I am dreading next week and having to go back to work. I hate my job, it’s so dull/stressful and i’m a terrible fit for my role, how this hasn’t been discovered is beyond me. I have great colleagues and my team are brilliant . The pay is really decent and we’re still able to WFH too. But i have a huge knot in my stomach at the thought of starting back again after two weeks. I reckon my colleague whose covered for me has likely done a way better job than i ever have. I feel like things will have gone wrong and i’ll be called in to face ‘the music’. The environment and culture is very corporate and just so far from where i feel i should be, if that makes sense. There are a lot of ‘climb the ladder’ people and hardly anyone takes actual holidays without setting aside time to check their email, carrying two phones and they are always available at short notice for ‘urgent’ things. Late evenings/weekends we aren’t working yet its hard not to react to something that’s come through. Or dwell on something that came in. So properly switching off is almost impossible.
I’m currently training to do something completely different, no emails or being glued to a screen all day. Totally different industry and more one where work can be left at work. But the salary would be considerably lower and working hours would be shifts/fixed, WFH is not an option at all. I’m 35 and a single parent to a 13yr old he’s really great and already pretty independent. We’ve no other financial support so it’s a decision i really need to think about. Just wondered if anyone had made the change and found it had done them and their family the world of good…