cry every night - it's no wonder we can't get anyone to train. It doesn't have to be that way and actually a lot of us are happy in our jobs. Not all schools are the same. Teaching itself is not the problem - it's how a school is run that provides the stress.

My most stressful job where I often did go to the toilet to cry was actually when I worked in a theatre pre-teaching. There was no money so we all had to do about three people's jobs, I hadn't had the right training to manage the backstage equipment but had to magically figure it all out by myself, and I had to deal with the egos and emotions of directors, producers and actors, all wanting me to fix something NOW otherwise their precious show was going to fall apart, all while a show was literally happening live and if anything went wrong 1000 people would know about it and want a refund. It's making me sweat just thinking about it now! Give me a classroom of teenagers any day, honestly.

Teacher Tappers are usually irritatingly positive actually!

Nursing does. It's a mixture of exhaustion and moral injury from being forced to provide care in a way that doesn't meet the staff's personal values.

Are you surprised though? LAs all over the country are ignoring the SEN code of practice and making illegal decisions. Of course parents are frustrated when their children is being denied a suitable education. No, they shouldn't be taking it out on you but the majority are at their limit, many suicidal because there is no accountability for the law-breaking the councils are doing. Repeated delay tactics to avoid paying even though they know they'll lose in tribunal but that 6 months of law-breaking saves a few quid.

It shouldn't be the educated/articulate parents "winning". All SEN children should be provided with the education they deserve without any need for parents to "shout the loudest". If councils just followed the law, it wouldn't be an issue.

Acute medicine, sort of like an a&e overflow with all the medical emergencies rather than the broken bones and cuts etc. So very very poorly patients, lots of sepsis, cancer, diabetic crises, but also lots of delirium, confused patients, violent patients, phych patients who can be a danger to themselves and others.

On top of this you have lots and lots of movement as it's only a short stay ward, so multiple admissions a shift (most I've seen is 14 in a 12 hour shift which is absolutely batshit). As well as demanding doctors, relatives, liaising with social services etc. It's very full on and not a shift goes by without some kind of abuse being directed towards us

It’s not that GPs won’t refer… it’s that there are very strict criteria about what will. E seen in hospital (secondary and tertiary services). For instance,whetf I work you are not going to be seen by a gynaecologist unless you are sudpected to have cancer.. so my referrals chronic pelvic pain, endometriosis,urinary incontinance are all declined. It’s absolutely awful.

I am aware that some LAs are not following the law and SEND CoP and not all Caseworker are dedicated to the role and I am unsure why they work in SEND.

I am annoyed and frustrated by those who are manipulating the system and treating SEND as though it comes with special privilege. That you have a right to demand what you want due to having SEND there is a right to a fair access to an adequate education. This is not what I was referring to though. The purpose of the tread was what was making you cry at work. How the behaviour of some parents and professionals is bullying and intimidating. Not a thread of how SEND policy is being manipulated, how there is not a distribution and recognition of fairness in SEND education.