I was made redundant, back in 2005, at the age of 57. I was a member of two professional societies. One told me that I was too old to get another job in my chosen field and the other didn't even bother to reply to my email telling them that my circumstances had changed (even though I had done unpaid work for them when employed); I cancelled my subscriptions.

I applied for loads of jobs and finally got one in a call centre. I hated every minute of that and resigned after 3 months.

I did voluntary work at my local museum for a while, but, would you believe, they have now cut back on volunteers? They don't even want me to work for them for free!!

Luckily, it's not all 'doom-and-gloom'. I get a small pension from my previous job and they gave me a fairly generous redundancy payout. I have no dependents and my mortgage is nearly paid off. I have just drastically reduced my spending and get lots of exercise and fresh air.

Most modern organisations appear to be dysfunctional and mainly run for the benefit of their senior managements ... oh yes, and shareholders. Workforces are expendable. Why do we put up with that?