The Retirement Thread
5 lurkers |
173 watchers
Nov 2024
9:24am, 27 Nov 2024
9,074 posts
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um
Although on the other side, all those extra hours spent working have helped pay for the house, the children & uni etc and the pension that now lets me do much as I want in retirement.
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Nov 2024
9:26am, 27 Nov 2024
28,487 posts
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TROSaracen
I spent years working late, as did most of my colleagues. It became habitual, it became normal, it became expected. Doing close to your hours was ‘not properly pulling your weight’ and a career limiter - also came with feelings of guilt - you’d feel bad slinking off at your contracted time, as if you needed to tell everyone your excuse for bailing at this time. I did ease off, for mental health reasons, in the final two years before requesting and getting VR. All those extra hours gained me nothing except absence of guilt - not a fair exchange fir the stress, lack of quality of life and fatigue. |
Nov 2024
9:29am, 27 Nov 2024
51,434 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Um, did you get overtime? Never in my working life have I had overtime, so I don't see how it's linked? The only way to get extra money is moving up the greasy pole. And while being seen to be present and working hard and long hours, primarily it's about relationships. So it benefits those who are socially strong and disadvantages those who might be more introverted. Imho. Except in certain specific meritocracies perhaps - maybe academia? Even there, I'm led to believe that there is a lot of networking and personal relationships required too?  G
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Nov 2024
9:44am, 27 Nov 2024
28,488 posts
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TROSaracen
No overtime, no toil, no recognition really other than an annual ‘thank you for your hard work, next year we expect more….’. I guess I do look back and am grateful it was a job that paid well, and allowed me to go semi retired at 52 and fully retire at 56. I hope the early retirements will counterbalance the working years - I probably worked the hours to age 65 if measured at my contracted rate per week! |
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Nov 2024
9:45am, 27 Nov 2024
9,075 posts
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um
No HappyG, no overtime. But working (most of my career) for a WW company, being prepared to be anywhere at anytime, and yes, recognised and rewarded for being good at what I did. And mostly, on the introverted end of the spectrum.
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Nov 2024
9:47am, 27 Nov 2024
59,651 posts
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EvilPixie
(Anyone else read WW as weight watchers? No? Just me!)
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Nov 2024
9:49am, 27 Nov 2024
6,558 posts
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Windsor Wool
what was your profession @TROSaracen? It sounds very like the organisation I grew up in where showing commitment was more important than demonstrating results in some ways. I wonder whether that's an issue when you're working on longer-term projects, for instance, where there may not be an end point for years and so it's not easy to measure somebody's contribution. As a result time at the wheel becomes the measure. Quite sad.... Things got better for me as time went by. I suppose I became more senior that meant 2 things: 1. I gave a flip less, and 2. I was actually able to influence the culture a little. The major change was working in an area where it was all about short-term results though. If you spent little time working but made loadsa money then there wasn't a lot that anyone could challenge! I'm relieved in many ways to see the younger folks starting their careers with a different perspective. I know it's not liked by some as they see them as snowflakes or fly-by-nights but longer-term I do hope that the working world changes as a result of a generational shift away from the attitudes that many of us grew up with in the 80s/90s. Easy to say of course when you are sat at home procrastinating about going out for our run rather than chained to a workstation! |
Nov 2024
9:49am, 27 Nov 2024
54,767 posts
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McGoohan
I worked for an organisation where they would pay overtime... up to a certain grade. Once you got promoted above that, you were no longer eligible. But they still expected the extra hours. It was an effective pay cut! And yes, made to feel you weren't pulling your weight.
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Nov 2024
10:00am, 27 Nov 2024
28,489 posts
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TROSaracen
I was a chartered accountant, and worked in corporate governance for BT. Our deadlines were tied to monthly, quarterly and annual results reporting (ultimately to the Stock Exchange). I remember early years as tough building through to each deadline, then an ease off to regroup, catch up stuff before the next build. That was ok. As staff were trimmed, and extra work/crises piled onto us the slacker spells disappeared entirely. It was something that impacted the real seniors as much as us - they had a very short life at the to, 2-3 years. Our CFO shut down his laptop at 3:30 one Friday afternoon, and walked out never to be seen again. He was high flyer being groomed to be the Group CFO. He lasted 18 months but that was in the teeth of our worsts crisis (a £500m accounting scandal that emerged in the Italian office). |
Nov 2024
10:12am, 27 Nov 2024
4,713 posts
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NordRunner
Talking about culture change - I feel lucky that I emigrated to a place where the boss was often the most keen on getting out of the door at knocking off time. There was no point in staying on as there was no-one around to impress
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- Martin Lewis on pensions
- Support and advice for those widowed under the age of 50
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