Bold leap into retirement

Rich1976

LHW99 said:

AliBee16 said:

'Thank you again for coming, lot's to work on for your next one to one.  On your way out please take this leaflet with you and read it thoroughly, it has all of the latest guidance and what you should and should not say, and how you should think in the workplace.  Did you just raise an eyebrow?  That is considered a micro aggression now, page four, section three.'

@barnstar2077 this is all spot on. And for those of us who have worked through times when the management leash was not quite so tight, this is all much more transparent than for our younger colleagues. I remember fondly the times we would all head off down the pub on a Friday afternoon when working in London. No wonder the Govt cant get us older people back to work. No incentive.

I only work in retail now (divorce and life circumstances) but it is still the same there. When asked to explain why the delivery wasnt being put away by a certain time like it was previously, the answer ' you have reduced the workforce by half, doubled the amount of delivery and reduced the hours to complete the task' wasnt considered sufficient! You feel like you are going mad. No wonder people regularly were going off sick with stress

This, and the increasing level of Office politics is why the Government won't get older people back into the workplace by tinkering round the edges. Once upon a time a degree of over staffing was regarded as useful - it allowed sudden increases in work to be catered for without expecting peopleto wreck their health, it allowed those with problems to be treated flexibly and it allowed the keeping on of older, very experienced personnel with much reduced hours so that if a question of "what do we do if / when" arose, it could be referred to them (well I remember last time we ........).

Now it’s a computer (if you're lucky!) where the data isn't complete, doesn't go back much before the last slave that had it added to their work load, and possibly was never entered correctly in the first place.

Exactly so.

many employers now either only just about employ the right number of staff or they employ not quite enough. Both of these would make it almost impossible for an employer to grant flexible working if it was requested because of the extra pressure it puts on to the existing staff.

or in the case of office workers, part time staff seem to have the equivalent of a full time persons workload but has to squeeze it in to 3 or 4 days.

Pat38493

Rich1976 said:

LHW99 said:

AliBee16 said:

'Thank you again for coming, lot's to work on for your next one to one.  On your way out please take this leaflet with you and read it thoroughly, it has all of the latest guidance and what you should and should not say, and how you should think in the workplace.  Did you just raise an eyebrow?  That is considered a micro aggression now, page four, section three.'

@barnstar2077 this is all spot on. And for those of us who have worked through times when the management leash was not quite so tight, this is all much more transparent than for our younger colleagues. I remember fondly the times we would all head off down the pub on a Friday afternoon when working in London. No wonder the Govt cant get us older people back to work. No incentive.

I only work in retail now (divorce and life circumstances) but it is still the same there. When asked to explain why the delivery wasnt being put away by a certain time like it was previously, the answer ' you have reduced the workforce by half, doubled the amount of delivery and reduced the hours to complete the task' wasnt considered sufficient! You feel like you are going mad. No wonder people regularly were going off sick with stress

This, and the increasing level of Office politics is why the Government won't get older people back into the workplace by tinkering round the edges. Once upon a time a degree of over staffing was regarded as useful - it allowed sudden increases in work to be catered for without expecting peopleto wreck their health, it allowed those with problems to be treated flexibly and it allowed the keeping on of older, very experienced personnel with much reduced hours so that if a question of "what do we do if / when" arose, it could be referred to them (well I remember last time we ........).

Now it’s a computer (if you're lucky!) where the data isn't complete, doesn't go back much before the last slave that had it added to their work load, and possibly was never entered correctly in the first place.

Exactly so.

many employers now either only just about employ the right number of staff or they employ not quite enough. Both of these would make it almost impossible for an employer to grant flexible working if it was requested because of the extra pressure it puts on to the existing staff.

or in the case of office workers, part time staff seem to have the equivalent of a full time persons workload but has to squeeze it in to 3 or 4 days.

Yes that's true, but probably some employers will realise that in the case of a long term employee who wants to reduce their hours, if the employee is likely to leave fully if it's not granted, that employee may actually be more productive in 3 days than a new hire in 5 days (at least for a good chunk of time) due to their experience level and familiarity with the organisation.

Rich1976

Pat38493 said:

Rich1976 said:

LHW99 said:

AliBee16 said:

'Thank you again for coming, lot's to work on for your next one to one.  On your way out please take this leaflet with you and read it thoroughly, it has all of the latest guidance and what you should and should not say, and how you should think in the workplace.  Did you just raise an eyebrow?  That is considered a micro aggression now, page four, section three.'

@barnstar2077 this is all spot on. And for those of us who have worked through times when the management leash was not quite so tight, this is all much more transparent than for our younger colleagues. I remember fondly the times we would all head off down the pub on a Friday afternoon when working in London. No wonder the Govt cant get us older people back to work. No incentive.

I only work in retail now (divorce and life circumstances) but it is still the same there. When asked to explain why the delivery wasnt being put away by a certain time like it was previously, the answer ' you have reduced the workforce by half, doubled the amount of delivery and reduced the hours to complete the task' wasnt considered sufficient! You feel like you are going mad. No wonder people regularly were going off sick with stress

This, and the increasing level of Office politics is why the Government won't get older people back into the workplace by tinkering round the edges. Once upon a time a degree of over staffing was regarded as useful - it allowed sudden increases in work to be catered for without expecting peopleto wreck their health, it allowed those with problems to be treated flexibly and it allowed the keeping on of older, very experienced personnel with much reduced hours so that if a question of "what do we do if / when" arose, it could be referred to them (well I remember last time we ........).

Now it’s a computer (if you're lucky!) where the data isn't complete, doesn't go back much before the last slave that had it added to their work load, and possibly was never entered correctly in the first place.

Exactly so.

many employers now either only just about employ the right number of staff or they employ not quite enough. Both of these would make it almost impossible for an employer to grant flexible working if it was requested because of the extra pressure it puts on to the existing staff.

or in the case of office workers, part time staff seem to have the equivalent of a full time persons workload but has to squeeze it in to 3 or 4 days.

Yes that's true, but probably some employers will realise that in the case of a long term employee who wants to reduce their hours, if the employee is likely to leave fully if it's not granted, that employee may actually be more productive in 3 days than a new hire in 5 days (at least for a good chunk of time) due to their experience level and familiarity with the organisation.

You would hope that’s how they see it but in reality who knows as depends on how the organisation values its employees.

some employers may see it as a cost cutting exercise for example and may see it as an opportunity for them to offer a lower salary to a new starter if the more experienced employee decided to leave because their request for flexible working was refused. I suppose it would also depend on how much they value the ‘experienced ‘ employee. Just because they have worked for their employer for many years does not automatically  mean they are better than a new recruit.

Albermarle

MallyGirl said:

Smudgeismydog said:

I’m not going to pursue or get drawn into the negativity that I initially felt on hearing the bonus announcements, but instead keep my conscience clear and just complete all outstanding work to the best of my ability, then leave with my head held high!

I am sure this is exactly what you are retiring away from. All that BS. I had been told for the last few years that I am 'right at the top of the pay band' which limits pay rises. After a discussion about a change of job title with my latest line manager he asked HR and it turns out that was a complete lie and there is plenty of headroom. Just one more nail in that coffin. 

Congratulations on your imminent escape

I can beat that. When we had a new employment/recruitment/consultant company to review my last employers pay gradings etc. I was told after the review/new system that I was now already 35% above the top of the pay grade I was now in, so no further pay increases possible for the foreseeable future.
After some 'discussions' it was agreed that I would still get inflation rises and bonuses would still be paid.
To be fair I knew I was quite well paid, so I kept my head down after that with only 5 years to go.

MetaPhysical

I still plan to retire age 58 in sixteen months from now.  I am saving every penny I can and maxing out my pension.  I am also applying to my HR to consider me for 80% hours next month for when I turn 57 in July.  At Christmas I am going to ask for 60% hours to then work the remainder of my employment.  My current outlook I intend
DC Plan £600k < I intend to use GK strategy to take 20-25k per year.  No wish to leave anything to children.
DB Pension £24k per year
Cash of 200k to use to bolster income if needed
No mortgage.

Nebulous2

AliBee16 said:

I only work in retail now (divorce and life circumstances) but it is still the same there. When asked to explain why the delivery wasnt being put away by a certain time like it was previously, the answer ' you have reduced the workforce by half, doubled the amount of delivery and reduced the hours to complete the task' wasnt considered sufficient! You feel like you are going mad. No wonder people regularly were going off sick with stress

I was part of a management team planning a restructuring of our frontline managers. It was a large dispersed workforce and these managers had quite a bit of reporting to do - at least some of it because senior managers who had developed the company struggled with not having eyes on what was happening. 

During all the talk about grades, responsibilities etc I asked how much of this reporting we would be removing. Most of the other senior management team found this completely alien. 

I pointed out if there are fewer of them, with expanded responsibilities, surely we cannot expect just as much from them as we did before? 

pensionpawn

MetaPhysical said:

I still plan to retire age 58 in sixteen months from now.  I am saving every penny I can and maxing out my pension.  I am also applying to my HR to consider me for 80% hours next month for when I turn 57 in July.  At Christmas I am going to ask for 60% hours to then work the remainder of my employment.  My current outlook I intend
DC Plan £600k < I intend to use GK strategy to take 20-25k per year.  No wish to leave anything to children.
DB Pension £24k per year
Cash of 200k to use to bolster income if needed
No mortgage.

With your data I'd have probably retired on turning 55!

Kniphofia7

My replacement was put in post in January after I'd told my manager last June that I'd be retiring in March.  They only offered her a fixed term contract for 12 months, so after spending 4 weeks training her she left for a permanent job.  So now the team will have no-one to replace me for a few weeks until another person can start.  My last working day tomorrow.

LHW99

Kniphofia7 said:

My replacement was put in post in January after I'd told my manager last June that I'd be retiring in March.  They only offered her a fixed term contract for 12 months, so after spending 4 weeks training her she left for a permanent job.  So now the team will have no-one to replace me for a few weeks until another person can start.  My last working day tomorrow.

Enjoy your retirement (while thinking of the mess of their own making your ex-company have created, with relief that it's nothing to do with you any more)

MetaPhysical

pensionpawn said:

MetaPhysical said:

I still plan to retire age 58 in sixteen months from now.  I am saving every penny I can and maxing out my pension.  I am also applying to my HR to consider me for 80% hours next month for when I turn 57 in July.  At Christmas I am going to ask for 60% hours to then work the remainder of my employment.  My current outlook I intend
DC Plan £600k < I intend to use GK strategy to take 20-25k per year.  No wish to leave anything to children.
DB Pension £24k per year
Cash of 200k to use to bolster income if needed
No mortgage.

With your data I'd have probably retired on turning 55!

Thanks.  I have some financial commitments to my fiancee helping her at the moment and so need my expendable income for the next year or so ideally.