Unless you are already in peak physical fitness, your body is likely in for a complete shock. It took me at least 2-3 months to really adjust to the physical grind that this job demands. Comfortable and adequate footwear is the difference between every day being hell and every day being just about tolerable
I've never been so dehydrated in my life. Take a bottle of water with you on your walk and take small sips throughout the day. Also even on light days you will likely be completely exhausted by the time you get home. A snack of mixed fruit and nuts on your lunch break is the best possible thing to keep the energy going and metabolism working throughout the day.
Unless you're a lucky one, do not expect a RM uniform any time soon. I had to wait about 8 months to get mine, and once ordered it took a good few weeks to arrive. That being said, the CAT trainers are fantastic.
Enjoy your tuesdays, they are brilliant
(except for WTL)Be prepared to receive an absolute barrage of RM propaganda through your letterbox every week. Might want to order another recycling box from your local council!
Join the union ASAP. It can be done through your union rep or online: http://www.cwu.org/join-cwu-postal.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Never completely trust a manager, but as a newbie try not to end up in their bad books either or you'll just make life much harder for yourself. It's a thin line between letting them know you're no pushover, and still staying on good terms with people.
When you are new you are MUCH more vulnerable to managers as they will use this fact to pull the wool over your eyes a lot with their bullsh*t. Unfortunately sometimes we end up learning the hard way
, but as Roger Daltrey sung "we don't get fooled again".In many ways this is still a great job compared to a lot of other work out there, and if you enjoy physical activity and working outside then you could certainly do a lot worse. But never let anyone tell you we should be resting on our laurels, as we are constantly under threat from people who want to undermine the value of our labour. Good luck!
However his attitude was, shall we say, casual at best 
. He kept wanting to leave and even handed in his notice before retracting it. The other guy was in and out of work for a few years and came to us via the agency. Very positive attitude, says his going to support the dispute etc. He joined part time (30 hours) in Jan. I did some training with him out in the snow and he was smiling and joking the whole way around. Really picked my spirits up to be honest.
dont what i would do without you