Another really tough problem to deal with in an already bad year

[LaBrava]

As I've talked about in the past here I'm a guy in his 50's who has fallen into the chasm of minimum wage retail work and is just trapped there now, waiting to see if I CTB. The job I was doing is real minimum wage in a bargain basement place, working on the checkout. It was a dead end and very soul destroying. A guy who lives in the same house as me encouraged me to go for a job where he works, a more upmarket place that sells food, not exactly a supermarket. i aced the interview, accepted the job but I had a gut feeling maybe I was making a mistake, but it's more money and hours and a better company.

I've worked there two days and I totally feel I've made a mistake and am just dreading having to start doing stuff unsupervised and so on. It's crazy fast paced and stressful. I was thinking that I just have to tough it out. But the manager at my old job had kept trying to persuade me to stay, and said at the end if I change my mind and want to go back call him. Even though it's only been two days I'm seriously considering it. Even though that job sucked it was just about bearable and I think I could keep going for a while there before CTB - there are a few things I'd like to wait and see how they play out. In this new job I think it might cause me to CTB much sooner.

I should really do what's best for me for once I think. The boss at the new place will be furious, the guy in my house will be pissed, but I need to save myself. People seem to just change back and forth in these minimum wage retail jobs, which is alien to me as I've always been with an employer for years or even decades. One girl did the same move as me and went back because she hated it, which should have been a red flag.

Anyone else had similar experiences? Should I go back to my old crappier but less stressful job?

 

[Morphosis]

I would give it longer than 2 days before making that decision. At the minute you're wanting to choose something that is known and familiar, even though crap.
If you stay in the new job it will eventually become more familiar to you, with better wages on pay day. But either way I think 2 days is way too soon to decide if it's for you or not.
Also the fact you "aced" the interview should give you a bit of confidence?

 

[LaBrava]

Thanks for replying. I'm going to give it another day at least, but my gut is telling me that heading back to the old job may be the best for me. I'm going to talk it over more with a family member. I'm also worried that the option of going back to the old place may go away. I've had this thing in the past where I impress in the interview but it's all a bit of a facade.

 

[Suilven]

Everyone puts up a facade in an interview and most people go into new jobs feeling very similar, if that helps any.

Your gut feeling is worth listening to. However when suffering depression I find it best to not make decisions until some of the dust has cleared and I can think a bit straighter otherwise I tend to want to escape / avoid.

 

[Morphosis]

^^ Good point. Interviews are there to sell yourself and make yourself desirable to the employer... you obviously have that skill whereas many people are crippled by nerves. So that's a point in your favour that you have the skills for interviewing successfully. Of course it's a facade, employers know that. But they look more at your ability to communicate and body language and things.
Follow your gut but make sure you are going back for the right reasons and not just because of fear of the unknown. Because the unknown will become known and familiar after a while. Also sounds like your previous boss would take you back anytime so no rush.