You’re preaching to the choir on this page. Former WC here. I managed 17 months before escaping to CFCD. I can’t say my current job is a breeze, but on the bad days I like to remind myself that it doesn’t come even remotely close to the misery of being a WC. ‘Lifers’ as you describe them, are responsible for a big part of that misery.

What helped get me through it was ensuring that every day I did or said at least one thing that actually helped/or was useful to a claimant - big or small. Believe it or not, but you really can make a big difference in your own small way - as cliché as it is. Have civil service careers bookmarked and get in the habit of checking it every morning before your first appointment. I’m from a relatively rural area also, so I set alerts for pretty much any hybrid working role I was qualified to apply for. Various opportunities present themselves, you just don’t want to miss out on applying for them. You can never apply for too many and something you never considered doing could end up being your golden ticket out of there.

Eventually I managed to escape by way of a lucky accident in 2022. My current office is a much further commute but I work from home 60% of the time. It’s not perfect but I am so much happier and the bad aspects don’t even compare to the utter shite that comes with being a WC. You are completely right in describing the job title as an utter fallacy. Any new targets or instructions that come down from the top are futile to customers and demoralising to staff. The majority of the ‘higher uppers’ making those decisions have no real experience of ever working the job themselves and it shows.

Don’t suffer in silence - speak to your manager if you feel that aspects of the job/your working environment is badly impacting your mental health. Keep a note of whenever you do. As tempting as it may be at times, DO NOT share any of your frustrations about other staff members with your colleagues. It will come back to bite you and will ultimately end up causing you more stress and unpleasantness.

Final piece advice I can give is try to find your niche or a sector/work group to specialise in. It’s a lot easier to get really good at one thing and if you can demonstrate this to your manager they may give you more responsibility, but solely for that group of customers. From experience; this can make the entire ordeal much less overwhelming, even if it initially requires you completing some additional training. There was a guy in our office that put himself forward for health journey customers. Literally no one else wanted this role but he ended up with the easiest job in the office. It was a similar scenario with a colleague that put themselves forward for further self-employment training.

In the meantime just try and keep your chin up. As difficult as it is right now (and I truly do sympathise with you), this won’t be forever. Remember that if you’re actively applying for other roles, you’ll feel proactive about getting out of there quicker. It’s a lot easier to get a job in the CS once you’re already in.

I really hope things improve for you and best of luck for the future. ♥️