Work/Life Balance

[Biscuit]

I was made redundant last December.

I managed to keep in work by freelancing. I was so so scared but it's actually been going quite well. I work in 'media' so there is normally about 150 applicants for every job. I had a few interviews but nothing came of them. Then last week I got a call and I'm starting what'll hopefully be brilliant new job a week today.

Freelancing was the hardest and not daunting thing I've ever done but it kept me with an income, kept my skills relevant, and gave me plenty to talk about in the interviews.

Two bits of advice: You make your own luck and don't ever, ever stop.

 

[Deleted member 18477]

I can't say no to overtime so my shit work/life balance is a result of my greed. I will work none over Xmas though! Too much drinking to catch up on! And my friends probably think I've moved to a different country lol.

 

[DIRK STEELE]

I was lucky enough to be offered redundancy money after working for years at a good salary. I took it and have not worked for 5 years now. Best f***ing time of my life! I wake up every morning to say... what can I do today. Done a load of travelling... been lazy... drunk too much whisky and I am poor. But I love my life and freedom now. Not possible for everyone I know... but when one looks back at the 'balance of life'... well I did not have one. All work and no play etc.. but just now is great!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I've been freelancing in IT since the Eighties. Been through more economic downturns than you can shake a stick at. Worst by far was at the end of 2008 when I was out for six months. There were practically no IT jobs going in London, which is unheard of. The entire financial sector batoned down the hatches and shut up shop, and only public sector jobs were available. But like Biscuit says 'you make your own luck and don't ever, ever stop'. You might have to live away from home when things get really bad (I spent six months in a Travelodge in Slough once) or take a dramatic drop in income, but keep on keeping on. For what its worth, the finance sector is once again showing signs of shutting up shop, apart from Insurance companies which seem to be still hiring. Oh and energy companies. They seem reasonably unaffected at the moment.

 

[pasty]

It feels worse between November and March with the lack of light. Hard to keep depression away with Seasonal Affective Disorder but only a month to the shortest day and then it starts getting lighter - slowly.

Damn straight. I leave home when it's dark (0540) and get home when it's dark (19:30). I have no external windows in my part of the office, so if I didn't smoke I'd hardly see any daylight at all at the moment!

 

[SpongebobSquarepants]

Decided 10 years ago when son was born was gonna work to live and not live to work. Have done the same job for about 6 years..same company for 28 years..work from home as often as I can and do enough to justify my salary and pay the bills.
Have been there for every defining moment in my son's life and always will be...missed out on promotions/company cars and big salary but don't care.

 

[Lord Bamber]

Decided 10 years ago when son was born was gonna work to live and not live to work. Have done the same job for about 6 years..same company for 28 years..work from home as often as I can and do enough to justify my salary and pay the bills.
Have been there for every defining moment in my son's life and always will be...missed out on promotions/company cars and big salary but don't care.

Wise words.

 

[Brian Potter]

Def have to agree that sometimes you need to change tack to get the most out of life. I had a "Mon-Fri" job, but then also seemed to spend most of the weekend and many evenings sorting various work issues. When even my wife had got to the stage of saying "not that f***ing phone again!" it was time for a change. Subsequently switched over to a shift pattern, doing 4 on 4 off. Whilst I have to work nights and some weekends, I actually find I have more quality time with my family, as when I am off duty, I am not tied to a company phone and my time is my own.Only took a very minor drop in salary as well.

 

[Beach Hut]

As I am in the later part of my career, around 5 to 8 years left then pretty pleased with where I am.

Gets a little hectic at times as we seem to have an army of internal accountants however the economy is so poor we will no doubt get rid of people at some point next year. The issue generally is if you are revenue earning you are OK so as I have a very healthy product making a lot of money it keeps me safe.

 

[HastingsSeagull]

After my 2 'office' jobs since Uni, I was made redundant a couple of years ago (banking then running an office in a factory). Lived off the package for a couple of months but then couldn't find decent work that would vaguely involve using my brain so for a total of 6 months (3 off then 3 on JSA), and even minimum wage 'student jobs' wouldn't consider me. Went back to lifeguarding at minimum wage doing at 26 what I had at 16 including scrubbing bathrooms. The place I walked into the girl vaguely recognised me being reliable and responsible 10+ years before so hired me on the spot with no guarantee of a single hour a week but within a couple I was working 40-60 a week covering every shift available including double and triple shifts, 5:15 starts and 23:00 finishes. If 'kids' fancied a day in the pub or a lay in I'd pounce to cover their shift. Was fine for 6 months but wasn't very happy so started subcontracted swimming lessons for all the people other teachers didn't want to teach (babies, kids with disabilities or behavioural difficulties, and lots of adults). Quickly dropped all the set shifts I'd been entrusted with due to my eagerness and ability to actually turn up sober and on time, in order to arrange as many lessons as I could independently organise myself as really enjoyed doing the handful I had set up already. Were so many people looking but nobody being pro-active and just doing it, even the centre itself didn't offer them openly. Now starting my own company and employing others for my independent swim school starting January, done higher teaching qualifications, qualified to teach aquafit (with only an hour's work a week and bit of cover during holidays but all helps) and a day a week at minimum wage on reception to tide me over not that I desperately need to bother any more but it's easy and keeps me busy. I got 'headhunted' by a local club who saw me teaching subcontracted lessons and asked me to lead teach for them on a slightly better wage than the centres offer through their books and I get to pass on my passion to teenagers who volunteer or get paid a pittance but still turn up to help out and give kids a fun time once a week learning an important skill.

Get to teach (used to volunteer for free) at decent but unspectacular money but I'm my own boss other than for the 3rd party where I pretty much have full reign anyway, pick my own clients and hours, get to splash around playing games and blowing bubbles for a living plus stroll into work at 14:00 and work till 18:00 or 19:00. Sure I do a couple hours on a Saturday for extra money, but can drop that if my own classes rather than 1to1s takes off and will never be wealthy but get by just fine off half the hours I used to do and alot less stress. A lesson cancels or something so I don't get paid, I chill with a coffee and read the paper or go in the sauna. I enjoy my work and life balance and while I probably make less than 90% on this board I love my life and am probably happier than 90% of the board. Everyone is always saying I'm far too jolly and happy and maybe that's why the business and money side of things has been steadily getting better and better and might eventually get back to what I should be earning with my academic background, but honestly it's not a driving / pressing factor!

If anyone can't find work in their old field, maybe you could teach guitar or tutor kids for exams in a subject you loved, lead walks in the countryside, or bake cakes, do people's book-keeping privately even if full trained accountant. Anything you think is a passion or else 'beneath you but bearable for 6 months'. The former might lead to a business of your own or later open up a place in either the field you plan, or a spin off related one. try to keep positive and if you keep trying something will come along when you least expect it.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Could not agree more. Now redundant after 28 years working for the NHS and at the age of 46 seriously concerned as to what is out there.

Good luck - redundancy is a vicious, nasty and immoral process often run by people who have never been made redundant. The problem is that companies and organisations automatically think what is our highest cost and come to the answer of wages. Senior managers rarely contemplate other options such as pay freezes, no bonuses, early retirement or property consolidation. The reason being ? Those very managers have never been in the position of having their savings wiped out and at risk of losing their homes. I have been in this situation and I would NEVER support redundancies unless it was a measure of last resort to save a company / organisation - but not without strict conditions such as no dividends to shareholders etc.

 

[severnside gull]

I have the perfect work/life balance...........................I don't work (or not much anyway)!

Seriously the advice to never give up believing in yourself is as heartening as it is relevant and I speak from the deepest (and occassionally darkest) depths of experience before I was fortunate to be afforded a way out of the rat race. Bizzarely I had an opportunity some years earlier to take a substantial payment and a decent pension but I thought then that I wouldn't be able to deal with not working. How wrong can you be? When the situation was forced on me my pension had gone down the tubes and we have to get by on substantially less but I have to say that the permanent holiday lifestyle has its attractions even if the holidays have to be mostly at home. Every cloud as they say....................................................

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Music was better, going footie was better and don't get me started on music.

There's loads of great music around at the moment...as there always is.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

There's loads of great music around at the moment...as there always is.

There is some good music around but nothing like we had.

 

[METALMICKY]

Good luck - redundancy is a vicious, nasty and immoral process often run by people who have never been made redundant. The problem is that companies and organisations automatically think what is our highest cost and come to the answer of wages. Senior managers rarely contemplate other options such as pay freezes, no bonuses, early retirement or property consolidation. The reason being ? Those very managers have never been in the position of having their savings wiped out and at risk of losing their homes. I have been in this situation and I would NEVER support redundancies unless it was a measure of last resort to save a company / organisation - but not without strict conditions such as no dividends to shareholders etc.

Cheers. You are not joking and each day its quite a struggle to deal with how bitter I feel. And tragically two Albion supporting friends who are still with the company will have to go through the same process within the next 18 months.

And the moral of the story is that if your role gets outsourced to a company that rhymes with CRAPITA, be very afraid!

 

[Vicar!]

There is some good music around but nothing like we had.

Nice if it was ever played on the radio. XFM was very good until that twat Danny Wallace came along to tell us all about his wonderful self....

 

[piersa]

Decided 10 years ago when son was born was gonna work to live and not live to work. Have done the same job for about 6 years..same company for 28 years..work from home as often as I can and do enough to justify my salary and pay the bills.
Have been there for every defining moment in my son's life and always will be...missed out on promotions/company cars and big salary but don't care.

spot on

 

[Gritt23]

Anyone else a bit f***ed off with their work/life balance at the moment. I haven't left work on time once in the last six months but despite being stupidly busy they would prefer to work us to the bone rather than employ anyone new.

Or maybe they simply can't AFFORD to employ someone else. These are hard times, and they are probably doing whatever it takes to survive.

 

[Gritt23]

Decided 10 years ago when son was born was gonna work to live and not live to work. Have done the same job for about 6 years..same company for 28 years..work from home as often as I can and do enough to justify my salary and pay the bills.
Have been there for every defining moment in my son's life and always will be...missed out on promotions/company cars and big salary but don't care.

It's all about trying to get that balance right though isn't. If it would have taken much more effort for one of those "big salary" opportunities to come your way, then that would have paid for more "defining moments", as some of them come from say, the holidays the bigger salary could have afforded.

 

[Dalos]

It's all about trying to get that balance right though isn't. If it would have taken much more effort for one of those "big salary" opportunities to come your way, then that would have paid for more "defining moments", as some of them come from say, the holidays the bigger salary could have afforded.

Absolutely agree with this point.

Commute up to London Bridge every day so only get to see my 1 year old son 45 mins a day before he goes to bed.

However the extra 1 hour a day i lose commuting home from work earns me much more than i could probably earn in Sussex, thus allowing us holidays, do nice things at the weekend without having to worry about the cost all the time.

Get to work from home a day a week quite often so this also helps i suppose