30 years in same line of work and need to escape

[Pathway7]

I've been doing the same type of office work for 3 decades. All this time I've spent up to 3 hours per day commuting as well. On the plus side I've mostly been able to work part time and earned enough to support my family as a single mother. But now I am terribly bored and my present job (which I found myself in after a series of takeovers, rather than having chosen it myself) is gruelling and dull. I feel my health is suffering from spending long hours at a desk with little or no daylight or exercise, coupled with too much stress. The idea of doing this until I retire is scary.

Looking for a new job whilst in this one is all but impossible; open-plan office, no privacy for calls or time to attend interviews. I don't know if I want to get trapped in another similar role anyway. I'm thinking of taking a risk and handing in my notice. I have some savings and could probably find some contract work here and there. Has anyone else done this? How did it go?

Hi pathway if it were me I wouldn't leave a job, mainly because life and the economy is far less predictable nowadays and security of income is a stable basis to make change. If you lose that, you may find yourself forced into choices you wouldn't want to make. The grass isn't greener on t'other side of the fence.

Suggestions-

Update your CV and LinkedIn profile.
Register with agencies and look online.

Use your time management skills to good effect. 30 mins a day, use your lunchtimes and at home. Ask agencies to call you in the evenings/Sat mornings.
You may need to sacrifice some annual leave days to do your job searching
Look at career websites to match your skills to possible job openings.

Lots of these activities are online so you can maintain privacy. Keep phone calls until you are outside the office. You may have to make a short term sacrifice of fewer days holiday, but the longer term stability of being in a new role will be worth it

Some suggestions

Stay in your current job (does your job have other employee benefits ?)

Look at improving your life out of work
Write a list of things you would like to do and do them
Book a holiday
Does your employer allow extended annual leave or unpaid leave so that you can go travelling or do a course or something else you want to do ?
Volunteer
Raise money for charity

You need to speak to a careers advisor. They may do that over the phone. There are some great career change books that are really helpful.

Recruitment agents I've spoken to have been pretty good at explaining exactly who they are, as asking if you can talk freely. If the answer is no, I've usually found them amenable to calling back after typical work hours (DH) or fixing a time, and then me booking a meeting room to call them from -obviously not an option for some jobs.
Days holiday for interviews, if you can book them last minute.
I wouldn't give up your job quite yet, unless you can afford to not find something as soon as your notice is up.

Go part time and job hunt on your days off?

Working reduced hours now. This feels SO much better. 4 days per week is well worth the 20% pay cut.

Before, Saturdays were spent recuperating from stress; Sundays, dreading another gruelling week ahead. House was a mess due to lack of time.

Now cleaning away the layers of dust from my home, and have the mind-space to think of pursuing some of my interests. I hope NEVER to work full-time again.