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!

IANA(C)L, however I have friends who are...

Pressure, long hours, demanding bosses...I've observed that people who do that job tend to be high achieving and self critical, with similarly high achieving and critical bosses, who don't react well to even small mistakes. Pleasing the client (to close deals/bring in the money) is the most important thing, even if it means you're up all night several nights in a row/working on your days off when you should be looking after your children ("that's what you're paid a high salary for").

Cried a lot in my last job which was local authority/NHS based. It wasn’t the job itself though, it was the vile people which I think is probably true the vast majority of the time when you have bad work experiences. I was only in that team for less than 18 months but it left me so broken I was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and PTSD. It was horrific. I cried multiple times a week- at work, at home, all over. I remember walking home once thinking it wouldn’t be the worst thing if I just got hit by a car on the way so it was all over with. I didn’t remotely deserve to feel that way but I bet the bastards who did it to me barely gave me a second thought once I was out of there. Moved on to their next victim no doubt.

Nursing - 30 years and counting down the years until retirement. I cry a lot!

Sounds like my job (teacher). Long, long days, working with limited resources and abusive parents.

Well said!

And actually, if people in general stopped to think, accepted that the world does'nt revolve around them, accepted that people do get delayed, weren't so bloody self centred and started to be kind and considerate............the world would be a far better place!

What do you do now OP? I am a teacher, considering my next steps.

I’m a teacher, I have cried at work and I’m sure I will again but not every week or every day and certainly not several times a day. There are supportive, positive schools to work in out there!

Contact Centre, pretty much everyone has been in tears at some point, or just walked out

I am in criminal justice. When I joined my now department I was introduced to the crying table “where everyone goes to have a good cry”. I was like WTF.

I am not a crier but I am near to having a massive hissy fit as I am so stressed. I now know why we have this table!

Corporate law Magic Circle I used to just work round the clock. It became normal. Would meet Dh at Wagamamas by the office on Friday nights then go back to the office afterwards. Mental. Intense negotiations through the night everyone angry and stressed. The Fear of making a mistake.

Had a baby and never went back. Colleagues had day nannies and night nannies never saw their kids. Fuck that. Best decision Dh and I ever made was to walk away from the City and London. Met Dh there because that was the only place I ever was!

When we both left the other lawyers were shocked we were leaving! Everyone normal left. Work for myself now bloody love it and you know what?! Last year made the same salary I did in that sweat shop.

Corporate law here too! I like being in house though, it's not stress free by any means but I'm not having to do breathing exercises on the tube and crying in the loos is a rare event rather than daily occurrence.

If every job is making you cry though it indicates you are the issue rather than the job and you need to look at a different career

I don't think this is true. I've had many, many jobs and the workplace has changed. Where there used to be a team doing a job, it's now just one person, and the stress is palpable and just sent down the line from the top to bottom. Throw in some toxic bosses and it's a real struggle. Plus I've no tolerance left for all the bullshit. It completely frustrates me.

I agree this is one of the major issues. It’s so frictionless for people to send mails they appear in a constant stream. It used to be we would get the post every day and then you already know in the morning what had come in for the day. There were extra phone calls of course but it was nothing like this never ending barrage. It’s soul destroying.

I work in law as well, I go into court for the day and come out to many people already irritated that a same day response was not sent to whatever appeared in my mail box. Not to mention voicemails and messages in team WhatsApp groups about different issues. It gets overwhelming.

Customer relations for a manufacturer. Spend all day either listening to complaints; on the phone to older people who often tell you how they haven't spoken to anyone for days and have really just rung for a chat; or dealing with corporate clients who are pretty much always rude and demanding.
It's a rare day that you don't have to stop for a cry. But actually I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Better out than internalised and it's natural to be sad when you hear sad things.

The only time I cry now is in sympathy with a client. If someone else cries I find myself crying too. But actually enjoy my work now and being self employed with no nutcase colleagues.

Dr

Teachers who want to leave and especially those thinking of having a car accident in order to rest (also known as "the tree") - please look up "Life after Teaching - Exit the Classroom and Thrive" on Facebook. Changed my life. Possibly saved it too.

Work in a primary school (not a teacher)- always cry at the nativity, summer performance and any shows the kids put on - think it's the mum in me! Happy tears though!

Omg I do that with music and was getting annoyed for doing it to myself! But now it makes a bit of sense the way you have put it! It is like you need to release anxiety before you even get there!!! (I’m a specialist nurse so similar job too and could have wrote the exact same feeling about the overwhelm and responsibility with the lack of support)

I second this. Some firms are better than others but it’s a horrible stressful job a lot of the time

Seconded. I used to think at least if there was a bomb on the tube I wouldn't have to go to work. So glad I got out.

It really is. I’m a teacher - in my 30th year. I’ve had my moments but generally look forward to work and very rarely cry. It shouldn’t be the case that any profession is so consistently stressful that it’s normal to dread going in.

Midwifery again. Huge workload, responsibility, constant staff shortage, higher patient expectations, culture shift to more litigation and no respect all just make the perfect stress storm. I love being a midwife, and think I am capable of doing a good job when I can give the standard of care I want. Sadly that's rare in the NHS currently.

Same reason why us anaesthetists have 3-5x higher suicide rates than the general population

Was it the job though, or was it the workplace?

I ask because my first experience of working Ina. Secondary school (support role) was appalling and when I left (basically had a breakdown after caring for dying parent through lockdown which resulted in numerous battles with employer - I was having panic attacks on the way into work daily) I thought I'd never work in a school again.

After a couple of years out I kind of fell into my current workplace - a bigger, and in terms of student body, far more challenging setting - and absolutely love it. I feel well supported and respected by the SLT, have fabulous colleagues and have been promoted after only 18 months!