Do you feel like you’re working to live, or living to work in the UK right now?
Posted by VegetableMix3751@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 82 comments
Feels like a lot of people are burnt out lately,curious what others think
bloodsoakedgown@reddit
I’m working to not be able to cover my monthly outgoings and plunging into debt how about you
witdim@reddit
We're all working to live. That's the society we created.
Problem-Me@reddit
I did not create this society?
witdim@reddit
No, neither did I. But we live in it and continue to choose it over anything else.
OldEcho@reddit
Welllllll...I dunno about THAT. I and a lot of other people want to do something else, we're just isolated from each other and I don't want to get shot in the head.
witdim@reddit
Thinking you'd like another way of living and actually doing something about it are two different things though.
OldEcho@reddit
It's...hard to know what to do about it. For now, I talk.
witdim@reddit
"But we live in it and continue to choose it over anything else."
That was my point.
OldEcho@reddit
Yes and I disagree with that point. I don't choose this at all, I just am not going to try to overthrow it by spontaneously running outside, screaming "I declare capitalism is over now," and latching onto the king's leg with my teeth before being shot in the head.
Step 0, as far as I'm concerned, is getting more people on the same page that actually this sucks and we can do way better.
GiddyWiddit@reddit
Listen man nothing in history has ever happened until someone gets shot in the head… any volunteers?
Left-Indication-2165@reddit
Y’all working?
3cc3ntr1c1ty@reddit
I work to pay bills, barely.
Capable_Tip7815@reddit
Working to live. 37 hours a week with the option of overtime when required.
voxo_boxo@reddit
I earn 32k and right now I'd say I'm working to live. I have enough money at the end of every month to save a bit, but then again I never really do anything particularly exceptional in my spare time. I have a few hobbies but they're inexpensive.
Spazhazzard@reddit
Working to change nothing, barely maintain the status quo and desperately hope the little i put away for my child's future will actually be worth something when old enough to need it.
Unusual_Sherbert2671@reddit
I left the UK, but my take home was 4.5k, Mrs was 2.3k
We were doing the numbers if we started a family, and if my wife stopped working.
Overall, we would have some money left over on just my salary, but I was thinking I work a stressful job and my salary of about £75k is seen as pretty good.
So the question was, what if I had an average paying job, no chance in hell could my wife stop working.
CeresToTycho@reddit
Working gives me money. But it takes all my time and energy. I do have evenings and weekends, they're filled with chores, when I do have time to do the things I love, I'm tired.
Technically 8hrs of work and 8hrs of life, but that doesn't include all the chores that are necessary and the 8hrs to myself are when I'm tired.
Strangely__Brown@reddit
Doing alright.
Bought our forever home last month. 5 bed house for the wife and my 2 kids.
Started a remote job last Feb which is pretty intense but I'm learning and earning. Get to travel to the US a few times a year too.
Have to work odd hours and late occasionally but get to walk the kids to nursery and do bedtime every night. I put £100k into my pension last year too (using carry forward) so I'll will likely retire early.
MountainMuffin1980@reddit
"Doing alright" 😂
Strangely__Brown@reddit
Well yeah, I'm 40 soon and that's what tends to happen when you spend over 20 years working. Skills and assets appreciate over time. Particularly in this new world where you can learn everything about anything & develop any conceivable skillset.
It's all relative tho. I have a few friends who are started businesses recently and are crushing it. That's why I fall down, I earn a lot but it's all PAYE and I lack the initiative and balls to go out and work for myself.
NoCold3997@reddit
Neither im retired 😁👍
LadyMirkwood@reddit
We are on one income. I can't work due to health issues but husband earns too much for any help/benefits and I don't have enough mobility issues for PIP.
We are existing. No holidays, no decorating or maintenance (though the house badly needs it), no little luxuries like a meal out or anything. It's literally food, bills and rent, that's it.
Its the grimest I've ever known it. We could do more with two small kids to feed twenty five years ago than now
CptCaramack@reddit
Any chance of your personal situation will improve health wise so you can work? I don't mean to be alarmist but if the reform cunts get in they could make it real bleak for people in your position, they say that's their intention anyway.
LadyMirkwood@reddit
How can they make it worse, I don't get anything to be take away.
And no, sadly. My condition doesnt improve. I'm already worse than I was 5 years ago
CptCaramack@reddit
Ah apologies I thought you might have received something with being out of work. And sorry to hear that, best of luck
Thomas5020@reddit
Yeah.
I'm mid 20s and despite working a highly skilled job there's not really any future for me. I don't earn enough to buy a house and still maintain any reasonable quality of life, and with every passing year things are getting worse, not better. It's not worth getting out of bed any more, it really isn't.
CptCaramack@reddit
I really enjoy my job which I'm grateful for but money is real tight right now, I feel anxious about money and the future a lot these days and I didn't used to have a care in the world even when on a lower salary, even doing less fun things now, a bit sad really.
BronnOP@reddit
Working to live. I’d say most people in the UK are 1-3 months away from losing the house if they stopped working or lost a job, so that pretty much sums it up
n0d3N1AL@reddit
Previously it was living to work, but now especially with the AI dystopian late stage capitalism we're heading towards, I'm feeling burnt out and working to live, just for a few more years so I can be fully financially independent and then do something part time, train to become a counsellor, volunteer etc.
Lunaspoona@reddit
Kind of both.
I have a full time and a part time job. It's a bit of a catch 22, I need my second job to pay for 'fun' things like day trips, meals with friends etc and sometimes help with the bills. But it also limits my time to do those things, without it though I'd be sat at home twiddling my thumbs just waiting to go to work. Horrible cycle.
griffaliff@reddit
I feel my work/life balance is OK, obviously given the choice I wouldn't work for a wage but that isn't the universe I live in. I'm an arborist for a large local authority, working outdoors in the public sector is great, beats working in a stuffy office with managers breathing down your neck and bleating on about targets and meetings. I have none of that, we just crack on and largely self manage our workload. After all my outgoings are paid for I've got just over a grand left disposable, not a huge sum but enough, I'm getting an e bike soon to cycle to work so I'm not paying for diesel either. Wife and I have no kids and she has a good income so we're not struggling fortunately but shits still expensive. We get out hiking and camping a lot, I have time to cook decent meals, pursue hobbies etc, for now it feels reasonably balanced.
Ok_Teacher_1797@reddit
I'm being made redundant in part due to AI. So, right now... I'm just living.
UnrivalledPG@reddit
Chill af since I started investing into my ISA.
garlicmayosquad@reddit
People have less disposable income, and everything fun is getting more and more expensive. I love the UK but the vibe isn’t great right now.
Independent-Bid915@reddit
Yeah, this is very true. Pay rises have gone from something that would generally speaking improve your quality of life, to being something which is required, and often fails to simply preserve a comfortable existence.
ellisellisrocks@reddit
Who getting payrises 😭
garlicmayosquad@reddit
I was thinking, in my 7 year career I don’t think I ever got a real pay rise. I always had to move company, and this is in engineering. I’m not in the UK anymore, because I can’t afford to live there frankly. The excuse every year was ‘it’s been a tough year!’
AdStreet8083@reddit
Working to live? Working to not drown mate, everyone and everything in this world is taking more and more.. But nobody is giving more.
teacup901@reddit
This!
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That’s exactly it tbh, feels like people aren’t even working to get ahead anymore just to stay afloat
Maleficent-Win-6520@reddit
I’ve had ups and downs all my life. Nothing really changes.
escapingfromelba@reddit
No, all good this end. And whilst unemployment has hit in my wider social group (ranting about how firms treat people applying for jobs is for another day), the vast majority are doing fine.
OffensiveOcelot@reddit
I feel like the vast majority of those saying “work to live” don’t actually mean that, but mean “work to survive”.
Working to live means you only work enough to have the lifestyle you want - I.e. you put your lifestyle I experiences as the priority & do what you need to do in order to achieve them. This is not the same as having no choice but to work as much as possible just to survive & live your life
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That’s actually a really good distinction tbh. A lot of people probably say “work to live” when really they mean “work just to stay above water”
thelaughingman_1991@reddit
Working to live. Fully remote and my hours are 8:30am-4:30pm. I'm considering condensing my hours down to 4 days soon as well, which my line manager seems happy with.
I'm not earning a huge amount but my work life balance is the best it's ever been.
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That sounds ideal tbh, not huge money but enough time and energy left to actually enjoy your life seems worth a lot
brinz1@reddit
Working to leave
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That’s a good way of putting it tbf, working with an escape plan feels very different to just surviving month to month
Tuskn@reddit
This isn't living.
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That’s kind of what I was getting at tbh, feels like a lot of people are existing rather than actually living
dbxp@reddit
Pretty chill, my lifestyle creep since being a student a decade ago has been relatively modest, the only major change has been my housing
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That’s probably one of the better positions to be in tbh, modest expectations seems to protect people from a lot of stress
South-Visual3803@reddit
I’m still looking for a job whilst trying to balance creating a new ‘self’.
I miss working so much and I hope I can join everyone in this normal life experience (weird statement I know)
Keep crushing it
Namerakable@reddit
At the moment, living to work. Been considering putting in my notice without another job in place because I hate my current job so much.
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That’s when you know it’s getting bad tbh, when leaving with no plan starts sounding more peaceful than staying
mweavs21@reddit
Living to work.
Interpreting this slightly differently but I’m going through a break-up which has really impacted my mental health, caused me to start anti-depressants etc. Having a structure to my day by going to work, talking to my team, getting stuck into tasks is the only thing getting me through right now. I actually dread the days where I’m not working as despite the fact I can distract myself, it’s still prime thinking time and weekends just remind me of time with my partner.
So yeah… I wouldn’t say I LOVE my job, but it’s definitely helping me survive right now.
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That actually makes a lot of sense tbh. Sometimes work isn’t the thing you love, it’s just the thing keeping you anchored when everything else feels a bit all over the place
No_Doughnut_3315@reddit
Who said middle age was 50? I've always thought of people in their late 30's/early 40's as middle aged.
SemtaCert@reddit
Anyone who comes on here and says they are doing well will get downvoted.
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
Everyone seems to be in the same position right now but it would be kind of nice for some hope
SemtaCert@reddit
Me and my partner and doing very well statistically. But nobody here wants to hear about people doing well as they just downvote.
TlmaoT@reddit
Haha true, you’re in the best case scenario with two incomes tho. A lot of the people on here will be single and struggling can’t move out on a single income anymore
letsgetevil66@reddit
I was actually enjoying life a month ago .. then I Lost my job due to staff cuts then two days later got an eviction notice from my landlord letting me know he’s selling my home .. struggling to find a job in my area now. So just existing in a state of panic not knowing what’s next.
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That’s awful timing, sorry you’re dealing with all that at once. Hope something gives for you soon
letsgetevil66@reddit
Thankyou , learning to live day by day has helped . Knock backs teaches us resilience . things I’ve learnt - don’t ever get too comfortable , always have a back up plan , and 99% of people you think will be by your side in times of need won’t be .
POWERCAKE91@reddit
Somehow neither. I could quit my job (which I hate) but I would run through my savings in not too long. At least I'm a little bit comfortable, but I don't go out much or do much.
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That’s kind of the trap isn’t it, not miserable enough to blow it all up but not happy enough to feel settled either
POWERCAKE91@reddit
Yup, sometimes I think of the regret if I just died tomorrow with all of my savings sitting there. I have hobbies I'd like to chase, but they won't necessarily pay the bills.
Crafty_Eye6235@reddit
I feel like I’m working so my son can live, (better than I have.)
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That’s a very real answer tbf, and probably one of the most meaningful reasons to keep going
Competitive_Test6697@reddit
1whoisconcerned@reddit
At this point I feel like I’m working time pay off all funeral expenses.
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
I was talking to a cleaner in work who was saying she is currently paying towards her funeral costs so her family doesn’t have to when she dies. It was sad to hear but also very real
SituationMundane5452@reddit
Working to pay for petrol to put in my car to get to work to pay to put petrol in my car
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
The UK economy in one sentence 😭
hunsnet457@reddit
Neither. I’m doing both to simply exist until something changes.
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
Feels like that sums up the mood of half the country at the minute
Independent-Bid915@reddit
Yeah, the burnout is real in my line of work. I run a software development department, 6 teams. 2 of the team leaders have been off on long term sick due to stress, and I think I am headed that way too.
It’s a conundrum I can never quite land fully on one side or the other of, I get paid a decent amount on paper, but not when weighed against the responsibility I have inherited over the past couple of years. Sonwhilst o try to be up beat and thankful as I know a lot of people are struggling to get by, I equally feel very undervalued and overworked.
VegetableMix3751@reddit (OP)
That’s brutal mate. Feels like a lot of people are stuck in that middle ground where it looks alright from the outside but actually just feels exhausting.
globetrotter555@reddit
Working to live definitely
Scarred_fish@reddit
I'm living to work to live.
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