Bit upset over work issues

Sometimes differences of working practices can make a great difference to your acceptance.

I have never been good at so called "multi tasking" because as a psychology graduate I know that this is a nonsense concept. Humans were never intended by their nature to concentrate upon several things at once. The ability of most of us to do so is limited. I prefer to concentrate more deeply on one task, complete it, and then move on to the next. Of course this does not always fit in with the culture of some workplaces, who may see someone who approaches tasks in this way as "slow" or even "pedantic".

I found the answer in self employment because I can schedule tasks to suit myself and my own availability. If I have important work to do I disconnect the door bell, use ear plugs, and put on music to cover any extraneous sound. I really dont want to know about anything going on outside such as people trying to sell me stuff or whinming neighbours.

Is there any kind of pastime or hobby that you could possible work up into an income generating side hustle?

Have you thought of going for an interview with a temp agency just to find out what might be available? I temped for 2 years, albeit in my late 30s and found it fun... Most offices were fine and the one or two that weren't - at least I had an exit date...

Now in my 60s I interviewed for temp jobs in the area I was thinking of moving to and found the organisation very welcoming and happy to put me on their books.

It might give you the confidence that there are jobs out there but you don't have to commit long-term. Best of luck. It must be horrible for you in your present situation.

Take consolation anyone that you were a complete success in your career.
Stuff the bitchy ones/stressy ones/jealous ones/the ones who are making a career out of being joyless and dissatisfied. There are a lot of this type around, it may all depend on the management.
Give a job a fair try but if going in is making you unhappy, take a deep breath, say your piece to them and leave ‘em to it
There will be compatible jobs worth doing out there so go with your gut instinct.?

Why don't you sign up to a temping agency. I know several retired people who do this for a few weeks now and again when it suits them.

If they send you to somewhere you don't like you can always say you don't want to return the following week.

I have got permanent positions through posts that were originally temporary. Temping gives you and the employer chance to weigh one another up without commitment

Good secretarial/admin skills are hard to find

You sound like the kind of person I am - I work at my own speed and do things properly. I concentrate on one job at a time because my psychology studies taught me that multi tasking does not come easily to humans.

I have an assistant who does some packing and posting for me and she works methodically through a batch of parcels going at her own speed. She then takes them to the post office and makes sure that the paperwork is correct. Its not a speed test and as long as she gets through the batch thats the important thing.

Other posters have emphasized what a pressured environment s GP surgery is so you may not be suited. We all get older and slower - its a fact of life. We are not robots. Older employees often bring many benefits such as reliability and attention to detail rather than simply skimming past things.

I would take the advice above and look for an environment which is better suited to the speed you can comfortably work at. Possibly in a voluntary role if you dont need the income.

Hi. I’ve had 6 or 7 part time jobs since I formally retired from education. Some I absolutely adored and others I couldn’t wait to leave but they were all entirely different from anything I’d done before. I’m still working part time in a writing role which I’d never dreamt of having. I’m saying leave! There’s loads of other opportunities for you and life is too short to be miserable at work. Good luck.

could this be age discrimination do you think?
I've had staff who have been over retirement age and for me age itself is no problem, one particular administrator had held a pretty high powered admin job and wanted a part time job to fill a couple of days a week, he was brilliant
If opening the post is difficult would a letter opening knife help?. It can take some time to get up to speed with a new job

Like Skydancer I did lots of temp jobs long ago and every office was different, it was clear to me that lots of them I wouldn't have fitted into in a permanent capacity. You had a successful career so don't take this to heart. When you feel ready tell them you are off, if they ask you to leave earlier just say what a relief, pick up your bag and go, so many organisations would be delighted to have you.

Find a better job that suits you.

It’s not easy being the new girl when you’ve been happy and successful for years in your previous job, & some jobs just don’t suit for all sorts of reasons. I agree with the advice to take the initiative and leave. Don’t stay where you’re not happy.

Sallywally1 I can totally sympathise. I resigned 4 years ago to look after my granddaughter whilst my daughter worked full-time. Now my granddaughter has started school I had to go back to work. After 4 years my confidence was low. I worked in conveyancing with my own assistant before. Now I took a job as an assistant and like you felt old and slow. I was put in front of 2 screens with a case management system I'd never seen before, totally paper free. I was offered no training and felt at my lowest and ready to give in my notice. However I gave it my all and had one ally. Now six months later I have picked up the case management system and my experience has helped me through. Give yourself a time limit to stick to. If you feel more confident well done. If not, you've given it your best shot and can try a new position. Don't let others make you feel low. Find a position where you are valued.

This post made me feel uncomfortable and I've just realised why.

I was getting married in 1987 and taught full time, but still had to get a weekend job to save up. I was lucky to get a job at an Estate Agent's office in Chiswick. The girls in the office liked me, but of the owners took a great dislike to me. Criticised my telephone manner when he phoned in because I didn't transfer him quickly enough, rolled his eyes when I spoke to customers, said he couldn't 'read' my handwriting, blamed me for double bookings of viewings that weren't my fault. It was awful, I never knew what he'd say next.

I had to stick it out because I needed the money and I started going in earlier and earlier to check I knew what the day held. One Saturday I went in and there was a new person. I took clients out to view as usual, and when I returned at lunch time I was told she was my replacement. I was so upset as I'd enjoyed the work.

I’ve had 2 teaching jobs that were not good fits for me. The teaching staff were little princesses and not in the real world. (You can tell it still hurts)I stayed too long in both jobs after I realised they weren’t for me. I became Ill and stressed in both these jobs only because there were some who wanted my promoted post. Some teachers can be horrid to other teachers and when a few gang up it’s cruel.
I couldn’t afford to leave but eventually my health gave up on me, I had a rest then returned to a different role in a different discipline. 35 years later I can truly say I love my work and I’m valued. I saw one of the ‘nasties’ recently and she had physical signs of stress. Karma I thought!
I’d urge you to leave before you are pushed or your health suffers. Good luck and best wishes.

Please do not think this office is typical. When I was young I worked for many years as a temp secretary. I must have worked in at least 50 or more places. I could not believe the difference in the offices I worked in. I remember a couple of places where I was barely spoken to. Yet another office was having a leaving party for a staff member and, even though it was my first day, I was invited. In my experience places can vary vastly. If I were you, I'd look for another job - you will be made very welcome somewhere else I'm certain.

It's horrible being in a job that makes you miserable. Look for something else. Or leave. No job (even a very part-time one) is worth being unhappy about.

Silly Nanny 321
Oh dear, it truly made me sad reading your post. You were an amazing worker and all your colleagues were all happy together. Somehow, younger folk are impatient and have no time to be kind and caring. I really hope you fine a nice part time job to suit you, do not give up. Someone is looking to have a kind person in their office. Good luck!

I moved to a new area when I got married and got a job in the office of a warehouse.

Computers were just coming in and printouts were those with holes down the side.

Anyway, I was responsible for sending the orders for picking. The girl who showed me how to do the job was in charge of stock control.

They asked me to leave after two months as they said I had not fitted into the role. I pride myself as being quick to pick up new working methods and I was only in my 30's.

The place was very clique and it turned out that the girl in charge of stock control never updated the computer records, so what I thought was in stock wasn't. When I took this up with her she said she knew what the stock levels were as it was all in her head. This made it impossible for me to do my job properly.

Being asked to leave did affect my self esteem and confidence.

There is nothing worse than working in a bad atmosphere, especially if you are there for 8 hours a day. I am happy to be still working from home

The practice manager, who I worked with for over 20 years was a nasty, lying, stealing bitch. The GPs eventually found out and sacked her.

If you are unhappy just leave they don’t deserve you,some places the people are just unkind,sometimes as we get older we are slower to start with as we don’t want to make an error and speed up when the job is familiar.Don’t stay and be upset maybe this is the opportunity to try something new and more fun,medical offices can be very stressful places and you see and hear sad stuff.This is life handing you lemons I bet you can make super lemonade,best of luck,don’t be sad.?

Maybe your standards are higher, hence take longer with tasks. I remember one of my managers being astounded that I read every annual review of all the SEN children in my caseload - it was part of the job description. Upon receiving another officer’s caseload I discovered the LEA had been paying for support for five years after the child no longer needed it. I could not be as lax with the work and did not fit in.

Don't blame yourself. You had a successful career before you joined them. There are other places where you will be welcomed and not undermined.

You obviously have a lot to offer the workplace or you wouldn't have been given the position. If I were in that position I would leave. I would then look for another opportunity. I wish you luck

Oh.. gosh sounds like their induction and new employee support is not very effective. If you choose to stay until the first review meeting I would raise the issue of induction and clarity of expectations... good managers don't want high turnover of staff so be honest and say 'it would have been helpful if..... ' then if you intend to leave say '& as a result I do not feel job satisfaction here so regret I have to tender my resignation' ...make it clear it is there fault!

Don't take it to heart Sallywally, it's not you.

I worked for many years for the NHS and later as an office manager for a children's charity, and only moved jobs when the project closed.

I was offered a job as a medical secretary in a GP practice, the practice manager couldn't wait for me to start there, and she actively chased me to start as soon as a I could. What followed was the hardest 2 years of my working life. She found fault with just about everything I did, and it affected my confidence so much that I WAS making mistakes. I was so scared of her that I would start to shake whenever she walked into the room.

I used to have sleepless nights worrying about work the next day. My husband told me to tell her to stick her job up her jumper (or words to that effect) and walk out. She was pretty horrible, But something in me wouldn't give in and so I started to look for another job.

I only left when I did get another job and the last 7 years of my working life were honestly an absolute delight. I worked back in the NHS as a medical secretary for a wonderful team who treated me with respect and kindness, which in turn made a really busy job a pleasure.

I retired from that job last year with a smile on my face because I had regained my confidence and once again realised my worth.

I wish you well, if you decide to look for another job there are still some great teams out there who will appreciate your skills.

When I retired a did some temp work for a GP surgery and was offered a part time job at a different branch. It soon became obvious why the positions were vacant - due to the unpleasant nature of the practice manager and her sidekick, the Head Receptionist! Nobody lasted very long and the staff turnover was ridiculous. I stayed for nearly a year, and then resigned. Now I work for the NHS, but from home. and its great,