To ask how much work you actually and honestly do if you’re highly paid? I am worrying!

[workworkbaby]

I’m on 58k. I know it’s not huuuge money, but it’s decent. Honestly, I do very little. I worry all the time about job security and have mentioned to managers I have capacity to do more etc. Sometimes more will land and other times not. As I work largely from home I often find myself just hanging around. I wonder if this is common? I have a toddler in nursery so I can collect them early sometimes which I love so I’m not complaining but I do worry… anyone else?

Total comp £135kpa here but I work like billy-o for that.

I'm the opposite ..overworked and underpaid... I work usually around 32 /40 hours a week, but I'm on my feet the whole time(chef),we rarely actually get a proper break apart from a quick smoke/breath of fresh air. And we get paid minimum wage. And if I get overtime, it's paid in cash at 8 quid an hour 😂😂😂

@Starseeking absolutely agree!
I've earned my stripes (every dam one). I'm now a remote flexible working employee who's got 20+ years experience in this field and earn a good living from it. It wasn't easy to get into, I started at the bottom and worked many hours to prove my worth. No one walks into a high paid job with such flexibility without previous experience and many late nights.. some days I do very little, some days I work a full 8hrs (around my children). Most importantly I love my job. Not public sector, corporate and proud.

My DH earns £240k a year and with that comes masses amount of pressure, he usually starts working at 5am, if he’s WFH he will finish around 7pm (no breaks - other than to make a cuppa or lunch), if he is away as he often is he is usually also out on an evening with clients so may not get back to the hotel until 10ish. He works as standard Mon-Fri but will always do a couple of hours work on a sat/Sunday from 5am - 7am (a natural early riser) - I can’t wait for him to retire as I worry terribly about him burning out!

I am contracted to work 16 hours a week and earn £1100 a month, I work from home hours to suit, I usually only spend 10 hours a week working though. But I don’t get holidays/sickness etc - (well contractually I do but I am the only person to do the work) so it’s a case of working harder before/after and even when I am away I am online every day and will pick up anything that can’t wait. I therefore feel no guilt that it often feels I have it good because I don’t know of anyone else on my fairly low hourly rate that would be sending emails by the side of a pool.

And before anyone comments that I should work more and my husband can work less, he has spent his working life getting to this point of his career and generally enjoys his job a lot and wouldn’t swap what he does for a lesser paid role, even if I picked up more hours (which I have previously) it wouldn’t change his work ethic it just means that I don’t have as much time to keep on top of the house/kids/animals etc. this is a good balance for us as he doesn’t have to do anything other than work (and rightly so) and it means come the weekend we can focus on family time

It’s shocking. On. £58k. So she won’t be getting child benefit. She may be paying £2k in nursery fees. And she will be paying a shitload of tax (more if she’s in Scotland)

I think so many people are propped up by various benefits that they don’t realise how much of their life is subsidised by others. In fact no…. It’s companies that pay poverty wages that are subsidised…

I earn about 90k as an assistant company secretary. Work is cyclical depending on the fiscal calendar. The work can be intense but the team is wonderful and I don't have to supervise anyone, so I know how lucky I am.

I agree. I earn in the 70ks before bonus etc. I do a great job imo and do extra stuff but don't work my full time hours. Other people around me are working late and stressed but I don't actually see the output so not sure if I'm quick / they are slow . I'm super experienced in this industry so I guess I'm quicker due to my experience . I also delegate a lot for other people's development, which to be fair is how I climbed the ladder. As long as the job is getting done and you are getting good performance reviews I would not worry too much. Life is too short to spend all hour working and being stressed. We get paid peanuts in comparison to what these companies are making!

Plus a bonus and these past two years, a $50k retention bonus.

Corporate governance is just getting more complex so the future opportunities are there!

£70k - do sod all... I'm in creative media.

Come & work for us. My to-do list is exhausting, just looking at it.

I’m paid for generating good creative ideas.

That requires me to do quite a bit of thinking. I tend to think in a haphazard, non-linear way, so mooching around on Mumsnet pondering stuff, or having fun creative conversations is literally work for me.

It’s very clearly not as physically and emotionally hard, or full on, as being a nurse or a teacher or a care worker or a lorry driver. It is “hard” though, as in, not everyone can do it, consistently and effectively.

So that’s what I’m paid for. It’s not as simple as saying “please point me to the job where I can doss around all day and get a decent salary.” Most people can’t do it.

It's a good point that many are making. I started my career 21 years ago in London earning £18K, right out of my PhD, working flat out all the time (and beyond). I remember watching a tv show about bread delivery driver who earned £20K and I felt very depressed....

wrong thread sorry

What do you do OP - general - nothing outing...

I earn a lot of money (the fabled MN six figures).

I'm very senior in both my firm and my industry, but it has taken me 20 years to get to where I am, much of it through self-learning and funding: I have invested a lot of time and money.

Sometimes, I'll work 80 hours a week, sometimes 30. However, I am a senior subject matter expert and essentially have to be always 'on call'.

In my mind, my current employers are paying for the years, not the hours.

I would love to know what you do…? :)

I work like a dog for about £38,000, max £40,000. I'm self employed and am definitely not in it for the money.

But it's seasonal so only between mid March and mid November. The quiet period is very quiet.

So actually not relevant at all (edit 😁) But as proved again and again on MN, everyone's definition of "highly" paid varies. Mine is a decent wage for round here and I don't have dependents.

Pre-DC I was self-employed and in 1998, earned £50k for eight months work a year. But I worked 16 hour days, plus most weekends and travelled extensively to do so. Holidays were cancelled even, and I never went anywhere in winter without work or background reading to do. But my work pattern meant that I didn't work often from end-May to September.

If you work in the private sector then you have grounds to be worried about Job Security and if you have as much free time as you say then I would be seriously worried. Because Management and Management structure is dynamic, it changes, and sooner or later somebody will look critically at the existing Organisation. In fact some individuals will deliberately reorganise the management structure, just to make an impact and impose their own authority. And there's nothing like focusing attention than a few well placed redundancies.

My advice is to have plan B or broaden your responsibilities.

The Public sector is different. I work in the NHS in a senior clinical role and I've worked with some incredibly dedicated and hard working Hospital Executives but I've also seen some who did the absolute bare minimum and took fuck-all responsibility, and they were in post for years. It was only when the Trust merged that they left, with an undisclosed severance package and a fuck-off pension.

I work at least 40 hours a week in a professional job and earn less than half of that. I work very hard. You're lucky

I earn a high salary and some days I am flat out and other days I have nothing to do.

Pretty standard in my industry and I’ve stopped feeling guilty about it. I do exercise classes, cook a nice meal and get life admin done to pass the time.

There’s a senior guy in an adjacent team who works from his phone most of the time, doesn’t bother switching on his laptop. He’s usually only needed when someone wants to consult him on his area of his expertise which he either knows to hand because he’s so experienced or can loop in someone from his network who does. Lots of time blocked out in his calendar for the school run, probably works 1-2 hours a day tops. I’m not envious - people like that have usually earned their very privileged position.

In my mind, my current employers are paying for the years, not the hours.

This is a good way of putting it.

And, on top of that, when those folk do get a call (usually at any time of day), they have to drop everything to deal with whatever crisis is developing with massive responsibility and accountability for the solution.

I've been that person once or twice, and it's not as fun as some might think.

Why are you worried? You have a very highly paid job and don’t have to do much for it, sounds like a dream job. Certainly wouldn’t be complaining about it. I used to work 60 hour weeks in hotel sales for £18k a year…

I earn £60k plus and the volume of work I do isn't huge, and I rarely work outside my hours. But I have a responsibility for a large, high revenue account to look after. So if I fuck up it could potentially cost the company a lot of money. I often think money doesn't equal more work, but it does equal more responsibility