Too old?

[whatalifethisis]

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can give me some perspective/views before I disappear up my own backside from the anxiety created by ruminating over this.

I work in a managerial role in an extremely stressful job (mental health) I love the people I work with and have been in the job 14 years. However, due to cutbacks, lack of resources etc. my workload is no longer sustainable and I feel it is only a matter of time before something serious happens due to having to cut corners.

I feel I need to leave for the sake of my own mental health. Here is the thing, I am 58 and wondering if I am too old to get another job. I have experience and transferable skills and all being well would imagine that I will be working for another 10 years or so.

If you were an employer would you employ someone of 58 if they were right for the job? Would their age bother you? Has anyone changed jobs around this age?

Part of me says just do it and it will all work out, the other part of me says I would be cray to give up a relatively secure job.

For context, I am very fortunate that my mortgage is paid off so even if we had to live off baked beans we wouldn't lose our home. I'm prepared to take a pay cut for a job with less stress.

Thank you for reading if you got this far!

I think it would be naive to think you can walk into a job as easily at 58 as you can at 35. It shouldn't be the case but it is.

You can only try right? I agree it probably will not be as plain sailing but I say start looking around and applying and see where you get.

I suspect it will be a challenge. I have certainly noticed just being in my 40s is an issue but in my industry there are a lot of women in their 20s and 30s and very few who are 50+. You may have a better chance in some kinds of roles than others.

There's no harm in applying for positions now and seeing what comes of it before you leave.

It's difficult for anyone, male or female, to find another job when they're over 50. Especially women. I was made redundant at 60 and no way could I find work in my profession. I did get offered work as a taxi driver; it would have been easy to work as a case assistant. But this is probably the sort of job you're looking at if you leave. Why not wait to be made redundant? Then at least you'll get a redundancy payment.

Are you nuts !

Seriously haven’t you got a raft of other things you’d rather be doing.

Thank you for all the responses, I've read all of them carefully.

singlenotsingle I don't think I can rely on being made redundant and not sure I would be able to hold out till then (whenever 'then' may be)

poppyinagreenfield I think I probably am nuts , yes. But do you mean nuts for staying or nuts for considering leaving!?

Definitely try! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. We have a very young team bar one lady in her fifties. She is invaluable. She has more wisdom than half of us put together and is a much needed level head that keeps the office politics at a reasonable level.

As well as being bloody good at her job obviously!

What are you looking to do? What are the implication on work benefits, redundancy, sickness, holiday entitlement?

I think it very much depends on what you are looking to move into.

That's good to hear Trippingthevelvet , makes me feel a little more optimistic!

swingofthings I would like to carry on in a similar field of mental health but maybe something with less responsibility and nearer to home as I do a 65 mile round journey to work at the moment.

I haven't looked into redundancy implications and that's a good point. I used to get sick pay but since our company was taken over that has changed. My holiday entitlement at the moment is good as I've built it up over the years and we get awarded extra days for long service although they have cut my holiday by a day since we were taken over too.

There is no question that there are a lot of benefits to where I am at the moment in terms of working with a fantastic team, I feel valued and am very much left to manage my own workload. I've just reached the stage though that this may not be enough to make up for the constant fear that something will go horribly wrong one day and that I will be held responsible because to be honest even if I worked 16 hours a day it wouldn't be enough.

I am responsible for the risk assessments for almost every single service user and every time we have an incident (and there are quite a few) I am holding my breath and hoping it wasn't down to something I didn't do due to time restraints.

That is just one element of the stress, there are many others but I feel like I'm rambling now!

They say age doesnt matter any more in job hunting but i found when i got older i just didnt have the same energy any more, I retired from a health job at age 61, have you got a good pension plan. There are lots of jobs in mental health, the guardian have a section on Wednesday I think, would you consider a different role, non managerial, they are crying out for people with experience like you have.

thank you holey I didn't even think of looking in the Guardian, have just had a look now and there are quite a lot of jobs.

I certainly would consider a non managerial role and I think if I worked closer to home I wouldn't be quite so tired.....14 years of travelling up and down the same motorway every morning and evening have taken it's toll!

I have a small pension plan along with a fairly substantial lump sum which I plan to use when I retire although I don't feel anywhere near ready to retire at the moment although I am aware that none of us know what is round the corner.

I think I am going to get of my backside this afternoon and finish an application form that I started yesterday and see what if anything happens!

You can only try, OP. My mum is a similar age to you and has just got herself a new job in a similar field. She was offered three jobs in as many weeks! If you've got the quals, some experience and a clear work ethic then there should be no problem. She also beat a field entirely of younger men to one post. Hopefully that's encouraging to you.

As an employer I would prefer someone around your age all other things being equal.

I try not to let this preference influence me but I do notice myself relaxing a bit when interviewing someone with maturity.

Would you consider a part time role to help with the energy side of things?

My partner is only a couple of years younger than you and she got a good job recently and was apparently the best candidate by a mile.
Places that have strengths based interviews rather than 'do I like the look of this person ' might give you a better chance.

Bobbin and Super thank you so much for taking the time to respond and for sharing some positive tales.

I don't really want to go part time as I am best when I am fully occupied but I do think that some of my tiredness is down to the long commute and the incredible stress.

There are periods where if my boss is on leave I don't have a free day for 12-14 days as one of us has to be on call at all times. I am always on call for two weekends out of four anyway and although I don't have to go anywhere but just have to be on the end of the phone to deal with any crisis/emergency/run of the mill support , it still means my head doesn't get a break!

I shouldn't complain though....for the pleasure of being on call at a weekend I do get paid £10.00.......a day

I left work after being made redundant at a much younger age than you. With a house and savings I found other things to do and my expenditure decreased drastically as I was just all round happier inside.

FIRE is an American based approach to work. Save as much as you can as fast as you can and invest it so you can get out circa age forty.

Of course you’re not nuts just maybe a bit conditioned as a change like you are facing is a bit like jumping off a cliff. I’ve done the cliff jumping twice and it’s exhilerating. But then it worked out very well for me. I am better off financially too.

Based upon my own experience I cannot understand why anyone would put up with the misery and drudgery of work. Maybe I am nuts but all the best people are.

Regards poppy.

My mum has done just that and got a new job in a completely different field at 54. I manage people ranging from 28 to 58, I would say there's absolutely differences between the ages and as a younger manager the older ones keep me on my toes (they have lots of experience and the confidence to impart it!) but hand on heart wouldn't be put off by someone's age whatever it was, there are benefits to young people new to a career and older people with more life experience, I guess it depends on the role but for me personality is king.

I think you are right to be wary, op, but a word of hope: my DM is in the MH field. She was recently offered a new job, full time, in an allied field, on £22k (don't know your current salary, though). She's 69 today.

It is possible, although you will almost certainly need to look at the third sector, and you may need to take a (significant?) pay cut. Her new employers were delighted to find someone who fitted their "wish list" of criteria so perfectly, and who had the necessary skills and experience to assist their service users. You may need to wait a while for the perfect role to come up, but age will be much less of a barrier than in the for-profit sector.

Good luck!

poppy you don't sound nuts....you sound eminently sane

I am fortunate as I said not to have to worry about losing my home and I have 100% support from my DP who would be only to happy to see me leave.

I cannot afford to give up work completely at the moment (4 fur kids cost a lot to keep!) but I can afford to take a drop in salary and I don't think I can put a price on my mental health as I have been in a very bad place mentally in the past and I work very hard at trying to maintain good mental health.

The jumping off a cliff analogy is a good one and if I was younger I would do it without a second thought, it is literally only my age that is stopping me but at this rate I'm going to keel over anyway so when I think of it like that it suddenly seems much easier!

Thank you Kit and Utterly and I agree that personality is so important.

I manage people of all ages and I also interview. I can honestly say that when I am sifting my way through CVs I don't give age a moment's thought so I don't know why I am putting myself through this anxiety!

Utterly good for your DM ....that's amazing!

You can do it, what! You're right - MH is too precious to destroy it for the sake of a job. Something better is out there for you

I’m not much younger than you and I’ve done it! Just keep applying as nothing ventured....

As @Tripping said experience can be very valuable - also I’m no longer ambitious but am happy to support my younger colleagues who are!

In my field it's all competency based interviews these days which helps a lot with any age discrimination. I'm much the same age as OP and I found I could draw on a vast amount of professional experience in interviews. Just start applying, bag yourself a few interviews and you'll soon be in the swing of it.
Good luck!

Dora and boys thank you for your positive words.

In fact, thank you all. I have had an horrendous few days with my anxiety at an all time high.....ironically not helped by the fact that I am on leave and have got too much time to think!

You have all really helped me and I really appreciate it.