The "I'm not doing so well" thread

[Jamesbike]

Embers feeling sorry for herself after the snip.

Didn't last long as she's bouncing around again eating everything.

 

[Jamesbike]

I find my mental health suffers when I can't cope at work.

ATM I feel like I'm doing three jobs and Caint do any if them properly.
One involves running a charity, I feel like I've been set up to fail and the other trustees don't take much responsibility, another is being part of an NHS practice but working for a CVS who want me to do stuff which I feel isn't right from a gdpr point of view.

Finally I've got groups to run and organise. I often say I'm no difference from my clients except having a hoodie!

 

[fiendish feet]

 

[2manyoranges]

I find my mental health suffers when I can't cope at work.

ATM I feel like I'm doing three jobs and Caint do any if them properly.
One involves running a charity, I feel like I've been set up to fail and the other trustees don't take much responsibility, another is being part of an NHS practice but working for a CVS who want me to do stuff which I feel isn't right from a gdpr point of view.

Finally I've got groups to run and organise. I often say I'm no difference from my clients except having a hoodie!

I’m endlessly impressed by people in the caring professions at present - service users needs have escalated following Lockdown and front line staff are doing such an amazing job - sounds like you are too….

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

Feeling grim. Had my covid booster earlier and feel a bit headachy and my limbs are leaden. Bruce the lab can sense his Dad isn't right and is cuddled up to me.

Still, its a win-win. If im feeling better tomorrow, then great. If not then I can swerve off cutting the grass. Every cloud.

 

[grahame]

Kind of preemptive post here:
I am a university lecturer. Have been for about 17 years after returning from a career in industry. I lecture in Manufacturing Engineering, and for most of the 17 years it has been a pretty "sweet" gig. Busy, but fun and manageable. The institution I work for has a "target Student:Staff Ratio" of 18 - 20:1. Across the courses I lecture, my personal effective SSR this year is 77:1*, almost all of them "overseas" students studying at post-graduate level. This means my teaching activity is worth about £850,000 in student fees to my employer. There is a policy in place that coursework will be marked and returned to students with meaningful, personalised feedback within 3 weeks of the submission deadline.

One of the lecture series I teach is assessed by a piece of design coursework and a written exam. Each of these take about 30 minutes per student to mark. The lecture series has 370 students registered on it. So, I will have 185 hours of marking to do in 105 working hours (the University is quite clear that I only work 7 hours per day, as part of its annual leave policy) for each of the assessments whilst also lecturing, tutoring, researching, etc. This clearly doesn't fit, and causes me massive stress. Last year, my classes were slightly smaller and the deadlines for marking drove me to despair. I have told the Vice Chancellor of my concerns, but felt I was "batted away". The institution won't recruit staff on post-graduate student numbers because "they are only here for one year."

I expect to post again in November when the first peak of marking hits, and again in January when I will have two exams to mark, meaning about 250 hour of marking to do and a "hard deadline" to submit the marks within 3 weeks to keep the administration system "happy". January may see me contemplating "serious and possibly irreversible action" as my brain tells me that is the only way out of the situation.
Thanks for "listening". If/when I post in November/December January in despair, please do try to "talk me down".


*Student Staff Ratio calculation: full time students study 120 credits in a year (usually 8 x 15 credit courses). So 1 student on a 15 credit course is 1/8 of a full time equivalent student. This year I am lecturing 5 courses with a total of 622 students, so 622/8 is just over 77 full time equivalent students.

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

^^^ you have my sympathies, my wife is a Uni lecturer (degree & post grad) and she sees the same issues. It's no joke.

I've been having 'wobbles' lately. I was 'given' a 'promotion' earlier this year as my boss is on secondment for 18 months. "We need you to do it as you're the only person with the skills. As it's temporary we won't adjust your pay - it's a development opportunity. Also, we can't fill your role, so you'll be doing that too. We also expect you to complete an apprenticeship during that period. K?Thnx."

only 9 months left.

"Good news; the secondment has been extended by a year"

Terrific.

 

[Stressed]

Kind of preemptive post here:
I am a university lecturer. Have been for about 17 years after returning from a career in industry. I lecture in Manufacturing Engineering, and for most of the 17 years it has been a pretty "sweet" gig. Busy, but fun and manageable. The institution I work for has a "target Student:Staff Ratio" of 18 - 20:1. Across the courses I lecture, my personal effective SSR this year is 77:1*, almost all of them "overseas" students studying at post-graduate level. This means my teaching activity is worth about £850,000 in student fees to my employer. There is a policy in place that coursework will be marked and returned to students with meaningful, personalised feedback within 3 weeks of the submission deadline.

One of the lecture series I teach is assessed by a piece of design coursework and a written exam. Each of these take about 30 minutes per student to mark. The lecture series has 370 students registered on it. So, I will have 185 hours of marking to do in 105 working hours (the University is quite clear that I only work 7 hours per day, as part of its annual leave policy) for each of the assessments whilst also lecturing, tutoring, researching, etc. This clearly doesn't fit, and causes me massive stress. Last year, my classes were slightly smaller and the deadlines for marking drove me to despair. I have told the Vice Chancellor of my concerns, but felt I was "batted away". The institution won't recruit staff on post-graduate student numbers because "they are only here for one year."

I expect to post again in November when the first peak of marking hits, and again in January when I will have two exams to mark, meaning about 250 hour of marking to do and a "hard deadline" to submit the marks within 3 weeks to keep the administration system "happy". January may see me contemplating "serious and possibly irreversible action" as my brain tells me that is the only way out of the situation.
Thanks for "listening". If/when I post in November/December January in despair, please do try to "talk me down".


*Student Staff Ratio calculation: full time students study 120 credits in a year (usually 8 x 15 credit courses). So 1 student on a 15 credit course is 1/8 of a full time equivalent student. This year I am lecturing 5 courses with a total of 622 students, so 622/8 is just over 77 full time equivalent students.

Sounds like there needs to be some organised industrial action...

 

[FluffyChicken]

^^^ you have my sympathies, my wife is a Uni lecturer (degree & post grad) and she sees the same issues. It's no joke.

I've been having 'wobbles' lately. I was 'given' a 'promotion' earlier this year as my boss is on secondment for 18 months. "We need you to do it as you're the only person with the skills. As it's temporary we won't adjust your pay - it's a development opportunity. Also, we can't fill your role, so you'll be doing that too. We also expect you to complete an apprenticeship during that period. K?Thnx."

only 9 months left.

"Good news; the secondment has been extended by a year"

Terrific.

Sounds like someone needs to say No.
You are allowed.
Let them sort out proper staffing and pay.
They just work on the fact people don't like to say no.
Do it. Say no.
(not specifically aimed at you, many in general, but it does sound like you may need to do it also, otherwise you'll be on a secondment too....)

 

[KermitGKona88]

Kind of preemptive post here:
I am a university lecturer. Have been for about 17 years after returning from a career in industry. I lecture in Manufacturing Engineering, and for most of the 17 years it has been a pretty "sweet" gig. Busy, but fun and manageable. The institution I work for has a "target Student:Staff Ratio" of 18 - 20:1. Across the courses I lecture, my personal effective SSR this year is 77:1*, almost all of them "overseas" students studying at post-graduate level. This means my teaching activity is worth about £850,000 in student fees to my employer. There is a policy in place that coursework will be marked and returned to students with meaningful, personalised feedback within 3 weeks of the submission deadline.

One of the lecture series I teach is assessed by a piece of design coursework and a written exam. Each of these take about 30 minutes per student to mark. The lecture series has 370 students registered on it. So, I will have 185 hours of marking to do in 105 working hours (the University is quite clear that I only work 7 hours per day, as part of its annual leave policy) for each of the assessments whilst also lecturing, tutoring, researching, etc. This clearly doesn't fit, and causes me massive stress. Last year, my classes were slightly smaller and the deadlines for marking drove me to despair. I have told the Vice Chancellor of my concerns, but felt I was "batted away". The institution won't recruit staff on post-graduate student numbers because "they are only here for one year."

I expect to post again in November when the first peak of marking hits, and again in January when I will have two exams to mark, meaning about 250 hour of marking to do and a "hard deadline" to submit the marks within 3 weeks to keep the administration system "happy". January may see me contemplating "serious and possibly irreversible action" as my brain tells me that is the only way out of the situation.
Thanks for "listening". If/when I post in November/December January in despair, please do try to "talk me down".


*Student Staff Ratio calculation: full time students study 120 credits in a year (usually 8 x 15 credit courses). So 1 student on a 15 credit course is 1/8 of a full time equivalent student. This year I am lecturing 5 courses with a total of 622 students, so 622/8 is just over 77 full time equivalent students.

That really sucks, my neighbour is a vocational trainer at a local college for apprentice electricians he is worried about having 30+ students let alone 77. The state of education seems more and more about how much they can push on one person before they crack up completely, it seems more about getting as much money as they can without regard to the human cost. We will be here to support you when crisis kicks in, unlike your management colleagues... Take care and talk as much as you need.