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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you’re in a highly paid job but do very little…

254 replies

Workbutba · 01/12/2023 12:07

Do you feel uncomfortable or worried? I earn over 60k. I know this isn’t loads but it’s obviously decent. Some days I do very little. That said there are times I will work a whole weekend or very late night so perhaps it evens out. But on Wednesday for example, I sent two emails and had two calls and then had a bath and tidied the house. I used to feel anxious about it/job security and was always asking my manager for more work etc but they are relaxed and say it ebbs and flows, which it does I suppose. The company makes big profits generally.

Is this common? I now have a dc so I worry even more about job security. I have a friend in a different industry who earns similar in management and she has days she can be on the phone to me for 3 hours and it doesn’t matter. I wonder how common this really is?!

OP posts:
Johnnyfartpants · 01/12/2023 12:09

I am in the same position, earn six figures but believe that I could do my job in one day a week, if not less. Like you at the start I would get worried, but all the feedback is excellent and positive, and I think next year will pick up a bit, so I am trying to lean into it at the moment.

ShirleyPhallus · 01/12/2023 12:11

I am on 6 figures and it really depends. I am mostly project based so right now, for example, I have finished a project and waiting for the next one to start.

hence being able to MN at midday ;)

ComtesseDeSpair · 01/12/2023 12:11

Not really. Whilst my job is essentially a 9-5 one, the unspoken reality is that what I’m actually valued and paid for are my occasional moments of brilliance where I can provide technical legal guidance on or jurisdictional context to an issue which results in the company saving itself hundreds of thousands of pounds and a lot of reputational damage. Once I accepted that, any guilt over not being fully present for every hour of the day quickly subsided. And nowadays, I think a lot of relatively senior jobs are somewhat like this.

As long as you’re fulfilling your role, and unless you’re keen to press for extra responsibilities or to add value, it’s fine to do as you are.

Original poster
Workbutba · 01/12/2023 12:12

@Johnnyfartpants yes I used to worry so so much but then I know people more senior to me do even less. I definitely worked much harder when I earned half my salary. It’s so odd!

OP posts:
Original poster
Workbutba · 01/12/2023 12:13

@ComtesseDeSpair that’s a good point. When I am needed I do pull out all the stops and perhaps that’s where the value is more than a constant worksream.

OP posts:
Work2live · 01/12/2023 12:28

Similar here, I earn £70k and have huge peaks and troughs.

This week I've actually been quite busy, but other times I literally do about 5-10 hours' work all week. I do worry about it, but similar to pp, I get good feedback and my manager knows I have some quieter periods. She doesn't seem concerned.

Voodoochile · 01/12/2023 12:29

Similar here. I don’t work that many hours in truth, but when the excretion hits the extractor I am the person who steps in and leads the resolution. Sometime that can be a few weeks of international travel and brutal 80 hours a week bursts but mostly I log on for an hour or two a day. Most of the hours I do work is mentoring people into making decisions that keeps shit and fans as far apart as possible.

i am considered hugely valuable to the organisation, that they are lucky to have me and that I am a significant competitive advantage in their marketplace. I guess I am being paid for my 30 years of experience rather than for my current hours.

ActDottie · 01/12/2023 12:40

Yanbu

I earn £75k and still junior in my role. My job isn’t quite as quiet as yours but it’s definitely not as full on as I thought it would be for the money.

It’s sad because there is a massive disparity with my friends who work in childcare on much lower wages and their jobs are so full on and mine seems so calm and easy in comparison.

Vuurhoutjies · 01/12/2023 12:41

This might be a WFH situation. I used to work in the City. Well paid, busy job. But the truth is that there WERE days when I wasn't busy. When things were up to date and there were no deadlines and the phones weren't ringing. I never felt bad though as I had to sit at the office anyway. The best I could hope for was to do a bit of internet scrolling, MN or book my next holiday.

Of course, when things were crazy and I was working 60 hour weeks, my employers never felt guilty at all either.

These days, when you have days like that, you use it to read a book or do the cleaning or meet a friend for coffee. So it's easier to feel guilty but it's bollocks because at other times, you're crazy busy.

Also, a LOT of jobs are about being available. I'm a consultant now and I charge some of my clients a retainer. The ones who expect me to be "on call" and responsive and to pretty much turn every single piece of work around instantly - they get charged a much higher retainer vs the number of hours I actually do. That's because if I think I'm set for a quiet too days and plan accordingly, it can all be completely derailed by them. And they have to pay for that privilege.

Vuurhoutjies · 01/12/2023 12:43

Also, I hate to say this because it annoys me so much that really valuable jobs are badly paid, but there's also the truth that if you have specific skills, you don't have to be as busy to add value - the point is that when your employer needs those skills, they are available.

Hamburgler666 · 01/12/2023 12:43

I don't earn as much as some, just under 60k, but yes I also feel this way!

I can have periods of busyness, but generally only for an hour or two at a time. Certainly not rushed off my feet by any stretch! I think my full time job could easily be done in two days per week.

I do feel guilty at times but it's just the nature of the job. I work to a high standard and get everything done so there isn't really anything else I can do!

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 01/12/2023 12:44

I earn about 80k and I have peaks and troughs . My job can be very stressful and busy, but equally I can usually make sure my life fits in.

Brewlover40 · 01/12/2023 12:45

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at poster's request.

blabla2023 · 01/12/2023 12:48

I have absolutely insane days, and (mainly) very quiet ones.
I’m paid for my expertise, and to prevent the crazy situations. If the proverbial hits the fan, i’m the one to create a solution.
I don’t need to be busy - actually, if i were busy every day, I would get fired as that would mean i’m crap at my job.

senua · 01/12/2023 12:50

Isn't it like being an airline pilot? Most of the cruising is done by autopilot; the proper pilot comes into their own at the tricky times i.e. lift-off and touch-down or in an emergency.

senua · 01/12/2023 12:57

Also, didn't Adam Kay find this in his book This is Going to Hurt? He used to moan about consultants living on the golf course and only drifting in on Friday afternoons. Then he had to act-up. He was now the one making life-and-death decisions and found that he couldn't hack it. He had a breakdown and left the NHS.

Boredboredbo · 01/12/2023 13:02

Yep 🙋‍♀️. I was WFH earning similar for a large company with (as I saw it compared to other jobs I’d had) very little to do. I also got the guilt feeling when I saw other parents of similar age children rushed off their feet with the juggle, and also tried to convince myself for a year that it wasn’t my fault, it was great and I’m lucky as I have a good work life balance can do the laundry in the day etc. however, I was increasingly lonely, unmotivated, bored and not bought into the company, you get in a sort of spiral where the less work you have to do, the less you feel motivated to do the little work you do have IYSWIM. I also started feeling resentful that i was paying so much for youngest DC to be in nursery when they might as well be at home with me haha. I’ve now taken redundancy and will be starting a new role that is actually slightly lower paid, but still remote and the type of work it is means I will hopefully be busier and it will be more rewarding.

JustTellMeNow · 01/12/2023 13:18

Yes me. Unfortunately my boss cottoned on and has reduced my role to 3 days a week.

Sconehenge · 01/12/2023 13:19

I’m on 80k and am definitely not worked off my feet. In quieter times I have a bad habit of procrastinating the small number of tasks so that all my hours are spend miserable - I’m working on getting everything done at the start of the week or day so that I can actually enjoy the down time rather than feel bad. I much prefer my busy weeks as I feel like I am smashing it! Right now in the year in the lead up to Xmas is particularly quiet for me. I have like 3 admin tasks to do that I have put off all week!

I could technically get started on strategic planning for next year but I have trouble doing things when there is no urgency.

My role is very self led as I am the subject expert so it requires a lot of intrinsic motivation. I’m quite annoyed at my company this week for letting go of a brilliant staff member so I am finding it very hard to get motivated.

minipie · 01/12/2023 13:24

I was in this position. I had been very busy but we then went through a quiet patch. Unfortunately my manager decided to create a whole load of admin style busywork to fill the space . I ended up resigning - for many reasons but this was one of them. I don’t mind doing work at all but it needs to be real work that I was hired for, not invented admin which isn’t my role at all.

BitchBrigade · 01/12/2023 13:39

I am finding the more I get paid the less I actually have to do. That said, the things I DO have to do I am absolutely held accountable for and if it goes wrong it's on me.

It's not to say my low paid job (Carer) wasn't important but I wasn't accountable in the same way a nurse was if shit hit the fan. I have now found as I worked my way up into the corporate side of things that there is a reason most of these roles are paid a boatload more. Of course some ARE vastly overpaid for what they do, but I find the majority are actually quite high pressure when it is your job and your reputation at stake when shit goes south.

AmazingSnakeHead · 01/12/2023 13:49

Nice numble brag thread.

But no, this is normal even in jobs that pay half your salary. Even in minimum wage jobs, believe it or not, there will be days that are busier than others.

Trevorton · 01/12/2023 13:50

Yep, I earn 95k and do very little some weeks. Although it is peaks and troughs and sometimes I am "normally" busy in so much as I can fill in a 9-5pm day. However, like many others my skill is based on 30 years experience in a very niche industry and bringing that experience to the table when it is needed. This is far more valuable to the company than keeping me busy for the sake of it. I do sometimes feel guilt, but then when I resolve something relatively quickly that it might take someone months to sort makes me feel less guilty.

Original poster
Workbutba · 01/12/2023 13:55

AmazingSnakeHead · 01/12/2023 13:49

Nice numble brag thread.

But no, this is normal even in jobs that pay half your salary. Even in minimum wage jobs, believe it or not, there will be days that are busier than others.

@AmazingSnakeHead what an odd post. Being busier than other days isn’t the same as having a bath and watching a film is it?! And it would be hard to brag on less than 100k so not sure what that’s about.

OP posts:
AmazingSnakeHead · 01/12/2023 14:01

Workbutba · 01/12/2023 13:55

@AmazingSnakeHead what an odd post. Being busier than other days isn’t the same as having a bath and watching a film is it?! And it would be hard to brag on less than 100k so not sure what that’s about.

Show quote history

Maybe in your world. Around where I live that's a very braggable salary.

In my view it is the same. Sometimes in office jobs less busy days will mean longer lunch with colleagues, the WFH equivalent is having a bath. If you sometimes have to work weekends it all balances out, it's perfectly normal to have days that are busy and demand overtime, and days that are quiet and let you piss about a bit on company time.