Work life balance - advice needed

[Thunder82]

Hi guys

I wondered if you could help see my issues from and outsiders point of view to help put into perspective my current issues.

I work 9-3, I get the kids up, take them to school then get to the office, this is where my issue is, it's absolutely mentally exhausting.. I work 110% every day to try complete as much tasks as possible before rushing off to collect the kids (end up with a headache from the pressure of work) before it's tea, homework, bedtime etc. Every day..I have no energy to play with the kids, I'm mentally exhausted from work.

I don't know what's changed, but I just can no longer keep this up. I feel like I'm absolutely burnt out, physically and mentally.

The job I've done for four years, initially it was advertised as full time, I asked if they would consider a job share or part time. They offered it me on part time hours. Which was great of them (assuming they'd reflect the workload- obviously not) at first I came home crying because of the pressure of the job within the hours I do. I got through it and tweaked a couple of things to be more productive. I constantly get the work done and feel the boss just drowns me in work because he gets results from me and avoids giving it to the less productive team members - which is another thing why I feel so demotivated.

My heavy workload makes it impossible for me to catch up I'm forever drowning and I get so near to the top before more is pilled on me. I'm being pulled from some many areas.

My main area is reception work yet given my workload you would think I was back office staff, and this results in me giving a poor customer service as I don't have time to deal with the phone queries, or answer emails as timely as I should, or when ppl come into reception ... I'm constantly screaming in my head that I don't have time to deal with you as I have so much admin work to do, yet in summary, reception work is my job!

I'd love to ask for a 4 day working week... I can't get my work / life balance good at all.

Am.i being unreasonable if I email them to explain my heavy workload, given the job was advertised as a full time role or should I avoid it and expect this workload as it was advertised as a full time job?

I don't know what to do, if I'm asking too much, But lately I can really feel it putting such a huge strain on my mental health I can't keep it up I'm exhausted.

Juggling children and this level of work is just so hard. I don't know how to address it to them I find stuff like this really hard as my work ethics are really important to me and I don't like to let anyone down.

Are you a single parent ?

Work life balance is so important, there is so much more to life than work and no medals for the busiest.

If they offered you part time hours that should be part time workload, not doing full time work in less hours, if they couldn't accommodate that, they should never have agreed to it. It is not for you to organise how they structure that, it was them that agreed to it.

You can obviously push back on the work load, but that would very much depend on how the agreement went though. What does an amended contract say? What agreement was made for the excess work? Do you have another colleague that is earmarked for your work?

In most roles they will try and push as much work on you as you are willing to take, it's absolutely not right but that has just become the norm sadly.

You can only ask for a 4 day week and see what they say.
Can you afford to loose the job?

I sound like I'm a single parent, but I'm not.. my husband works shifts so the responsibility pretty much falls on me as I'm always available for the school run etc. When he's home he helps me out. But I just feel so down lately and mostly because I have no energy to deal with the kids after school, homework, play, or any sort of tantrum from the kids, I don't have the patience, because I'm exhausted so i end up having a strop with the kids instead of dealing with it in a better way.

I have another colleague that very rarely picks up some of my work, she's very strong headed, if she gets one job too many she pushes it right back to me. Basically her workload is probably at 70% where mine is at 200% but I can't say anything about that as I'll be going down another route.

I used to keep this work level up,I have for 4 years, but lately something's just happened where I just can't keep up, I'm demotivated, tired, and can't multitask at the speed I did before. I just get irritated by being continuously disrupted by the phone and the constant flow of emails when I have so much admin work to do. 😩 And I don't know how or where to begin on an email to my boss, or if I'm being too dramatic.

Talk to your manager or hr department or whatever it is. Go in prepared with evidence of the work you are expected to do in the hours you work. If you go on like this you will quit, so try and see if you can get them to take some of the load off.
I wouldn't mention your family and stiff outside work, that is irrelevant to them. Keep it solely about the hours you work and the level of responsibility.