Sometimes “playing the game” can be more beneficial. I once worked for a team which included a sour puss lady who hated being in the job. She’d been there 35 years and had enough. So she played the game and went off on long term stress …. she knew the company mental health policy would allow this for up to two years with just a monthly check in with HR. So she milked it… 2 years on full pay due to “stress”. At the end of that period she got a redundancy pay off. We later found out she had moved to spain and was just flying over once a month for her HR check in.

What he (egb81) said “Life is too long to mess about being unhappy.”

I had a health wake up call last year and decided enough was enough and have binned my job.

I held a senior technical role paying serious money so it was not a simple decision to enact and it has taken planning to walk away from it (mine being the only income plus with kids and wife to support) but at 48 I have now stopped work. So whilst I now have significantly less dosh, I do have loads of time available and that (plus your health/sanity) is probably the most important asset of all.

My view….a job is just that a job; life is short and sometimes it takes a push to make you realise this. However, if you can take a step back and come to this conclusion by yourself then perhaps you may find a different path that does not involve a “conventional” approach to life which may give you a much greater sense of well being.

In a similar situation – Engineering Consultant.
No joy from my job what so ever at the moment – spend most of my time wondering what the point is.
The commute is getting to me – 40 minute cramped train journey twice a day. I try to WHF at least one day a week but this isn’t really helping either.

Problem is I have no idea what else to do – after 25 years in the same industry I feel trapped.
Also starting to question my own ability within my role – stupid as I’ve been doing it for so long.

Have been getting stress/anxiety for the last 2 years on & off, not sleeping getting crappy with the wife & kids.

I earn a good salary and get a company car, my wife doesn’t work – stay at home Mom – so it’s my salary that does pretty much everything.

Local “emotional wellbeing service” have been next to useless the twice I’ve been referred to them – first time I didn’t score high enough for help and this time everything they promised agreed has not been delivered.

I did go onto medication about 18 months back which helped briefly but I piled a load of weight on which got me even more stressed/miserable…..

The company has an EAP which is supposed to be confidential etc., but I’m worried that it’ll get back to my manager or worse they’ll just put me back in touch with the local wellbeing service again….

I left a good job , good company , reasonable salary for the sector for a low paid , low skilled job . It was rubbish , such a waste of my skillset and time.

What I should have done was manipulate the reasons for leaving to make my role way more bearable.

I have now left the low paid, low skilled job , to go self employed as a casual employee .

I charge a pathetic hourly rate in reality , less than you would pay an employment agency for  say  a Romanian van driver . It does give me the choice to accept work offered, or to check my diary to see if I am busy that day.

In my experience , telling your bosses  you are going to leave unless they can come up with incentive to suit you, to enable you stay would be my recomendation. Working from home , flexi hours , POETS day , 3 day week , if you are a reasonable person , then you might get a great compromise  that enables you stay at work , just work is now  a more suitable environment in which you will be happier