Absolutely HATE my job. What should I do??!!

[sandilion]

I am so stressed and unhappy with my job. But I have been back there for almost a year since returning from Mat leave - and DH is trying to keep me there so I will be entitled to more mat leave if we are blessed to fall pregnant with No 2. (we're starting to properly try as of next cycle)

My job is a call center role .... I am a retired hairdresser, and I have been at my current job for almost 5 years (which equals 15 in call center years!!)

I am so so so unhappy. Stressed.... under pressure.....it does pay quite well though and I have the days I prefer.

With this ob I get a 4 day weekend... and work every Wed - Fri.

So the days are good, but the job is pure HELL. The customers and the people i work with in general = Painful! This job gives me anxiety Would you say to hell with it and find a new job and take it as it comes, or stay where you are due to the entitlements if you were to fall pregnant with No. 2? I also wish to do a course and become a child care educator ... But it looks like the best time for me to do that course is when i am next on mat leave....

Should i just live in the "now" and find a new job and f i fall pregnant, then take it as it comes (even though I wont get any mat leave probably from the job itself - but will from the government)

Or should I stay where i am just because I have almost reached a year which will mean guaranteed mat leave in the future...

I am just so lost. All i know for sure is that I am stressed and miserable at this place. 3 days a week is almost unbearable.

 

[TTCabundle]

Just wanted to say, I know exactly how you feel! I hatemy job so much, I'm so stressed all the time because of it and I dread going in, I can't quit as that would leave us so much worse off financialy Sorry I don't have any advice just wanted to let you know you're not alone I hope you find a way to sortit Xx

 

[sandilion]

Thank you! It does help to hear I am not alone, but so sorry you're in the same boat x

 

[MgreenM]

I think you should keep your options open. Working in customer service will almost always be challenging and stressful because you rarely get the calls "oh, your product is so wonderful thank you" I don't know about maternity leave policies where you work/live. For me, no matter where I work, I will have to use short term disability insurance and then it will only be 12 weeks at most. When changing jobs, there is a lot to keep in mind.

I have an interview next week so we will see what happens. I too, have a job where I am unhappy and stressed. Not 100% sure what I will do, but likely will take the new position if offered.

 

[dachsundmom]

First off, I am so sorry your job is causing you this kind of duress; definitely NOT the way to start 2014!

You mentioned you are a retired hair stylist? Can you take some clients part-time until you can start your childcare course?

 

[sandilion]

dachsundmom unfortunately id have to start from scratch now and build them all back up, as i stopped doing clients 5 years ago and told my regulars I had retired as i grew tired of working all day and doing hair all night

I wish i did the child care course before i had DS.... years ago i wish i did it... so id be all set up now.

 

[dachsundmom]

I know it may not be ideal, but maybe starting from scratch is just what you need. Doing something you enjoy, even on a smaller scale, will feel worlds better than being miserable.

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

 

[redlemonade]

There's nothing worse than being in a job that causes so much upset and anxiety.

Have you talked to your DH about this? You've got to weigh up the pros and cons here - you've already listed some but it might help to talk through them with your OH? Or what about getting some professional career advice?

Having said all this, I think it's important to recognise the impact of work stress on our health and well being, not to mention our fertility. I have a very stressful job and I'm sure it impacted on me when ttc (I finally fell pregnant when I took some time off). I'm sure there were other factors too but it's worth keeping in mind?

 

[LoveCakes]

Can you talk to work about how you feel? They have a duty of care not to make your work environment detremental to your health. For example could you move into another admin type role?

 

[Vesta]

You have my sympathy. I've been in your position, and being in a job you hate sucks. Personally, I said to hell with it. And found myself a new job. Then discovered I was pregnant while working my notice period. Opps! I don't regret it though. My new employers were fantastic about it and I loved my new job. I would have had a better maternity leave package had I not changed jobs. But spending my pregnancy in a job I didn't hate made it worth it for me! And I even got a promotion 6 months after coming back from maternity leave.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

 

[Pearls18]

I think if it were me and if there weren't any fertility issues to assume you wouldn't fall quicky I would probably stick it out for the maternity pay and then career change after, but it depends how well your hubby's job paid, if it paid quite well in itself and it wouldn't be too much of a lifestyle sacrifice to lose the maternity pay etc then I would probably quit.

 

[curiousowl]

I think if it were me and if there weren't any fertility issues to assume you wouldn't fall quicky I would probably stick it out for the maternity pay and then career change after, but it depends how well your hubby's job paid, if it paid quite well in itself and it wouldn't be too much of a lifestyle sacrifice to lose the maternity pay etc then I would probably quit.

I agree, that's probably what I would do.

 

[LuckyYem]

Personally I would find another job! Infact I did lol. I started my new job in the May and found out I was preganant in the August and got the full maternity package from my new job because I had worked there longer than 26 weeks when I handed my MATB1 in. So I would say (deepending on what sector you are looking at) seeing as you are not already pregant I would go for it!

 

[suzib76]

Years ago I would have stuck it out and been unhappy. I have done jobs I hated, done jobs where I have been picked on by senior staff members, done jobs where I was made to come in at times when I really needed to be off work etc, but I was young and not quite so assertive back then

The benefit of hindsight is what people say. I sit and wonder now why I went in all those times feeling desperately unhappy, why did I let certain people walk all over me, why did I not say no or quit etc

I wouldnt now (although I am spoiled by self employment now) go to a job if it made me feel bad. That feeling of dread when you wake up in the morning because you know you have to go to work. If I ever felt like that again I would stop doing what I am doing and find something else. Yes easier said than done, but not impossible all the same

Work is such a huge part of our lives, we deserve to be as happy in it as in other areas

 

[sandilion]

Thanks all so very much for the advice. You have all helped me put things into perspective.

I am not pregnant yet, yeah i have earned my rights to mat leave but i really am very stressed and unhappy. Its effecting me physically now as well as emotionally. I am starting to lash out at DH, I am over reacting to things at home, and now i am starting to feel my insomnia/night owl issues return where i sit up to ridiculous hours, drinking wine (not getting drunk, but tipsy) then going to bed to be woken by LO in the morning then spending my days tired, miserable stressed.... also i am feeling weird twitches and nausea. No im not pregnant, its stress/anxiety related.

Life is too short for this!

I am a bit overwhelmed with making the change. I have been at this job for a while now and used to it, even though i hate it lol!

 

[MgreenM]

Thanks all so very much for the advice. You have all helped me put things into perspective.

I am not pregnant yet, yeah i have earned my rights to mat leave but i really am very stressed and unhappy. Its effecting me physically now as well as emotionally. I am starting to lash out at DH, I am over reacting to things at home, and now i am starting to feel my insomnia/night owl issues return where i sit up to ridiculous hours, drinking wine (not getting drunk, but tipsy) then going to bed to be woken by LO in the morning then spending my days tired, miserable stressed.... also i am feeling weird twitches and nausea. No im not pregnant, its stress/anxiety related.

Life is too short for this!

I am a bit overwhelmed with making the change. I have been at this job for a while now and used to it, even though i hate it lol!

Good for you! Ultimately, you need to be happy. I have been unhappy with my job for a while and have put out a few feelers here and there since last spring. I have an interview this week and if that doesn't pan out, I think I will start looking a little more aggressively. I am not in a terrible position, but it is not the setting I really want to be in. So I am going to take my time and really look for a position that will be a good fit.

 

[bookreader]

After your last post, I think you should definitely look for something else. The effect it is having on you is not worth it.