Reduced Hours. Feels Strange.

Adamc

I've dropped from 5 days to 4 in the NHS. Mentally needed some time away from work as we're under a lot of pressure and the opportunities for development have not been there. I feel a lot better as a result but unfortunately my manager seems to have let slip that it was for mental health reasons and I overheard colleagues questioning it. The tendency for everyone to be in everyone's business is also a big reason I want to be there less.  

Ideally I'd like to find a new job but running away from the problem isn't always the answer.

I've been doing hikes on my days off  and things that I've never had time to do during the weekends. I don't know if I'll eventually get bored though. 

Has anyone found it difficult to reduce their hours? I think that as summer closes I will look to pick up some extra work as the extra money will be helpful. I have budgeted for the loss of income and have savings of around 6 months salary. 

TheSpiddalKid

Think about what you want longer term in term of place to work, if you work in the NHS you could look to either stay within the NHS move to another part of the same trust or another trust entirely. Alternatively, you may decide you want pastures new outside of the NHS.

It's not uncommon for people to reappraise and decide they need a better balance of work and home life. If you could only do reduced hours for 6 months then would compressed hours be a longer-term solution financially? Working longer each day so that you can have a four-day week or nine-day fortnight.

Remember in the NHS and many other large public  and private sector organisations the right to request flexible working is a day-one contractual right.  

Savvy_Sue

I went from school hours over 5 days to normal hours over 4. Would never do a f/t job again. 

I'd be quite open about it: I needed to have a day during the week when I could be me, do my thing. But I found I needed to do stuff with others, so I joined a walking group.

But where I work, people can be quite open about needing time away from a stressful job.

I never got bored. 

Adamc

Savvy_Sue said:

I went from school hours over 5 days to normal hours over 4. Would never do a f/t job again. 

I'd be quite open about it: I needed to have a day during the week when I could be me, do my thing. But I found I needed to do stuff with others, so I joined a walking group.

But where I work, people can be quite open about needing time away from a stressful job.

I never got bored. 

I think you're right. Everyone is so intrusive here though. They mainly want to know if I'm practicing privately which I'm not. 

Adamc

TheSpiddalKid said:

Think about what you want longer term in term of place to work, if you work in the NHS you could look to either stay within the NHS move to another part of the same trust or another trust entirely. Alternatively, you may decide you want pastures new outside of the NHS.

It's not uncommon for people to reappraise and decide they need a better balance of work and home life. If you could only do reduced hours for 6 months then would compressed hours be a longer-term solution financially? Working longer each day so that you can have a four-day week or nine-day fortnight.

Remember in the NHS and many other large public  and private sector organisations the right to request flexible working is a day-one contractual right.  

I will give it some thought. There is the guilt of reducing hours in an already short-staffed dept with high employee turnover. 

theoretica

Adamc said:

Savvy_Sue said:

I went from school hours over 5 days to normal hours over 4. Would never do a f/t job again. 

I'd be quite open about it: I needed to have a day during the week when I could be me, do my thing. But I found I needed to do stuff with others, so I joined a walking group.

But where I work, people can be quite open about needing time away from a stressful job.

I never got bored. 

I think you're right. Everyone is so intrusive here though. They mainly want to know if I'm practicing privately which I'm not. 

Could it just be simple self interest?  Is there an advantage to what you are doing?  Would it work for me too? How does this change affect me?  

Malthusian

Adamc said:

I will give it some thought. There is the guilt of reducing hours in an already short-staffed dept with high employee turnover. 

The NHS is always short-staffed by design. Any service that attempts to offer free quality stuff to everyone will always be oversubscribed. I would not feel guilty about the NHS being the NHS. You say that it has a high turnover rate - I doubt many of those who have left felt guilty for doing so, nor should they.
You are still sacrificing four more days a week than most of us.

Wyndham

I've been working 4 days for most of the last 6 years (I do contract work, so change jobs frequently, and sometimes had to start a new one on 5 days, then got it reduced). I wouldn't go back to a 5 day week long term.

I'm over 50, and female, so having a menopause, which has caused a reduction in energy levels, especially after the nights when I don't sleep well. This was actually helpful when requesting the 4 days instead of 5 - and, sorry to say it, but especially when requesting from men who really didn't want to have a long conversation about it!

I've got an e-bike and do a lot of miles. It's opened up new places for me, as well as keeping me fit. I also read more than I used to - one of those things I was always going to get around to, but didn't. I meet up with friends regularly, for lunch or coffee. 

I did have guilt at first, but I also know that ultimately I don't want to keep working forever, so now see it as a way to easing into retirement (though maybe not a full time retirement for some years yet). I know I won't look back on my life from my deathbed and remember the work side of it - it will be the time with friends, family and the biking adventures.

It actually helped to have a couple of work experiences where I didn't feel that I was appreciated, including a horrible redundancy which was very badly handled by the employer. In the past I would have given my all, and did make myself ill, but now feel that there is no point doing that if you don't get something back from the employer other than the money. It's one reason I'm now contracting - I take my vast experience into places where I can help and do feel appreciated. But knowing that each one is temporary means that I never 'go native' - work is what I do to fund other things.

Not sure if this will help or not, I think I have an reasonably unusual view in all of this, but it works for me.

TELLIT01

I went from working 5 days to working 4 and couldn't have been happier.  It gave me more time to do something I actually wanted to do.

MalMonroe

Hi, it's nobody else's business what you do. Not only did you drop hours but your pay dropped too. Anyone else could ask to do the same as you have done, they don't need to gossip about you.

You said 'Ideally I'd like to find a new job but running away from the problem isn't always the answer.'  I have to say that sometimes it IS the answer. If you're suffering mentally because of any job then staying there if you are unhappy and unwell isn't good for you. 

You also said "There is the guilt of reducing hours in an already short-staffed dept with high employee turnover." That isn't your problem. It's your employer's problem. (And prompts the question 'why is the turnover high'? Obviously a lot of people not happy in your department.)

You should never feel guilty about looking after yourself and your health. If you feel up to looking for a new job, then why not? You say you are feeling happier with your four days and long may it continue. 

I've worked in the NHS and know what it's like.  But you don't have to stay in that particular department and I've found that different departments can have different atmospheres and not all the staff are difficult to work with.

All the best to you, try not to feel responsible fo your employer's problems and enjoy your four day week. 

El_Torro

Adamc said:

Ideally I'd like to find a new job but running away from the problem isn't always the answer.

This seems like an odd thing to say, unless I have misinterpreted what you’re saying.

People often leave jobs to find something that suits them better. It’s not about running away from the problem, or letting your employer down, or not being able to live up to a challenge. There are a wide variety of jobs out there and we should all feel comfortable finding one that is right for us.

Remember that you don’t owe your employer anything, whether it’s the NHS or some other employer. They pay you for your service and assuming you live up to your end of the bargain you have every right to end the agreement whenever you see fit. They wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of you if it suited them to do it.