to ask if anyone else is half-arsing their job?

[Spacemannn]

I work full time with two pre-schoolers (due to my part-time working request being declined). I get paid well (although not mumsnet well) for a mid-senior job, with no line management, but the bulk of my salary goes on childcare.

Since having my second child, I just cba anymore. I used to be such a perfectionist and always go above and beyond, but I just don't care as much anymore. I work hybrid, and on my WFH days I'm trying to squeeze in as many chores/life admin as poss in between tasks.

Is anyone else like this? Does it matter? I switch between feeling guilty, and then feeling like as long as I'm getting the work done and doing an ok job, that's fine? I still get paid the same whether I put in 70% effort or 100% effort. There are no promotion opportunities on the horizon, and I don't think I'd want the extra responsibility at the moment anyway.

Any tips for working smarter not harder? I'm organised, responsive and quick, so I don't think it's a case of me not adding value to the company...

I don't see what the problem is. How long have you been there? Was your last appraisal ok?
I work from home 1 day a week, I put eufy on, I put a wash on, I hang a wash out. I get a meal out of the freezer or batch cook a chilli/curry/spag Bol. This probably means I'm working 10? minutes less than normal. My CEO is happy with me. What's the issue?

I think you're very wise. I really want to step back from giving it all to an employer who just takes, takes, takes for an average salary and zero perks.

Me too.
Someone new has joined the team this week and today I thought "Oh I must check in with her and make sure she's OK, is making good progress with her onboarding and is settling in OK".
Then I thought, I'm not even her line manager, and her ACTUAL line manager hasn't given a thought to this.
So I didn't bother 🤷🏼‍♀️

I work in the public sector and always used to be bemused by my older colleagues, as they very clearly couldn’t be arsed and were blatantly coasting to retirement. Now I’m in my mid-forties, I feel exactly the same as them. I used to care a great deal about being super-efficient, going over and above, having a solid reputation as someone that gets the job done. Do you know where that got me? Nowhere. If anything, it made my life harder because people bypass my useless colleagues and come direct to me for things that aren’t my remit. I’m an introvert and believe I’ve reached the ceiling of what I can achieve in my workplace, so there’s no great promotion to work towards.

Since WFH full-time I have really taken my foot off the gas. I do the bare minimum and push back more on things I don’t think I should have to do. It’s given me a much more pleasant work-life balance. When I have work to do, I do it. My job is quite seasonal and rarely fits neatly into a 9-5 regime, so sometimes I’ll do 12-hour days and sometimes I’ll do 2-hour days. It probably all balances out across the year.

However, I still think I’m more productive at home than in the office. I used to hear certain people gas-bagging the whole day long and definitely not doing any work. Just because someone’s in the office, it doesn’t mean they’re being productive. A colleague in my team does nothing whatsoever. If you send her an email, she’ll take over a week to reply so that she gives the illusion that she’s busy. Looking busy when you have nothing to do is quite the art form. I’m just glad I don’t have to sit idling in the office during my quiet periods.

Just to add that during my quiet periods, I would routinely take on work from other people in my team. How many of them do you think ever asked if they could help me with my workload, even once? I'm sure you can guess.

As long you actually do your work and meet targets / deadlines what’s the problem?

In a previous job, I went above and beyond (pretty much did my manager’s role) and was promised a big promotion! Guess what? I was passed over! Looking back I guess I was the wrong personality.

But after that, I try to do what I’m supposed to do and not go beyond. If my employers want that, they can pay me more.

In my current role, you get some very busy patches and very quiet patches. There’s also no opportunity for promotions (I’ve seen the head manager openly say with glee how he’ll try to pile on the work to lower paid, junior employees).

I always make out I’m super busy (because if you say your free, you just get more work heaped on you. There’s no reward for doing more).

And I always meet targets & deadlines, help out colleagues and there’s no complaints about my work.

I actually did start setting up some office procedures in place, but that’s because I was in the office and ran out of stuff to do!

All the people who work in jobs that can’t be done from home who ‘half arse it’ are prob put on improvement plans. Can’t imagine an A&E doctor half arsing it, or a cardiac surgeon, or that nurse looking after that ventilated patient….only those wfh, who say they perform so much better than when they are in the office, they then get told they are needed to be back in the office… 😢 heartbreaking

Absolutely! Employers will replace you in a heartbeat!

@NCNC4

You sound very much like me (also public sector). I used to go above and beyond and all that happened was I got more work dumped on me! Everyone knew if they gave it to me it would get done. I ended up burnt out. I took a lower role wfh, very low stress, now my life is actually enjoyable! Or should I say I actually have a life now!

Yep. They'll happily let you run yourself into the ground. People have started reporting to me. I'm not their line manager so I redirect them every time.

I wouldn’t worry about it so long as your boss / employer is happy. Plenty of men do this and don’t see a problem with it.

Feeling is mutual.

How to work smarter not harder??
Do the work, wait an hour, then send it to your boss/next in the process.

If they think it took two hours but it only took one, then so be it.

My 9 year old son pointed this out: 'Mum, at school there's no point finishing the work early, because they just give you MORE!'

Indeed. There's always more

"I go into the office about half of the week and find that so much time is wasted making coffee and talking to other people about their work. It's sort of productive in that it's collective problem solving"

Well exactly. That interaction is part of your job.
Getting to know your colleagues is part of your job.
Getting to find out what is happening in your office is part of your job.
So you are doing your work when you do that. People who wfh to avoid talking to their colleagues including answering requests for information are not working in a collaborative way, are they?
(not arguing that everyone should work at the office all the time, just pointing out the hypocrisy of some of the arguments for wfh.

This isn't really how it works in academia/research.

I wonder whether wfh works better for those fields.

For my last job one eighth arsing would have been a more accurate description.

I don't think the half-arsing and the WFH are neccessarily related.

The most dossing about that I've ever done in my career has been in the office where, in my younger days, I:

• regularly marched with a sense of purpose, wad of paperwork in hand, and went and sat for an hour at a time in an empty stairwell in our office building
• had so little to do in one role that I regularly copied content from one fabricated spreadsheet to another, to look like I was doing something, deleted it out, then did the whole thing over again.

Then later on in my career, in a major corporate, where I only ever got glowing feedback, discretionary bonuses and 'excellent' ratings in my appraisals, I would regularly book out a meeting room, position my screen so that it couldn't be seen from anyone outside the room, and would plan our next holiday, browse the internet or make long calls to my husband.

I'm always flat out in my current role, but there is SO much pissing around that goes on in a lot of offices.

And your and previous posters' references to surgeons, nurses and paramedics are surprising.
Should middle managers in marketing, HR or PR hold themselves to the same standards as medical professionals who perform a lifesaving role? I think they'd be extremely deluded to do so!

I firmly believe that all the people on this thread telling you off for not working hard enough are just extremely inefficient

Considering the state the state the NHS is in I think we can put a general exclusion around those workers for quiet quitting. although I am sure there are some who manage it. Bit of an odd example to use really.

I work even less in the office than when I am at home to be honest. I might not get away with an afternoon nap, but I can chat holidays for an hour or two to different people. I will walk up to the shops and back in work time to go and get some milk and biscuits.

You are not understanding that most of us who "half arse it" are meeting/exceeding our objectives. I am considered a high achiever. I could do loads more than I do, but why should I if I am going to be paid the same as people who can only reach my output working flat out? No chance whatsoever I would be put on any kind of improvement plan.

OP said in her first post "I'm getting the work done and doing an ok job" so no one should be telling her off.

If people are not working the hours they are contracted to work then they're either taking the piss i.e. not working as expected or they are being poorly managed.

Everyone should be efficient (at least) in their job. If being efficient means you're able to get the job done in 1/2 the time then you should be taking on more, not just regarding it as time off.

I feel like that as a teacher at the moment.

My lessons are ok but they're not all bells and whistles at the moment because I just can't be arsed.
They're good enough though, and that's all that matters.
I make sure I'm as 100% as I can be with things like safeguarding etc of course but I can't be 100% everything all the time, or I'd burn out.

I suppose too many teachers try this and end up burning out.

maybe not half arseing but definitely 3/4 arseing.

last year worked really hard, didn't take all my leave, not a day off sick, etc. closed the most 'cases' in my job role. Only consequence was that I was given more cases, and more complex and thus awkward cases. Because it's public sector got absolutely no financial reward or even recognition for it - only consequence was I got incredibly stressed doing twice as much work as my colleagues. Meanwhile those off sick for half the year/closing half as many cases as me were getting paid more, due to being higher on the increment scale. So yeah I've absolutely dialled it down this year, and spend a good hour or two a day doing my household chores or whatever. Still achieving as much/slightly more than 'average'.

For those saying 'they will work out you're not doing as much wfh and get rid'...hollow laugh. Again - public sector. It's nigh on impossible to get sacked, or even penalised. My last job someone watched porn and wanked in the office in working hours and then slept there when his wife chucked him out - barely merited a warning.

My last job someone watched porn and wanked in the office in working hours and then slept there when his wife chucked him out - barely merited a warning

😱

I'm just as bothered about doing a good job when wfh. I've just replaced a chat over coffee or time spent travelling with some things around the house, such as putting in and taking out washing. Instead of it all being at weekends.

I'm more productive at home than in the office, but absolutely not giving 100% effort and haven't for quite some time.

My employer has good flexibility, but it's always hanging over you that it could be removed. There's no promotion opportunities and no recognition for good work. Payrises are a joke.

I'm going to sound like a knob, but I know I'm better at the job than my colleagues (at least 90% of them, I don't know enough about how the remaining 10% work). I'm already doing more/better than them even though I'm not giving 100%. Why should I bother when management don't deal with those that aren't performing, and give us all the same annual review grade. I used to try harder, I don't now.

@Spacemannn I'm always trying to work smarter not harder, and free up time for myself. It's my secret motto.
Take a look at your procedures - the things you do day in day out, and see if there is anywhere you can cut time.
Can things be done at the start of the process to make things easier at the end?
I like to use data that already exists in the business, rather than having to reproduce that data myself. I have asked the developer of our system for better reports, delivered automatically.
I do have line manager responsibilities, and I hand over as much as possible to my team....early effort in training them - but it makes me look like a better manager, things still run smoothly while I'm away and my team are developing skills and experience. I don't hand over key line manager tasks (staff catch ups, disciplinary or difficult conversations).
Group similar types of tasks together, then blitz them - or train someone to do them and hand them over as practice.

Key points:

make sure you're not pissing people off by doing less work than you could be - there's a fine line between handing over responsibility for tasks and others having to do your job for you.

Know which emails/calls to respond to quickly.

Yep me everyday. I get it done eventually but I absolutely am not going above and beyond or staying late.