Could you still do your job?

No, absolutely not. It’s decades since I left my job (lecturing in English language) in order to look after my children. I haven’t kept up with developments in the subject and have no desire to.

As a dispensing pharmacy assistant, brain and experience say yes, hips and feet say no.

No, absolutely not!

Yes I could if it was part-time. I simply don’t have the stamina to keep up with a class of 5 year olds for a whole day anymore!

Miss A, life’s a b**** sometimes isn’t it. Sending a

Definitely! I retired decades ago from a physics laboratory and though there must be technical developments, I am sure I could catch up. Not a physically demanding job though, couldn’t do one of those. And I wouldn’t go back, I was bored, plus they were going to move me to a day job and so I took the early retirement on offer.

Yes and I still do, just less of it.
Could I go back to full time teaching - No.
I can manage what I do and being called in to do odd full days, but week in, week out with all the extras? I wouldn’t and couldn’t.

No, not at all. I still do some teaching, small numbers and voluntary work- but full time, full classes, never!

MissA -

I wouldn’t fancy being on a building site at 6:30 am, in theory I could, but I’m very glad I’m not!

No. I retired from banking nearly 12 years ago. I was already feeling overwhelmed by all the changes and the technology.
Goodness knows what it’s like now.

But seeing as there are hardly any branches left……

I still do! I was a SAHM who did a lot of volunteering.

I still run the house, babysit if called upon, have regular family visits and I do lots of volunteering.

A week or two of intensive study and updating on modern technology and, ys, I could do my job. I am an economist who specialised in business information, making sure senior managers had all the business information they needed from market research to knowing when the top people in a company were sacked as the senior manager was on a flight to India to meet them.

I did return to work for six months 8 or 9 years after I retired. I worked as a volunteer with a charity for the aged in their information department and when the manager went on maternity leave, I went back to paid work as her maternity cover.

DH, now 81, has never stopped working. He is a chartered engineer specialising in the installation of offshore windfarms, and while he no longer does field work or travels for business, about once a month he still has Zoom meetings with one company to talk through any problems they are having with installations.

I retired ( late 60s) because I felt I was beginning to struggle- with the IT the new technology and my failing vision. Things were changing too fast for me to be certain I was keeping up! So, no I could not go back. I don’t miss the commute either.

Physically and technology-wise, yes. Mentally and in terms of enegery, definitely not - political support is a young person's game!

energy, not enegery - Doh!

Yes. I'm a sahm and do my husband's books - still do. He still works as well, managing our daughters in his business. We fare well - our normal.

I retired from teaching nine years ago, after decades in the classroom, and within 2yrs I knew I couldn't go back and perform. I hadn't got the energy, the oomph and frankly the bottle. I took 6 months off in 1980s, and it was hard enough starting in a new school, part-time, then.

Oh yes, Margiknow, the daily commute, three hours a day into and back from London - urgh!!

Sorry, Margiknot, got your name wrong...

No. I was struggling at the end and younger staff were managing much better, I got the message.

Still doing it part time.
I love it.

No. I don’t have the energy or the stamina, nor the ability to perform under pressure any more, let alone keep up with the ever changing demands of new syllabuses, targets, school trips, regulations, unreasonable parental and governmental expectations. I loved my job, but I’ve been retired more than 15 years.

NHS buyer 40 years ago and I could still do it now and even easier with modern technology.

Apart from the strain on my poor feet (plantar fasciitis) yes, I could, and I’d do a better job than most of the people I encounter who do the same work today.

Goodness no.
Everything has moved on so much in 20 years.