Money vs Stress - your experiences

DD265

I have opted to come off a 24/7 rota at work which I have been finding stressful. There are other things going on in my personal life at the moment so getting rid of the stresses that I can control seemed like a good idea. Then somebody kindly calculated just how much of a pay cut I'd be taking and I'm questioning whether it was the right thing to do!

I'd like to hear from those of you who've prioritised one way or the other - how did it work out? Did you make the right decision?

motorguy

DD265 wrote: »

I have opted to come off a 24/7 rota at work which I have been finding stressful. There are other things going on in my personal life at the moment so getting rid of the stresses that I can control seemed like a good idea. Then somebody kindly calculated just how much of a pay cut I'd be taking and I'm questioning whether it was the right thing to do!

I'd like to hear from those of you who've prioritised one way or the other - how did it work out? Did you make the right decision?

Long term stress in a job role is not a good idea - our bodies arent designed for it.

Your mental health is more important than money.

p00hsticks

motorguy wrote: »

Long term stress in a job role is not a good idea - our bodies arent designed for it.

Your mental health is more important than money.

Although I wholeheartedly agree, it's not always that acheivable. Lack of money introduces stresses of it's own- it's all a matter of balance.

If taking a drop in salary in order to have a more stress-free job simply results in a few less holidays abroad, cutting down on take aways or losing Sky Sports, that's one thing.

But if it means strugging to pay the rent or getting into mortgage arrears, that's quite another and is simply replacing one form of stress with another perhaps even worse.

DomRavioli

As someone who spent a fair few years on 24/7 call (the only time I wasn't on call was booked holidays) and earning a decent wage - I ended up having serious MH issues as a result in 2009. I'm still paying for it now, 7 years later.

Take the pay cut. You can always find a way to make ends meet but having zero income because you're too messed up is way worse, take it from someone who has done it.

TELLIT01

I've been in high paid, high stress jobs; lower paid, low stress jobs and lower paid, high stress jobs. Chasing the money has never been my priority. As long as I have enough to live on I'm happy and would rather work fewer hours on lower pay to achieve a good work / life balance.
That said, not having enough money to live on must be just as stressful as working too many hours.

WobblyDog

I find that putting the excess money into a savings account, mortgage overpayments or pension helps reduce stress a bit. It gives me more options in future if the stress becomes too much.

Takeaway_Addict

WobblyDog wrote: »

I find that putting the excess money into a savings account, mortgage overpayments or pension helps reduce stress a bit. It gives me more options in future if the stress becomes too much.

I think this is key...have the money and spending it doesn't really benefit long term.

motorguy

DomRavioli wrote: »

As someone who spent a fair few years on 24/7 call (the only time I wasn't on call was booked holidays) and earning a decent wage - I ended up having serious MH issues as a result in 2009. I'm still paying for it now, 7 years later.

Take the pay cut. You can always find a way to make ends meet but having zero income because you're too messed up is way worse, take it from someone who has done it.

+1

I've had a very similar experience.

martin2345uk

Less stress over more money any day. It's just not worth it!! :money:

xapprenticex

I like pressure, makes the day go very quickly, but not every day, for me its high pressure on mondays and fridays, between its not pressured and wednesday is chilled. Perfect.

Stressful job is a nono though

njm123

Less stress every time.

I do 24/7 on call and if I was finding it stressful I'd stop as soon as I could so long as it's not going to leave me short of money I need to live on.

If its leaving me short - I'd be working out which is more stressful 24/7 on call or finding the savings I need to make to stop doing on call.