Does anyone else feel sorry for themselves working on your feet all day at 40, 50, 60 plus.

[Sunnygirl07]

Hello All,

My friend asked me to ask this question.

At 43 she is studying to be counsellor to have a sitting-down job instead of a crazy retail one on her feet non-stop which she finds is much harder to cope with age despite the fact she is size 10-12, fit & healthy.

I personally studied a lot to to avoid physical jobs.

• I personally studied a lot too

well, I am teacher, so around 6 hors a day on my feet and the rest at a desk - I find this to be the right balance- any longer sitting down and I get a bit stiff and restless

Of course.
But standing and walking non-stop all day would really be crazy at 40+ for me though I am as well size 10-12 & fit & healthy Thank God.

It is also very damaging for your body to stand and walk all day non-stop.

It's so bad for our bodies to be sitting all day. I use a standing desk and feel much better for it.

With sitting-down jobs you can have a standing desk.

You can go for a walk on your break.

It's much better for your body.

What are you basing that on?

Yes. 50 this year and I'm in menopausal hell, everything aches and I do 10 hour shifts on my feet. I love what I do but I'm not sure how much longer my body can cope.
Saying that I feel like my job keeps me fit in that I do a lot of bending/lifting and 10,000 steps. I can't imagine how unfit I would be if I sat down all day. So I think there's benefits to physical work if you can manage it!

As I used to be a teacher too, I know that standing by the board in one spot is much easier on your feet than walking non-stop and standing for hours.

40 is no age to slow down and reduce physical activity! If you don't use it, you lose it!

Teachers stand by the board all day!? Are you for real?

I call bs.

I used to be in nursing and I retrained in my 40's to do podiatry which is mostly sitting all day because by then I was already knackered from standing on my feet for 12 hours a day.
It was a three year degree but was totally worth it.

Maybe you could ask in the "work" or "health" forums?

I am the opposite, I prefer walking around to standing still

I work in a hospital and I'm on my feet most of the day but I love the fact my job keeps me active. I'm 48 and slim and put that down to my activity levels. I thought Sitting was the new Smoking!
From the Heart Foundation-
People who sit the most, compared to people who sit the least, have a 112% increased risk of diabetes, 147% increased risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack or stroke and 90% increased risk of death from cardiovascular events.

I am in my 50s and a Health care Assistant,I am literally on my feet for 12hours aday, I never get time to sit down and carehome is full of stairs so up and down them constantly.Lots of manual handling,which has resulted in lots of injuries over the years,(frozen shoulder,housemates knee ectt)It's not only physically but mentally exhausting as well.I do not really want to be doing this for the rest of my life,So my advice is take a career that will benefit you in the long-term future.

Hahahahahaha 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Not sure what kind of teacher you were, but clearly NOT what most of us do!!

I'm 59, in my 30th year of teaching, and have NEVER 'stood by the board all day' 🤣🤣

I teach in KS1 and trust me, I NEVER sit down (or stand by the bloody board!). My day in the classroom starts at 7.30 where I rush around setting up, photocopying, sticking stuff in books and getting resources prepped (no TA for me 🤷‍♀️)

Kids come in at 8.30 and do 'morning tasks' until we start at 8.45. From that point in I'm never in one place any longer than 5 minutes, until they leave at 3.20. Then it's clearing up and marking (or meetings) until I leave at 6. I get home at 6.45. It's a long old day and my nearly 60-year old feet are now suffering. I have Achilles tendinitis/plantar fibroma and plantar fasciitis in both feet, so 🤷‍♀️

It's not a great job if you have foot problems that's for sure...but many, many people do have standing/walking all day jobs with NO issues!

40 is no age at all though!! Not sure what your actual question is...you didn't actually ask one 🤷‍♀️

I'm 55 and find retail really hard on the body. On a 9 hour shift I will be on my feet for 8.5hrs standing and walking plus lifting heavy bags & boxes. If I'm really unlucky I'll be stood steaming clothes for 1-2 hours of that time which is draining. Often, due to crap buses, I will have a mile walk to the bus stop in the morning and then another mile back home again in the evening. I'm so f*ing knackered some days that I'm too tired to eat when I get home and spend most of my working day fuelled by coffee and paracetamol. It's shit. Plus I'm also a carer and recovering from cancer but the bills need paying and this was all I could get when I returned to working three years ago :(

To those people with standing uo jobs: did you find your feet burning after each shift when you were 20s and first started doing them. Surely this would be a sign to try and move to a sitting down job if possible?

I had standing up jobs at 16 and I would feel burning legs and fèet after each shift. Others told me Iwould get used to it. I worked at weekends for months, experimented wiith footwear and never got used to it. It ruined free time as I love walking and couldn't go for a walk on a summer evening.

I stayed in college for years then studief part time around my office job. I am 50 and worked fulltime all my life. I would not be able to do this with a standing up job. Especially as I had to do housework, deal with dcs after work.

My feet burned in my 20s, 30s and now my 40s. I have a shower after work which makes them feel good again!

I'm semi-seriously considering leaving my comfortable wfh job and finding a job as a supermarket picker. 3 years of wfh has been awful for both my physical and mental health. I'm 53 and permanently knackered through lack of exercise. Completely unmotivated to leave the house through winter.

It seems a drastic solution to a small problem. Could you walk in the evenings, a class at lunchrime, volunteer to get social connections. I would keep the wfh job but try to pick up a few hours work in a supermarket in an evening or Sunday for social connections.

Yes it would be drastic - that's why I'm only semi-serious. I have tried gyms several times over the years but they don't stick because I don't enjoy them. The part time job is something to think about.

It is also very damaging for your body to stand and walk all day non-stop

oh lord that's funny 😁

no humans are not designed to sit all day.

being on your feet is fine.

continuous heavy physical work maybe not so good though.

I left a very physical job in my 40s because I could feel it taking a toll on my body. Have taken a job were I am just on my feet moving around all day with light lifting involved. I love the downshift and am happy I'm still staying fit and healthy.

I've had sit down jobs in offices, my weight, fitness and general feeling tired and fatigued was not good. I wasn't very healthy and didn't feel healthy, and going to the gym was a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of time I spend sat on my arse.

Good foot wear is must I found going up a shoe size did the trick.