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Should I Quit? - Stressful Job
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Work & Study
I've been working in a public sector office for just over a year and am currently hating my job. It's just too stressful, the workload is too much (and this is coming from somebody who had 2 jobs, ran a student society and was a student officer all at the same time in my final university year, I am by no means lazy). And when I mean the workload is too much, I mean I physically can't do my job properly because I am doing more than one person's work.
The summer is coming and at the same time, layoffs. I am dreading it because we are already stretched to the max. Some people have gotten sick with stress, our management are baying for statistics and jobs to be done when we don't even have the resources to see the public facing side efficiently. A lot of the people coming in are starting to see we are stressed and are starting to kick off.
I hate it. I wake up and think "fuck my life". I have a job, yeah... But it's just spiralling down in to too much to cope with.
I am thinking of moving on, but need to make the choice in the next few weeks because staff shortages over the summer plus people being laid are are going to mean it'll be impossible to get any time off for interviews. If you want any of July and August off as it is, you have to book in February. :rolleyes:
So pros and cons...
Pros:
Cons:
If you were in my position, would you do?
The summer is coming and at the same time, layoffs. I am dreading it because we are already stretched to the max. Some people have gotten sick with stress, our management are baying for statistics and jobs to be done when we don't even have the resources to see the public facing side efficiently. A lot of the people coming in are starting to see we are stressed and are starting to kick off.
I hate it. I wake up and think "fuck my life". I have a job, yeah... But it's just spiralling down in to too much to cope with.
I am thinking of moving on, but need to make the choice in the next few weeks because staff shortages over the summer plus people being laid are are going to mean it'll be impossible to get any time off for interviews. If you want any of July and August off as it is, you have to book in February. :rolleyes:
So pros and cons...
Pros:
- I am good at my job when it is managable
- Management like me, they are giving me extra opportunities
- I have just been elected in to a position which could lead to development
- I want to have paid off my debt and be looking to leave London next year (I should be debt free by spring), so just working one job a year, then the next a year may look bad on my CV
Cons:
- I had the worse relapse in to depression since ten years in winter and am still nursing myself
- I am having nightmares and trouble sleeping
- I seem to get the blame for things off other staff members, even though they look at it after and it WASN'T me (must be an age thing)
- It's too busy to do my job properly
- I am worried that these 'opportunities' are not gonna be fruitful anyway due to cuts in public sector spending
- Workload is gonna increase and I am already starting to feel another cycle of depression creep in... Also, allowances should be made for my disability which aren't and more work will just mean I make mistakes
If you were in my position, would you do?
0
Comments
This is very much your call, as you will realise. If the job is having a negative impact on your health, you must act to do something about it. But that doesn't necessarily mean quitting. Have you discussed your health and disability with your line manager? If you are not getting any change out of them, try HR. One thing about the public sector is that they generally have great support mechanisms, as long as you know how to access them.
Over 25 years, I worked in a number of different roles for various private sector companies. Looking back, the pay was good but the conditions were, on the whole, pretty crap - and there was little job security so one didn't dare complain. As for career progression, there wasn't any. Pay rises and bonuses, yes, but time and time again, if I wanted to move up, it meant moving out. And, because I had not had any training or progression within the company, it usually meant either accepting a very similar job elsewhere, or changing tack completely. (My CV looks like a joke!)
If you can stand the pressure, the manic periods, the departmental reorganisations, the bureaucracy, the latest hare-brained governmental initiative ... the public sector will throw up training, promotion and opportunities that you would never get in the private sector.
When I was younger, I would never have considered working in the public sector, now I reckon it was the best thing I ever did.
Talk to someone about your health and stress levels. Best of luck, whatever you decide.
Do you keep on at them for the lack of allowances made?
Otherwise, you can try to get an appointment with the CAB, though that might be difficult if you are not able to get time off work. Some boroughs can offer email and telephone advise though so, it's worth a try.
Hope you get things sorted.
HUGS
Moving up seems slow in my department, there are training opportunities, but rarely for my grade. The pay isn't great, but I was on around £13K before, so good in comparison.
Maybe...
See, I wouldn't mind being in the public sector, just not this department. I'd rather work in the charity sector, which is where I have been looking.
I am kinda worried about kicking up too much of a fuss with the stress issue... A team member told me that basically if I can't take the heat, I should leave the kitchen. I think it has an element of truth... Management consider our team quite well off for the amount of people we see, but then they don't do our jobs.
Today I was expected to take on an enquiry I wasn't trained to do and had no idea about... It was embarrassing. It meant the next appointment was an hour late. It took ages to get help. I try to say that we have issues but am shot down...:banghead:
I swear, to be in management you need a PHD in not listening and assuming what other people are going to say.
I am dreading the summer... Staff on leave, a third of our advisers being made redundant. I have no idea wtf we'll do.
i was suprised to learn that ours does which really helped guide me on how to move forwards
I think I would be Ok, if I had not relapsed in to depression in the winter
ETA: Looking for work... But so little about!
She was really sympathetic. She said if I need support come to her and we talked a bit about the stigma of depression and mental illness.
That was cool. I feel better.