Could you still do your job?

Cabbie21

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.

You were obviously a teacher, like me. No surprise that we both feel that the demands on teachers are too much for us now. Even young teachers leave after a couple of years these days. No idea where the 6000 new teachers are going to come from, but they probably won’t do the thirty years I managed, judging by the rate of new teachers leaving so soon these days.

I took early retirement 10 years ago. I worked in the Licensing Section of our local Council, and after a refresher course on any changes to the law, I most definitely would be able to do the job. I loved the work, and miss using my brain! I don't however miss the 7.30am journeys into town and the search for parking places!

I wouldn't want to do my exact old job, HoD modern languages in a big secondary school. And I'd have to forget about all the old stuff like tape or cassette recorders, language lab, slide projectors, and go in a course to cope with the modern technology.
I reckon I could manage maybe half a timetable, obviously without the responsibility of departmental colleagues and foreign assistants.

I probably could still do the job I really loved but it was the long commute that took its toll and now I couldn't drive that far three days a week.

I do agree that the practical side of working - travel to and from work would hard work, if I was still commuting to London, but nowadays i could work from home. I would only need a computer to do my job.

What an interesting thread reading about the challenges faced in various jobs.

I couldn't do my favourite job now because it was non stop, full on physical 24/7. But I loved it at the time.
Up at 7 am to clean the pool, put the cushions out, then dash to the bakers for croissants and collect warm milk from the farmer, make the breakfast baskets and deliver, walk the dogs, put on 3 loads of washing, peg out laundry, reply to bookings arrived overnight, direct guests to various sights, book a restaurant for them. A little lull while they went out, then cut the grass (5 acres), clean the four barbecues, mend anything broken, do the ironing, sew lavender bags, invite guests for an aperitif, do baby sitting while couples went out, close down the pool, accompany guests to A & E at midnight when they fell down the stairs! Oh yes, and also chase away a wild boar or two, and run the after school club in the village. Then repeat the following day! And smile the whole time. 😃

Coming back to London to work was an absolute doddle, though I agree that commuting daily would kill me.

Primary school teacher 4 to 7. Used to love it but I couldn’t physically do it anymore.

To those of you who are quite sure you could still do your job competently, despite having been out of the work force for years, just wonder if all your ex colleagues (probably younger) would agree.

A bit like driving, most of us think we are quite capable still, perhaps others see it differently.

I definitely could not do my job now.
I worked as a nurse in charge of night duty in a medium sized nursing home. I tried to work on past retirement age and managed a year. The job was becoming too physically challenging. I could probably still do the admin side of it after a refresher course, but I wouldn't want to.

There is a lot to be said for working from home - I love driving, school runs are plenty. I do pick up parts, deliver papers etc, on my own schedule.

24 years since I stood in front of a class! I doubt if my voice would hold up - and think of all the new courses I'd have to negotiate before having to teach the content!

I could still assess and work to help families. I could still be a therapist. I don’t have the energy to work long hours. I’m certain my age would be a barrier with many families and teenagers - what does she know I expect they’d think.
I’ve no big regrets about my working life. I’m very pleased to be retired, especially as the resources we could use to support families have disappeared

Calendargirl

To those of you who are quite sure you could still do your job competently, despite having been out of the work force for years, just wonder if all your ex colleagues (probably younger) would agree.

A bit like driving, most of us think we are quite capable still, perhaps others see it differently.

But if you have not worked for years, you ex work colleagues will also be older and retired or near retirement, and not having seen you for years will have no idea whether you are still up to the job.

I think most of us who have been out of the work place for a while would agree we would probably need an intensive technology update course.

My work was always a'one off' job. What I did no one else did. the work involved being up to date on economic news, current events, the technology and markets of the industry I worked in, and knowing how to find information on request. These are skills I continue to exercise and in many the same fields through the voluntary work I do/have done.

At 75 I’m lucky enough not to have retired, the business is consolidated and others do the day to day organizing so I usually do 4 half days most weeks

No, I don’t think I could (not that I’d want to). I’ve been away from it too long and I was struggling before I retired anyway as it was mentally and physically draining, plus there were too many hoops to jump through, too many unnecessary meetings, too much paperwork which took me away from the important purpose of my career, too many “new initiatives”, too much Government interference. No, I definitely couldn’t do it any more, I haven’t got the stamina, nor the will.

I certainly couldn't do my job now, SSN. Working nights on busy admission ward was nearly the end of me, then 12 hour shifts came in, how can anyone be at their best in that environment, I retired again.
Loved my job, hated the politics.

I don’t think the kind of secretarial work I did still exists, shorthand etc and I do wonder if I could cope with someone else giving me orders!

I'm a retired early years teacher in my seventies. I wouldn't be able to get up from the floor after an activity very easily. Health and Safety rules might not permit the children to help me ...

No! Mine was office work of various descriptions. Technology steadily became more and more of an issue as my worklife went on. So I'd still be fine with a lot of it if I had a time machine back to the 1970s (though I've forgotten the shorthand part of it and would need a brush-up on that).

Work practices changed for the worse too. I remember my first job - where we worked at our own pace and, once the work was up-to-date no-one minded if they came in and found us reading our own stuff. Coffeebreaks, etc still part of the office workday.

But office work these days would be impossible for me to do and it was all I could do to hang onto reasonably recognisable office work till retirement. But the incentive was that one of the cleaners told me what her workday was like (ie she made it up from a variety of bits and pieces for this employer/that employer/etc) and it must have taken her about 12 hours to do an 8 hour workday in all those different locations!!!! Add that I wondered what reaction there would be to me making myself a cup of coffee - and I reckon they wouldnt have accepted that "cup of coffee" to me means = make a cafetiere of coffee, give it several minutes to brew and then have it and I'd be lucky if the best response I got to that was = "It's instant and lump it and consider yourself lucky to be allowed that".

That would be after them saying "What do you mean 'My workhours are 9-5 Monday to Friday" "We're telling you it includes evenings and weekends".....

Goodness knows how many people manage to "have a normal life" with jobs these days. I could see many modern employers going "What do you mean that you have a leisuretime evening class on Mondays and a hobby group on Wednesday evenings, etc etc = I'm ordering you to work then".

I had to fight to be able to manage to "hang on in there" till I retired at 60 and pretty much managed it by skin of my teeth.

So, as a p.s. to this, my granddaughter who is doing teacher training saw the memory stick I mentioned in my original post and asked what it was!
Apparently they are now redundant, as everything is now ‘ in the cloud’.
We live and learn.