I am Union protected and am not expected to start work early. At least that is a given.
I work in social services which pays a living wage, sort of. I don't really have any major complaints about the money. Husband has a corporate job that pays a lot more than mine so we are comfortable. But damn this job is hard. Mostly I'm trying to help people who are victims of the pandemic and the resulting economy, and a lot of refugees who have fled horrific conditions on the other side of the world. I don't begrudge any of them anything. I know they would rather not be seeing me.
I remind myself that this work is more rewarding than the corporate jobs I held before, where the money allowed me a fairly luxurious lifestyle by global standards. And the truth is that if they doubled my salary tomorrow it wouldn't make the work any easier. It's all pain and desperation, all the time.
I am just so fucking tired. And I'm old enough to have a calendar with a countdown to my retirement. I must say I am looking forward to it.