I’ve really messed up at work

Shes fuming because last person in the role made it seem like a full time role? I dont think she would be fuming at you for being a team player and raising your extra capacity, if anything I'm sure you will be praised for your honesty

I've just left a workplace where I had similar frustration, I had skills and experience that once they took me on, I wasn't getting to use. I was ultimately left sitting chained to a desk all week and struggling to keep busy just so I could muck in with answering phones, it drove me mad, I was unfulfilled, I felt dread on a Sunday night at what a long, boring week I had ahead. It was seen as a bloody insult when i asked if I could get involved with more stuff!

I was in that job for 18 months and I always felt unsettled, unhappy and worried for the future because I could not hack the idea of being in that job for the rest of my working life.

People on here criticise that we paint ourselves as somebody to be made redundant by highlighting that we could take on more but if our task allocation is so limited that we have nothing to do most of the time, it does make us vulnerable to redundancy because they aren't stupid, employers can gauge what workload you have a week!

And you can't just sit there in the office writing a novel or running and eBay shop!

I had a job like that in the civil service. They upgraded it from HEO to G7 and managed me out. My replacement went on maternity leave as soon as she took over and they didn’t replace her while she was away.

100% this

Idk why you moaned about being paid to do nothing and made your boss look foolish for hiring you in the first place but no you’re not unreasonable

My first instinct when. I read your post was that she might be threatened by you. I could be right. Is she wanting to keep you in a little underachieving box so that you get bored and demoralised, and leave I wonder? Just my thoughts!

Could be this too 👍

Then spend one day a week doing the job, stay quiet about it and enjoy the rest of your free time

I had a line manager like this once. It was unbearable not having enough work to do and if I’d volunteer for things, she’d overrule me and tell them that her department didn’t have capacity to take anything on. It was utterly bizarre. I think her main worry was that we’d take on too much, fail to deliver it and that would make her look bad. I got out from under her as quickly as possible.

Doesn't surprise me. I have worked in many positions in my life including the NHS (generally hard working people). When I worked a role for the local town and city council, I have never seen so many bone idle people. The managers were the worst. It was an eye opener. I was the same, I had to try and make an hours stretch 8 hours. I hated the job too as the places were often toxic.

Also in public sector - my current job isn’t a full time one and in the past it has been done at a higher grade (which also annoys me). I’ve raised this several times with my manager to find me something else to do but no joy so far so I have gone and found myself other things to keep me occupied. I’ve spent way too long sitting doing nothing and volunteering for things that no-one else will when I could be useful elsewhere.

This is not a you problem-they need to find you something to do and if they can’t, look elsewhere.

Ah you have upset the apple cart by pointing out you could do more! It shines a light on everyone not doing more! It’s a typical thing.

I worked in a government job when I was 22. We had a team of 8 people. The work each day literally took 20 minutes. The rest of the day we tried to look busy. Even worse, it was flexi time so many stayed late each evening to build up their flexi time for days off! It was soooooo boring! But the government had to justify the jobs so we all pretended and spent all day every day gossiping. Or going to the store cupboard for paper/staples/paper clips etc to chat with the poor guy who had the full time job of managing the stationery cupboard. We also stopped off several times a day to the post room where another guy spent a full time job franking 100 pieces of mail per week…

You are showing them up by being too ambitious!

My suspicion is that she's concerned that you might be making others look bad......

It’s mad that OP’s managers aren’t just happy they can manage workload across all teams better with some re-jigging. Speaks to a really toxic workplace.

When my new accountant sorted out some automated reports I was thrilled with the time savings. She’s clearly more able than her predecessor so I’ve just loaded her up and freed up some of my time (which in turn my boss has filled.

As a taxpayer this makes me so angry. You have done nothing wrong, you've just brought a private sector attitude to a public sector role. Your manager feels threatened because they are probably not working very hard but are quite happy to fly under the radar. It's ultimately a question of whether you can work/live like that without being completely drained by the apathy.

Why are you responding with an attitude?

Please consider leaving the public sector. What you did was excellent. The world needs people who are ambitious with what they can do with their time. The public sector does not reward this.

Is it one of those places where you only do your own work, you don't help anyone else unless your manager says so, or their manager tells them to tell you?

When i joined local government decades ago, I was taken aside by an older guy who told me I was working to fast and that I needed to slow down, build up work in my intray to get promoted because Id need an assistant. I told him I thought that was so dumb and I wasnt going to do that. I carried on working hard, going beyond my role etc. 2 years later, after a couple of promotions, I was promoted to a head of service roll at the ripe old age of 24yo.

I have never heard anything as dumb as what I was told by that older guy since, until I read your post @ohbuggera I think you need to position this so your manager and her boss are not shown to be incompetent - play to your capabilities - you've sussed out how to do the job efficiently that's a good thing and reflects well on them both because they appointed you. Talk about how you can support others who have too much on. You're not then taking over a different job, but you're helping the team to stay afloat and feel less pressured - again reflecting well on them.
Both managers may be feeling a bit duped by the previous person which might be the cause of the reaction, but that is not on yiu. You have done nothing at all.

I hope it goes well.

Jeez, you'd think they'd be delighted at your being so engaged and pro-active.

You've come in and fairly new to the public sector and have said 'hey I can do this in 20% of the time, what's next' Your manager and 'big' manager will be questioned over this and what the layabout before you did, so of course they're angry. You've just exposed them unwittingly about their own incompetence. Not your problem obviously but be careful. And if I knew now what I wished I had known as a fledging in my early career, I'd too be taking a 20% job and make it look full time. The more you ask for, the more they'll give you and give you, and give you until you burnout, tread wisely

Oh I have experience of this

turned out my role was created by my boss who was an expert in pretending to be busy. she did this so well a role was created for a junior business analyst to work full time with her.

I actually had zero work as she guarded the small amount of client with she had with her life. I just was too “look busy”

i ended up asking other people in the department if they needed help with anything “in case I had spare time” (haha)

long story short, I ended up losing that “job” but my boss remained in situ

some people make a career out of literally pretending to work

nobody likes to be called out

your comment basically is calling out you manager that she’s had not noticed your predecessor was a faker…. That does not reflect well on her…

hope it works out ok

don't know how you should approach it but I think your instinct that boss is 'furious' because she's been exposed is probably correct.

i would tread carefully in meeting. my boss is an absolute expert in skiving - if asked to do something he will come up with a question or condition that means it goes back to the person asking then quietly dies in someone's inbox; he works from home 'sick' a lot so he's not there but you know he's sick so you don't hassle him too much, still collects a pay and doesn't use up his sick leave, team members also work from home sick constantly, I can't really see what any of the do tbh.

I am busy but much prefer it. I would look around but I can't imagine your position is unsafe at this point, you've asked for more work, how can they sack you for that?

I do find it frustrating though how much people take the piss. I work on an organisation that is there to help people who really need it and the amount of money being wasted on these people's salaries is actually at a whistleblower level of scamming. In fact the HR manager asked me to update the whistleblower policy recently and I wonder if she was giving me a nudge.

Honestly I find the responses like this that you’ve experienced just a bit mental. If you can do your work in 1/5 of the time planned what an amazing results share the learning with others and take more on would be my take as a boss. This is bananas that people feel threatened by efficiency and high performance. Good on you for giving it your all and highlighting opportunities for improvement - your boss should be thanking you. I know I would.

If this is civil service it’s pretty standard. I know several people who are bored rigid as they have so little to do in their management roles especially those who ‘work from home’ but in technically in head office.
their managers don’t want to know as it reflects badly on them. In my experience, the civil service is incredibly top heavy with management who have very little to do except have meetings with each other.