How're you feeling?

[markarronsmith]

How’re you feeling? Do you enjoy the job?

The bags & workloads are getting too much. I go in every day and get moved about on different duties, getting put on frames that are a mess with double mail with tons of packets; it’s mentally & physically exhausting. Getting to the point of dreading going into work cos I don’t know what I’m on or where I am each day.

I’ve been looking for new opportunities but just wondering if you could go into something else at Royal Mail instead of a Postie / Manager.

I’m 24 and can’t do another 40 years as a Postie!

Any advice would be great, how you cope with the job and demands.

[blacov]

If you are manually skilled and have some interest in DIY or something. If I were you I would try to go for an apprenticeship of some sort. Electrician/Plumber/Joiner you could learn a trade. Once qualified and experienced you can earn very good wage. If you work for yourself and if you are willing to put in the hours you can double the full-times postman take home pay. Alternatively if you are happy to take out a student loan or maybe you or your family can afford paying. University and a degree could be an option if you have a plan for yourself.

Royal Mail wise if you are tough and well organised, you can stand up for yourself. Allow yourself some time and learn as many walks as you can. You may have to work long hours and it will be tough often. Heavy day on a walk you can organise very well feels lighter than a light day on a walk you don't know. My life isn't much different from yours at royal mail so I can how you feel.

[Jpro747]

Don’t worry about how much work there is, it doesn’t matter - you have a finishing time. Start on your time and prep and deliver to the best of your ability. Do not rush, cut corners or skip breaks. Assess your workload and if its too much to do in the time tell your manager you won’t be able to complete. They will tell you to either bring some mail back or leave some in the frame. You must phone the office as soon as you know to tell them you’ll be bringing some back. They’ll tell you to make sure all the tracked/specials are delivered so factor in some time for this to be done. Then sign out at your finish time go home and forget about the job!

[Mickeybrowneyes]

It's ok saying that and I do that myself but it does come with some pressure...
When you are cutting off allot of the time you are micromanaged more than most and although I wont be bullied into cutting it up or staying out it does add the extra stress of knowing any mistake might be magnified by the guv'nors.
And you will get called lazy and accused of talking too much even though you know you are working harder than many on better duties.
If your clearing they leave you alone, as soon as you are on a duty that's unachievable its performance issues.
Does drag you down at times.

[Rage24]

The job is horrible now.

Stress every day.

[Numberone63]

The job is horrible now.

Stress every day.

I feel the same. Worst I’ve felt in any job I’ve had in my 37 years of working.

[Chelseablue]

Hate the job now , dread going in every morning .

[postmanzach]

Enjoy the job but burnt out and run down.

[postmanzach]

At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”

So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?

You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

[Coffee lover]

Morale is at an all time low in our office, never seen sickness like it. People are fed up and knackered and also the people who never go sick are being pushed to do more which is totally unfair and now some guys who never go sick are going off! Management don’t care but something needs to be done soon as even new recruits can’t believe how badly it’s being run, it’s unfortunately become now an unhappy place to work

[2yearpostie]

It amazes me that people are prepared to be this unhappy at work and not leave for another job especially when the country currently has 1 million job roles to fill

[Fannybaws]

When you are cutting off allot of the time you are micromanaged more than most and although I wont be bullied into cutting it up or staying out it does add the extra stress of knowing any mistake might be magnified by the guv'nors.
And you will get called lazy and accused of talking too much even though you know you are working harder than many on better duties.
If your clearing they leave you alone, as soon as you are on a duty that's unachievable its performance issues.
Does drag you down at times.

Spot.

Do it properly and prove there are issues and managers make your life miserable for it. On top of that you have others that cover your days off or holidays who just undermine everything you're trying to prove and carve the job up either to make you look lazy and incompetent or because they don't want to deal with the same pressure tactics/bullying you have to deal with every day from managers.


Jobs gone to the dogs over the last decade and no one , company or union, wants to be fully open and transparent about these issues.

[Chelseablue]

It amazes me that people are prepared to be this unhappy at work and not leave for another job especially when the country currently has 1 million job roles to fill

It amazes me that im not amazed by that amazing post . There are older gals /guys who are maybe struggling a bit after a lot of years who cant just jump into another job at there age and thinking about there pension etc.

[2yearpostie]

It amazes me that people are prepared to be this unhappy at work and not leave for another job especially when the country currently has 1 million job roles to fill

It amazes me that im not amazed by that amazing post . There are older gals /guys who are maybe struggling a bit after a lot of years who cant just jump into another job at there age and thinking about there pension etc.

They would still get the pension if they went for n easier life at Aldi/Tesco. Why would you want a physical demanding job when your over 60?

[DGH]

They would still get the pension if they went for n easier life at Aldi/Tesco. Why would you want a physical demanding job when your over 60?

It's not necessarily the physical demands of the job. Allocated workload now becoming routinely unachievable unless you work overtime (unless of course you want/need the overtime) is just demoralising. Doesn't matter if your 16 or 60.

Post-revision, most of the walks in my office are at least half an hour too big on their delivery span. Some are over an hour too big. Compounding that, not enough time has been allocated to do the indoor work.

I think a lot of more senior staff are hanging on hoping for VR (which may be a fool's hope, I expect RM are hoping they'll just have had enough and leave). The only things at the moment that really make the job better than, say, supermarket work, is no Sunday working and a marginally higher rate of pay, and being outside for part of the day.