Anyone else stuck in a job they hate now due to Coronavirus

[CloudsCanLookLikeSheep]

I know I'm lucky to have a job before anyone says... and I could still be made redundant further down the line although safe for now.
But the only thing that has been keeping me going in my dysfunctional job with an awful boss has been the thought of moving on to something else soon.

I had decided to really go for it this year and get a better job. I'd had a few interviews and got to final stage on a couple of roles, even had an offer for one but turned it down as it did not feel right.

Now it's looking like my career plans are on hold indefinitely and I have to stay in my rubbish job that I hate with my awful boss that I can't stand for a hell of a lot longer.

I can work from home and as I say, I know I'm very lucky to still have an income compared to others but still it is a blow to know a new job will be a long way off now. And I'm getting on a bit now, 43 years old and really hoped my career would be in a better place by now.

It was hard enough getting a good job before all this, now it just seems like all my ambitions and goals are on hold indefinitely......

me!!!!!

As I mentioned on another thread, I work in the public sector. I like the job I do and the salary and benefits are really good.

However, my managers have bullied and discriminated against me to the point of a total breakdown last spring. I went on sick leave with stress and anxiety and put a grievance in. I have been on sick leave for 12 months on full pay (thanks to my union) and was due to go back on Monday but obviously covid 19 put paid to that.

I have gone through the grievance and appeal stage and my union are currently in the settlement talks which have now been put on hold also due to Covid 19. Meanwhile, they have agreed to delay my return to work and continue paying me full pay. So that could be 18 months not at work on full pay.

I have mixed feelings. I know I am lucky to be in this position. I know there are many people without a job and people struggling, but like you, what was keeping me going was job seeking every day and the hope that I would find something else.

Now there is nothing advertised except retail (which would be a huge salary drop for m) or NHS (which I am not qualified in).

I am 39 and the thought of 28 more years in this place really depresses me.

I have been doing some online courses to help broaden the places I can apply to. Have you thought of that?

I get how you feel. Its a strange position to be in.

Yes, I am. I hate my job too. I even got offered another job back in January but the offer was rescinded due to a recruitment freeze. I was so disappointed. Now I'm just grateful I have a job at the moment that is reasonably secure. As soon as this is over I will start looking again. Just hang in there.

I actually missed out on my dream job at the second stage back in February. At the time I was gutted as it would have been perfect. But looking at the dates, by the time I'd have worked notice I'd have been starting around the time of the lockdown. Even if they'd not pulled the offer, it would have been a rubbish time to start and no furlough rights. So even though I know I am not happy where I am now, at least it is a) stable and b) has furlough rights.

I'm just hoping that come the summer the restrictions will be lifted and I can start interviewing again. I fear there will be a glut of redundant candidates on the market by then though, and businesses probably quite reluctant to hire for a while.

Oh gosh me! Love my job but in January my manager left and I was ‘allocated’ to someone who seems to think managing someone involves quizzing them constantly about why they haven’t done things that they weren’t brought on board to do. I’ve never had a bad relationship with a boss before and it’s awful.

Unfortunately I got pregnant just before the new manager took over and between that and covid I’m probably the most trapped in a job I’ve ever been! The maternity package is non-existent but when I got pregnant I figured that was a decent trade off for loving the team I work with - go figure

Counting the days until maternity leave and know I’m lucky to have that as an out but I really hate having this sort of attitude as I’ve always loved my job and I’ve only ever moved in the past to progress up the ladder. Never realised until now how a bad boss can turn a good job into a bad one overnight...

there are NO jobs advertised at the moment and the more the media talk about lifting lockdown the more anxious I get. I really do not want to go back there.

I just hope that we get told to work from home full time, especially as its an open plan hot desking office that is unionised so hopefully the unions kick up a stink.

I want to re-train but the course I want to do requires you to train on the job. Its a bit chicken and egg!

Me too. I've been in my current job 5.5 years now and I've been trying to leave for a good two years. I think the lack of Organisation and opportunities are my main reason for wanting to leave

The salary and benefits are good for what I do and it's only an eight minute drive which helps make it more bearable

I can see me seeing out another eighteen months easy. I looked the other day at a local company who are always advertising and they've pulled every single job off their recruitment site

I went for an interview in early December and they said that they were overwhelmed by the number of applications so I did well there but I didn't get the job. It was five hours a week less and £2k a year more. I was really disappointed

I'll be lucky to keep my current job tbh and short term that's the most important thing right now

Yes me. I love my job but hate my workplace. Logistically it's so hard to move though. We have a mortgage and two small children and live in a relatively expensive area (home counties) and not a huge income. However I wouldn't earn what I do anywhere else as I'm so specialised. The dream would be to move near our parents in rural Lincolnshire. I was offered a job two years ago but we couldn't take the risk on selling the house at that point. And a job came up last year with equally perfect hours, but again we didn't have enough in the bank to risk moving house.

Of course the current situation makes it even worse. I am focusing on saving so we have enough to manage the logistics of moving, as well as doing as much professional development as I can. I hate my bosses and wish I could just hand my notice in. They make me feel worthless in my role.

I purposely looked on the Work boards to see if anyone else was feeling as blue as I was about their current situation... sorry you’re all feeling similarly shit but I’m glad to not feel so alone.

Been in my job for eight years, loved it for the majority of the time and actually took a pay cut to change my career path, was totally worth it and I’ve worked my way up to a manager role with a team. Boss went on secondment for two years 18 months ago and I’m stuck with the witch from hell. She’s a total workaholic and takes on every project going... if there’s nothing going, she makes up work and makes it everyone’s problem! Then she moans about how busy she is and that no one else ever steps up to the plate. I noticed her staff turnover was pretty high before she was ‘gifted’ to me, and now I know why. I went down to four days a week after maternity and I work at least a five day week thanks to all the extra work this cow has given me. She tries to take away all the bits of my job that I enjoy and am good at (‘priorities change’ apparently) and is using this lockdown period to micromanage me every hour of the day with endless Skype calls and emails.

I actually had a mini breakdown last year and had a fortnight off with stress. She had the cheek to text me asking for my personal email so we could arrange my back-to-work meeting, and then when I got back, basically told me I had to suck it up and I could leave if things were that bad. She’s like an awful robot person with no kindness or humanity. I notice she has no friends in or out of work, and again, I now see why.

@OfUselessBooks I’m also saving hard, once I realised that I couldn’t do this anymore, we started saving like bastards and we’re only about six months away from being able to move out of London and start again 100 miles away. Every day I’m so desperate to rip my contract up in my boss’s stupid face, but I just need to wade through until we’ve got a mortgage deal and our savings completed and WE ARE OUTTA HERE 🍾

Hugs to everyone in a similar situation. Remember, time will pass and one day (soonish!) this will be a distant memory to shudder at.

@Dollywilde so true about a bad boss turning a dream job in to a nightmare. It feels so unfair that we have to be the ones to look for something new and have all the subsequent upheaval just because someone else is an incompetent arsehole.

Sometimes I think it’s me and maybe I’m slacking or being difficult. But then I think - In my almost 20yrs of full-time employment, I’ve had three internal promotions and 11 line managers, and I’ve managed to have either ok/good working relationships with nine of them and five of those actually became drinking buddies/friends. I’ve also never got to such a critical point with a manager that I’ve been signed off and felt I had to join the union, both of which have happened under this berk.

Sorry for ranting, I’ve got a 9am call with her tomorrow and I just feel so anxious and wretched tonight ☹️

Ah could've written this. Everyone at my work seems to be in mega hyped up emotional state atm and the backstabbing/ bitching is out of control. Add to that a boss who isnt nasty or bad, just completely AWOL. I've been looking to leave for ages and got pretty much handed a job right before this but it wasnt my "perfect" job. Actually still have the possibility of going to it if I play my cards right, once lockdown ends. Have to say, perfect or not, it's looking tempting at the moment.

Bit late to the party, but just wanted to join you all in solidarity. Was actively searching for a new job when this all kicked off - now stuck in a very stressful job, covering 2 furloughed colleagues. Try not to worry too much, there will be roles when this is all over, there will be new businesses setting up as we speak, and new departments needing new colleagues I'm sure

I have a weekly checking in call with work and it nearly always becomes an argument. There are so many things I'm unhappy with and I just keep getting fobbed off.

Every day I pray to win the lottery. Every day I job search and pray something appears in my niche industry. Every day I watch the briefing and pray that lock down is extended.

Yep, I work in care and the pay - as we all know - is lousy plus some of the behaviours from the service users are very challenging which has impacted on my mental health. The company is the worst I've worked for in all the 20 years I've been working. My course ends in the summer so I'll have time to look for something else around July time but this coincides with the end of furlough and there's going to be so much competition for jobs.

I'm joining the club.

I work in the nhs ( non clinical) and my already bitchy incompetent colleagues have gone into overdrive since covid.

Everyone is bitching and stabbing each other in the back it's such an awful atmosphere- I hate it

Me too! When DC starts Reception in September I was planning on exploring options for a career change despite having a secure job which fits reasonably well with school hours (although now we’re unable to use GP’s for childcare after school and in holidays it’s not going to be quite so straightforward). I’ve been doing the same job for a very long time and I just want to do something different that challenges me! Looks like I’ll have to forget that now as I’d be stupid to give up my job if the economy gets as bad as they expect it to be.

I'm actually getting more anxious than I was before. Every time the briefing comes on I think please don't send us back to work. I'm dreading managing my emotions around horrible people again.

Me! And I’m being bullied .

Me!

The company is so disorganised with no defined job roles, no procedures & policies that aren't worth the paper they're written on!

Colleagues with not an ounce of common sense or any real experience/qualifications between them so I pick up a lot of slack & spend the majority of my time rectifying errors and/or placating clients - all for not much more than minimum wage less if you include the unpaid overtime.

There's very much a culture of not taking responsibility & that starts at the top - this has become more evident as the furlough scheme (we process claims for clients) has flagged up so many issues which are very obviously the company's fault but the directors will not admit that or accept blame!

I had an interview lined up for another role in a larger organisation, the next step up in my career, a £10,000 pay increase & a company car but that's been put on indefinite hold (thankfully it's in a sector which should be ok after this but will likely be in lockdown longer than most).

If we are expected to work from home for the future, then that's a good thing for me!

It will be difficult for a time, but not for long. Even if it is a year-18 months there isn't much difference looking for a new job at 44 rather then 43.

If you are truly ambitious take control of the situation and use all this spare time you have during lockdown to enhance your CV, maybe do some relevant online courses to improve functional or soft skills, get some community volunteering/organising during a crisis on there so when we come out the other end of this you have something positive to show for it.

There will be people who come out of this experience who have used it as an opportunity and others as an excuse. You get to decide which one you are.

I'm stuck in a job I hate so much with a manager who micromanages and shouts at us.

I started 6 months ago was confident and out going and now im an anxious mess.

I have a co worker who wants my job I'm more senior and she hasn't been training me or showing me things properly and leaving things out.

I'm terrified of going back.

I'm nearing the end of my probation and there's been talk of extending it due to covid 19 and lack of training which isnt my fault.

This manager has also failed to set any probationary targets or objectives and with a month left of my probation she has started making noises on setting them now when I've had nothing for almost 6 months.

I'm an anxious mess due to the managers bullying behaviour and my life is utterly miserable.

So that could be 18 months not at work on full pay.

Instead of supporting you in finding a different role within the organisation? Absolute batshit, although I'm sure the recession will be a leveler and erosion of a lot of public sector 'perks'.

oh yes, I'm sure we will see a return of pay freezes, voluntary redundancies, roles being changed against our wishes, progression opportunities disappearing etc.

But hey, at least we still have a job!

I don't really want to transfer @Sandybval - partly because I like the actual job and partly because I don't want to give them the satisfaction. why should I leave?

Although I am increasingly feeling that maybe I should so I'm keeping an eye out for opportunities.

how is everyone doing?

My job search isn't going too great. Still no luck.

My employer is starting a phased return from the end of July. I haven't heard when I'll be back yet but my anxiety is through the roof :(

Yes me too. Stuck in a stressful public sector job that is 100% unrecognisable in Stress levels compared to when I started in that same role over a decade ago.
At this point I am actually applying for retail jobs. I cannot do it anymore. But I am also disabled which is making it very difficult.
I am very very stressed