Took a sick day as I'm burnt out

[Henrietta1000]

I work between 44-50 hours a week which I know isn't even as much as some people on here must do, however working 6 days a week is draining.
I have no children so I know it could be worse, but I'm fed up. So I've called in sick today, luckily my last sick day was a year ago and it's not a job where they'll be short staffed.
I'm in the Civil Service as an AO. Whilst I enjoy the role, an AO salary is not great for a person living alone..I've applied for 3 EO roles but have come to understand how unbelievably slow they are. I sent 2 of my applications 3 months ago and still waiting to hear if I have an interview!
So I've currently got a second weekend/evening job. There's no guaranteed overtime in my civil service role, it used to be unlimited now it's capped.

I'm a qualified teacher, but gave up trying to get a job. I'm in languages, was turning up to interviews with 5 others and failing every time, got put on a support plan in one so resigned, or just not getting interviews. So I did supply, which was fine and paid better but I wanted something permanent and stable.

Please do not tell me it's worth it because of the pension, when you have a low salary and are quite young, you're obviously not going to put up with that for 30 years!
I've had a very productive day so far, cleaning my home and tidying, also just catching up on TV.
It's hard sometimes! I went to a hen the other week and all of my schoolfriends are now band 7 or 8 NHS, manager of xyz, and I'm in an entry level admin job despite going to uni.
6 days a week isn't sustainable much longer!
It's not even an AIBU, just a rant. Even EO roles are very competitive, I'm so fed up.

Some of the responses on here have been very harsh and unnecessary OP. Posters will have their own personal reasons for being so enraged, of
course.

It’s good to have a day off when you most need it. You're not a robot. The world will still turn.

I would abandon this thread and go and read something entertaining elsewhere. Are there other employment agencies you can sign up for, are there specific skills you can train for (I know you're currently swamped with 2 jobs) that could help you up the ladder? Is there a commercial alternative where you'd automatically be paid better?

No "we" haven't.

OP you won’t get what you want on this thread. It’s full of people telling you they have it harder - unfortunately on MN it’s a race to the bottom (I think this is a British problem but I won’t get into that). It’s shit that you can’t find work you like or that pays well, or that you’re trained for. Is there anything you fancy doing? Or retraining for? What interests do you have? Most employers wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire, so enjoy your day off.

But why should your employer give you a day off to do that because you couldn't be bothered to do it in your own time? I am not saying this to be mean, but your life seems pretty simple compared to most and you do not sound genuinely burnt out. You sound lacking in resilience and maybe jealous of colleagues that you perceive are given something that you are not.

I have languages, teaching, admin, basic IT, SEND. Can't really afford to train in anything unpaid but I will use this day to see what's out there. I was told oh there's so much progression in the CS, but it doesn't seem to be the case.

You really have no idea how 'simple' a stranger's life is. I have chosen to lose a day of pay, I'm not being 'given' a day off. Stop being so bitter about people taking days off.

You could not pay me enough to go back to a CS contact centre role so I know how you feel! I did that for a year when I left school before starting uni and my mum (who was an EO) was forever trying to get me to apply to go back. Still does occasionally, not something I fancy though. Would be the same salary I’m on now for a similarly thankless job, what would the point be?!

I don't think it is a race to the bottom at all. OP isn't really claiming to be struggling or in mental health crisis. She is simply saying that she could do with a day off because her role is too hard.

You also have absolutely no idea about a complete stranger's mental health but I can say that you are coming across incredibly bitter and rude. You've no right to make such sweeping generalisations and you are clearly trying to go out of your way to be nasty.

Well don’t post idiotic posts then.

You don’t need anyone’s permission to apply for another job. Life is too short to be stuck in a job you hate.
Is there anything local government that suits. You have qualifications and transferable skills. Low pay but opportunities to progress to management.

I didn't, but thanks.
You, on the other hand...

OP, burn out is real and there are some nasty replies on this thread.

What languages do you teach? I would look on Outschool or other tutoring platforms. Some teachers are making bank on there. You can set your own hours and be your own boss.

Look after yourself.

You need a better job. All these people saying they don’t take sick days for any reason is really sad. Personally I don’t work myself like a dog for a company that would replace me tomorrow if I died.

I get a certain amount of sick days in my contract and I take every single one of them a year. I am encouraged to and I encourage every member of my team to take theirs as well. I will actually send reminders out to staff letting them know they still have paid sick days to take so if they need a break for their mental health, to catch up on sleep or just to recharge then they are more than welcome to. Companies with better policies do exist!

I can see this thread was a mistake. The sheer anger and bitterness coming from people who want a certificate for never taking a day off, ever. Life doesn't work like that. Stop taking out your anger on what other people do.

So maybe create a post referencing your genuine struggles to gain support, rather than expecting one days unpaid sick leave will answer your problems. It feeds into the narrative that the government are currently peddling that those struggling are lazy and work shy. It doesn't scream to those that do not know you that you deserve more from your employer, you sound like youre taking the piss.

I don't see anything wrong with taking an occasional day off to reset if you feel burned out.

But I think you need to take a wider look at your job options and perhaps retrain - it looks like teaching was a dead end and the job you're in currently doesn't seem to have prospects. What would you like your working days to look like?

After 12 weeks with an agency you should receive the same benefits as permanent staff.

Perhaps the way forward is to consider applying for a permanent AO role and move up from there.

Could you not have taken a day of annual leave to pace yourself if you have taken a second job?

I would like to have 2 days off a week ideally. I'm going to use the rest of the day to look at retraining. I know the posters are seething with anger that I'm not slobbing on the sofa!

Taking sick days as an entitlement doesn't seem in any way normal to me ... are you in the US?

@Henrietta1000 if you want more money, you just have to either retrain or get into the private sector. I have friends who were in admin, so PAs but are making around 60K a year in financial services. Yes, they are busy but are also very efficient and the bosses love them. I have other friends who are more senior in the civil service who still dont earn tons. If i were you, id be looking for private sector roles, tailoring my cv accordingly and biding my time in my current role till the right one comes along. The market is tough but you are lucky you are working at all.

I will try looking in the private sector too. Since I've lost a day of pay I'll have to take on another day of weekend work, I did apply for a permanent AO role but scored a 3 sadly, however I've tried to work on the personal statements and have got x3 EO applications in process. Just wish they didn't take forever.

As a 30 plus years civil servant, there definitely are opps out there but like anything it’s down to desired experience/quals. Thanks to AI, there will be much fewer entry level jobs soon and those that exist will require quite specific work experience examples. If I were in your position I would be asking if there were any additional duties I could take on as I wanted development. However, I’m not sure being a temp worker if that could happen. Worth asking anyway.

In the meantime just keep looking for the next highest paid job and keep building up your experience as with each year you will become more marketable. Sometimes volunteering provides amazing opportunities to boost your CV with additional skills. Where and how you’d fit this in I’m not sure but it’s food for thought anyway.

It must be difficult sitting on unused quals and knowing you have the ability to do a higher paid job but fell like you’re being denied the chance at that. Fingers xd for you. Ps it’s not really a traditional sick day if you’re not even being paid for it. To actively choose to lose a days pay shows how necessary this day off was to you. Good luck and I hope you have a productive day 🌞