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16 Apr
6:51am, 16 Apr 2024
5,906 posts
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Dillthedog
I was talking to a fella at work about my retirement plans (379 days if anyone is interested). We are both about the same age, but he loves his work, the job he does, the people he works with and has no plans to retire at all. I have never felt like that. Even when I have had jobs that were enjoyable, if you’d offered me the chance to retire, I’d have been out of there like a rat down a tube.
It got me to thinking that most people in here seem to be pretty similar. So is the retirement thread a self selecting bunch of people who really didn’t want to work anyway? If so, count me in 
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16 Apr
7:17am, 16 Apr 2024
27,716 posts
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TROSaracen
My working career was in 3 phases really:
1). Loved it, worked in the City, then for a cable TV company in Hammersmith, then BT head office in St Paul’s. Loved the lifestyle, travel, progressing career and working hard playing hard.
2). Got a homeworking deal with BT, moved to Suffolk, 3 kids. Work was very well set up for my life then but was work to live. Work was fine though, more than tolerable and good salary. I was no longer interested in climbing the ladder etc.
3). Last 5-6 years the stress levels cranked up. There was a corporate scandal (google BT Italy accounting scandal), work in the aftermath became brutal, unpleasant, mental health impacting.
I may have carried on longer in status 2, however in status 3 I leapt at a release package that sorted my financially/cleared the mortgage etc. I was 52.
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16 Apr
8:14am, 16 Apr 2024
16,871 posts
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jda
I enjoyed a lot of my work and used to admire my FiL’s lifestyle. He kept pottering along working at a reduced rate after taking early retirement in his 50s (had a consultancy, got some grant money but no salary and obviously had the pension anyway). He was still going in to the uni several days a week until the campus shut due to Covid, by which time he was 89!
But once I started to get bored with things, it was a very strong turnaround. I don’t have any burning scientific questions in me and I won’t think up any if I don’t try
I’ve got a few hours/days of work now to tidy up my last paper for publication and really can’t be bothered with it. If it wasn’t for letting down co-authors I think I’d just have dropped it. The world won’t be a measurably better or worse place either way.
My favourite big annual conference is on right now in Vienna. Don’t care, haven’t even glanced at what’s happening. A bit sad because I really enjoyed those weeks, but it feels like a past life now.
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16 Apr
8:18am, 16 Apr 2024
53,437 posts
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EvilPixie
I can get bored very quickly so need a job with variety and challenge which was why I loved teaching (until it broke me). This is why I am cautious about being bored retired - but I am going to give it a very good go!!
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16 Apr
8:21am, 16 Apr 2024
68,591 posts
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Velociraptor
I lived to work for a long time but the job changed and I changed too. By my late forties I was ready to stop.
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16 Apr
8:46am, 16 Apr 2024
40,246 posts
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Ness
I loved the variety and challenge that teaching provided. Some of the school managers were the thing that spoiled it for me. I needed to take a break from it around my 50th birthday but I returned to it, and then after that had 2 or 3 years when the job was ok again. Ultimately I was ready to leave in the end and haven't looked back since.
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16 Apr
8:56am, 16 Apr 2024
75,184 posts
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Lip Gloss
Always been a worker and while I was in my jobs (26 in one and 18 in another ) I really enjoyed them but once I started to hate them then I knew it was time to move or in this last job retire. The last job started to affect me mentally and I’d never experienced depression on that scale before so no job is worth it.
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16 Apr
9:03am, 16 Apr 2024
5,437 posts
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Ally-C
I’d a few fourth sector jobs that I enjoyed, other than that menial semi-skilled nonsense that was just paying the bills.
Never really knew what I wanted to do, so happily enjoying retirement.
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16 Apr
9:11am, 16 Apr 2024
18,760 posts
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Mandymoo
I loved some aspects of my job, always enjoyed doing accounts, balancing things and budgets etc. The people, and certainly the boss during the last 5 years not so much. Trying to remember the good 21 years before those 5 bad ones, bit it isn't happening yet
I do keep thinking I would like to get a little job, but don't know what so haven't- therefore I don't think I really want to ....
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16 Apr
10:09am, 16 Apr 2024
7,469 posts
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bigleggy
Don't really feel like I've had a career , more just a succession of jobs.
Every time I thought I could establish anything resembling a career some bean counter somewhere had other ideas and the rug was quickly pulled from under me.
So yeah - can't wait to leave the working world behind..........
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Jigs