Work/Life Balance

[Blue Maverick]

I’m 3 1/2 years from retiring last year we moved house to probably the first house I’ve ever felt at home in since leaving my parents 30 years ago, I’ve lived in lots of houses/flats but always felt they were just places to kip. The area is a better part of oldham (if there can be one) and we’ve got a local pub round the corner managed to take the little girl sledging this week, something I’ve always wanted to do with her. Missus was made redundant in November now has a job in the NHS and loves it, in fact she says the redundancy was best thing that’s happened, everything is fucking great but it’s also made me realise I will need to do something when I retire otherwise I’ll bored shirtless. Just waiting for something to go wrong (that’s the cynic in me) lol.

 

[Goats left knee]

I think it’s very important to find the right balance. My wife has a good job with health service (works 4 days), instead of using childcare/crèches, we decided to raise them (lol). I dropped down a Day here and there. I have 3-4 people working under me in a production lab so now that our 3 kids are at school I work 8am to 1pm 4 days and then one full day (fri or sat), but I have total flexibility where necessary, make up my own and the teams rota. It’s lovely heading home at 1pm!
Then in the summer, or where kids off school I drop down to a couple of days and one evening. I get paid for a couple less hours a week than I work to facilitate this flexibility. I record this process! Total trust after working with the same firm for approaching 15 years

 

[DenisLawBackHeel74]

I’m 3 1/2 years from retiring last year we moved house to probably the first house I’ve ever felt at home in since leaving my parents 30 years ago, I’ve lived in lots of houses/flats but always felt they were just places to kip. The area is a better part of oldham (if there can be one) and we’ve got a local pub round the corner managed to take the little girl sledging this week, something I’ve always wanted to do with her. Missus was made redundant in November now has a job in the NHS and loves it, in fact she says the redundancy was best thing that’s happened, everything is fucking great but it’s also made me realise I will need to do something when I retire otherwise I’ll bored shirtless. Just waiting for something to go wrong (that’s the cynic in me) lol.

Lucky you!! What ideas do you have about retirement ? For me (I’m 45 but plan to retire within 10year), I’m considering either getting into business consulting or some type of trading business (that I can get my little lad involved in).

 

[oldius]

My wife and I intend to begin travelling next year when we will both be 50. Our children are gradually leaving home for their own places and University and we are fortunate enough to own property between us. Both of us though have reached this point after 30 years of working far too much, divorces, and the consequential toll on mental health and wellbeing.

I am now a teacher, having worked in the leadership roles in the commercial sector for 25 years before retraining. I have not yet worked in a sector where unpaid overtime is not the norm. I have not worked in a sector where answering multiple emails during weekends, evenings and holidays is not the norm. I have not yet worked in a sector where I didn't believe that my career prospects would be adversely affected if I did not put in hours significantly over and above those I was contracted to work. In primary teaching, it is not possible to do the job to any kind of standard without unpaid overtime, and large amounts of it at that.

It is my opinion that the work/life balance in the UK is ineffective. We have huge levels of family breakdown and high levels of mental illness and suicide. We have generated a society where it is incredibly difficult to afford a home without both adults being in full-time work and I accept that I am part of that problem because I own more than one home. I can only hope that our children realise that the balance is awry and are able to think of a much bigger world than my parents had the ability to educate me of: my mother's ambition was to own one of the private houses at the end of her road!

Our aim is to live and work in places that we wish to stay in. My intention is to live in a place where I can afford to work or not work. My wife is far more ambitious with Manhattan her first destination of choice! I will happily ride on her coattails for that year as long as she then follows me to Kerala!

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Exactly the same as you mate.
I feel like ive been made a fool of, pretty much promised the world was my oyster after uni and id have a great job. It was all bollocks.
Too many degrees and not enough jobs

I wish i'd seen this post at the time you wrote it. I had the exact same experience and it took me a while to come to terms with the fact that the degree made me no different from anyone else. Got there in the end but it was demoralising at first.

Right now my work/life balance is okay, but it requires some firmness on my behalf. I have a Filipina colleague that works like nobody I have ever seen. I almost think its a mental illness. Fuck taking your laptop home to be working at 10pm at night. I try to "work smart" so that I don't have to be seen doing extra work to look good.

 

[squirtyflower]

Finished my 'full-time' profession that I had been in for thirty five years.
Took a flexible part-time job working from home but with quite a bit of travelling as well.

Packed it all in so I could watch City away in Europe, and I was getting fed up of muppets who knew fuck all about my job telling me how I should do it.

Another couple of months and that will be it completely. I could easily do consultancies and seminars, that pay really well, as I've become well known within this new field. However I really couldn't give a shit about trying to push myself to make contacts and find work.
I want to spend much more time travelling.
I'd be happy getting consulting work between October and March but it's not worth the effort.

 

[worsleyweb]

On my last big project. Will be finished in 2021 and that will be me done I think. I will be 45. I am going to concentrate on getting my kids careers / businesses goingg then and travel everywhere with City. Grafted hard since I was 16 and missed out on European aways!

 

[delboy]

Interesting thread this. I retired in July 2013 (aged 48) and can honestly say I don't regret it one bit. Spend most of the time playing golf, walking with two of my brothers, going on holiday and seeing my 18 month old grandson develop. Hopefully health permitting this will continue for sometime yet. Quite enjoy ambling into town around lunch time on a European match day and having a pint in sinclairs watching all these crazy away fans congregate and having a laugh. Work was great and I was lucky to get into a good job early on but life is for living now. Put a bit to one side and come and join Andyhinch and me for a pint!!!

 

[FantasyIreland]

As my employer doesn't give a fuck about such.......

If anyone knows of any companies that place a high value on this aspect of an employees working life,and are currently recruiting....... then please feel free to include them in this thread.

Ta.

Well i left that role (Paramedic) in 2014 and found myself something that still offered something to get my teeth into but was far less stressful,it also,bizarrely,paid more.

Now,coincidentally,given this bump,as of tomorrow i am now about to embark on a new challenge within the same industry.At the age of 45 i'm a tad apprehensive about doing such as i have always worked in highly stressful,responsible and demanding environments and i had genuinely began to wind down in life,however,something just told me to give this opportunity a go,and prove myself once more.

I guess i'll soon discover whether or not i've made the right choice...!

 

[Chippy_boy]

I packed it in summer 2016, but sadly for me it was never likely to be permanent - just "resting". Unfortunately I am returning to work in a couple of weeks and will need to do a handful more years before I can pack it in for good. I've really enjoyed my 1.5 year break, but found it quite an eye-opener as to just how much money I get through with actually "spending" anything. When I add up the car loan, the mortgage, council tax, utility bills, Sky, broadband, phone(s), life assurance, various membership fees, car(s) tax, insurance, servicing, household repairs etc. It's quite frightening and just not sustainable for me to retire yet :-( I'd run out of money way too soon.