THERE IS LIFE AFTER ROYAL MAIL

[postslippete]

Glad you have found your Oasis, ghost, wherever that is...

[Theghost]

Hi all,
Hope you hard working lads and ladies are well and a huge well done to you all for working as you have during what has undoubtedly been the hardest working 12 months of your lives, Massive respect to you all.
I just logged in and found a message waiting from a member asking how things are going as he is thinking of making the jump.
So thought I would post my reply here too, Incase anyone else is in the same mindset.


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Re: Life after Royal Mail.Quote Theghost

Sent: 10 minutes ago
by Theghost

Hi ******
Thanks for the message, Very rare I come on here now but like to check in now and then.
In response to your questions.
Yes I am still doing the same job and still thoroughly enjoying it, After 2 years I was promoted to supervisor and just last week to assistant manufacturing manager, Quite proud of myself to get so high after 4 years.
Life outside Royal mail really is good, No more aching legs or feeling dog tired and I only work Monday - Friday.
Yes I do indeed get flashbacks, Usually nightmares where I'm delivering mail but getting nowhere, Or drowning in d2d items, The relief when I wake is great. I dont get them as often to be honest but I still have them now and then.
After 20 years in the job the hardest thing for myself leaving was knowing I wouldn't see the people I enjoyed working with, I still keep in contact with a few and share a beer now and then but I don't like to talk much about my new job to them as I feel they will just think I'm only saying how much I like it because I'm no longer with them.
It didn't take long atall to bond with my new workmates either, After just 2 weeks I was playing golf with them, 7 a side football and trips to the races.
All things which had taken a backseat with Royal mail as time with family as you know is restricted due to Saturday working, Golf tomorrow actually, 1st game in what seems forever, Bog off forever Covid.
The only thing I regret about leaving Royal mail is that I never did it 10 years earlier, Should they ring me tomorrow and say come back for £1,000 per week I can say hand on heart it wouldn't even be a hard decision, Not a chance.
Get yourself out, Stack shelves in Morrison's, Work behind a bar, Go Anywhere and say goodbye to the stress and aching limbs.
Keep me informed but rest assured that there is life after Royal Mail, 100%

[blacov]

Hi I am grateful you are still enjoying the life after royal mail. I just wanted to point out that stacking shelves at a supermarket is as tiring as working as a postman and almost certainly for less money. I believe that if you are fortunate enough to be in a good DO and enjoy manageable ish work loads Royal Mail isn't too bad for the money it pays. Of course it may be a lot harder for someone who has children or family commitments but for younger generation pre family times or just for those without family to look after it can be a good place to work especially if you are willing to go over your time.

[Woody Guthrie]

Hi I am grateful you are still enjoying the life after royal mail. I just wanted to point out that stacking shelves at a supermarket is as tiring as working as a postman and almost certainly for less money.

I don't think anyone minds hard work, it's the unnecessary mental stress and the particular damage (knees, ankles, back and hips) this job does to the body that's the problem.

It's a very peculiar working system at Royal Mail where you have variable workloads on a daily basis which is normally incentivised in other industries either financially or with some kind of flexible hours but in Royal Mail they try to force the square peg into the round hole with fixed hours and a command and control system that intimidates people into making up the shortfall for free.

That just doesn't happen when you're stacking shelves at a supermarket.

[priority102]

Theghost I really think your original post should be sent to the current CEO of Royal Mail as it is spot on of everything that is wrong with the company at the moment and he apparently is on a mission to overturn it. When you see people of over 20 years leaving and the sad reasons why is should be a huge worry to those at the top. There is no future confidence of growth in the company if things do not drastically change. As the saying goes, get the basics right and the rest will follow.

[Chelseablue]

Great post btw . Started in the 90s , now dread going in to work each morning , body is wrecked now , from the second i get up to last thing at night , my skeletons had it lol . Glad ive been in a job this long but not what its done to my health. Rm supposed to be big on mental health whys there so many staff off with stress nowadays . Conduct codes , suspensions , on the increase , no banter nowadays , no time lol Rant over

[WASD]

Nice to see an update Ghost, glad you're doing well!

Let's be fair though, there are a lot of rubbish companies out there. Still, i am a firm believer in taking a chance and experiencing many jobs.

I am fully with Barncopxx above. These kind of posts need to be hammered home to the CEO. Though i wouldn't be surprised if RM has gotten far to bad in a very competitive environment to recover now.

[greengiant]

I suspect I'll be facing IHR soon personally...

[hatter68]

I left in December after 18 years simply had enough, have put on a stone in weight and often have dreams/nightmares of still being a postman (relief when I wake up) but best thing I ever done leaving.

[HTPostman]

If the new CEO really wants to know why turnover is so high especially amongst new starters, he should employ the services of an outside firm to interview those leaving. I don’t mean RM HR who will word things their way and sugar coat everything but an outside company.

I’m very frustrated with things at the moment but I’m holding on as I’ve only got 8 and a bit years to go then I’m retiring. It will soon fly by and it’s not wise for me to start kicking off and putting a target on my back when I can just bite my lip, grumble to myself and keep taking the OT and inch closer to my final day,

But if I left right now and was asked for my reasons, the 5 biggest ones would be as follows:

-Holiday pay. It’s a real kick in the teeth how this is going on and on.

-Days off. Always Tuesday, unless there’s a bank holiday in which case you’re given that day off.

-Abysmal annual leave system, having to rely on a manager to approve a single day off. Sometimes you wait months to just be told ‘no’

-Stupid contracts. I’ve no issue with a 25 hour contract, it’s what I agreed to. But then you’re hounded if you ask to only do 25. Some of us don’t want that confrontation every single day. If you want/expect us to do 8 hour days, then employ us on the right contracts.

-Constantly being told by more experienced colleagues ‘we’ve all had to go through it’ as if it makes everything right.

[postieblueshirt]

Its shocking that its come down to this but its true the job is done.ive done 26 years but in that time I've had kids and been to tired and pissed off to really enjoy a Christmas with them I'd love to get out and enjoy a Christmas with my kids for once.this is food for thought but maybe I can find something better..

[amhopkins1]

Just out of interest what kind of jobs have people gone in to? I’m considering leaving but think I’ll have to retrain in something to earn more money. The main problem I have with being a postie is you can’t progress, I’m only 30 and the job has got worse in the 5 years I’ve been here.

[HTPostman]

Just out of interest what kind of jobs have people gone in to? I’m considering leaving but think I’ll have to retrain in something to earn more money. The main problem I have with being a postie is you can’t progress, I’m only 30 and the job has got worse in the 5 years I’ve been here.

After working for Royal Mail for a few years I went into a mail order business which was a bit of everything - packing orders, dealing with customer complaints, handling emails/phone calls/website, lots and lots of admin.

Overall I enjoyed it and didn’t need lots of training but the money was awful, after taking into account expenses I now earn 3 times as much back at Royal Mail.

[Woody Guthrie]

The main problem I have with being a postie is you can’t progress,

It is possible to progress but Royal Mail do not promote their best people.
There are a still a lot managers around from the bad old days and they only like to surround themselves with like minded people who are not a threat to their position. I would have gutted the management structure years ago, it's mostly not fit to run a bath.

It's run on fear like the Mafia and that never ends well.

[norris9]

I'd say it's mainly ok most days at my delivery office. It's just the odd day here and there that a manager can be difficult, but those days can be so stressful, so infuriating, that you want to quit. A manager will try to force you to take out more than you can, blatantly lie to you, send you out on your round stressed out. No wonder there's so many road traffic accidents.

I just wish there was trust and respect. It should be the Posties choice what he or she takes and as long as they aren't taking the piss - they should not be questioned. They have all this data to check if you are walking too slow, stopping for too long, coming back too early.

Typically the reason for a round not being able to be done on time is because of management disorganisation. Part timers not having their rounds prepped as they should be, rounds being too long and managers doing nothing to shorten them, management not employing enough staff then we get stuck with 2 days mail.