I've stumbled into a 'unicorn' job - now help me make sense of it!

[Whataweirdsituation]

Hi all,

NC for this one! Bit of a scrambled thought process here so bear with me!

Also to get it out of the way, yes, this definitely includes a bit of a #stealthbrag - though not sure it counts if it is disclosed?

I'm a single mum to a primary aged DS. For the first few years of his life, I was working a really intense upper-management role in logisitics. Crazy hours, never really 'switched off', was constantly thinking about work whilst at work but also at home/weekends/annual leave. I was exhausted and very burnt out!

I angled for, and got, a Senior Manager level office job in a totally different industry around 4 months ago. 4 days a week in office, 1 day WFH. Great company to work for, 9-5 with no expectation to pick up anything out of hours, really supportive management who actively promotes taking time out for school events/WFH during school holidays/leaving early if having a rough day - all of which is totally unknown to me! Good pay, AMAZING perks, genuinely nice people....

My 'problem' is this. I like my role and what I'm doing (think a people/HR related role) - however my actual role takes approximately 5% of my work day. Part of this is down to the fact I work very efficiently and I have a large knowledge pool to draw from, but part of it must be down to the fact there's just not enough work. I have brought this up several times with my manager, who says she'll pass things along as they come up. I've been put on several other global projects not strictly in my remit and LOVE it, however those also do not take up a huge chunk of my time and my manager is reluctant to let me take on more than a few at a time as they are not within my scope. At first I put loads of time into planning for the future/creating detailed spreadsheets of improvements that could be made etc. Turns out that creates even less work for me now ;) According to my manager its been 'a hectic time to start' and will 'slow down soon' - so I don't think we're waiting on a load of extra work or a busy period, but more the opposite.

Part of the issue comes with the fact my predeccesor really struggled with the role and seemed to be busy all the time (??) - now I've come in and implemented a lot of improvements (tbh, very easy wins that look good as numbers) it seems to everyone I am just incredibly good at the job - I've been rated 'exceeding expectations' on my reviews so far. I will also point out I am very efficient at responding to all queries, go above and beyond to help where I can (obviously because I have the time and WANT to be busy!) and this has also been flagged as a positive to my boss multiple times. I don't think there is anything else I can do to increase my workload.

There's not really scope to progress here - I like the work I have to do and don't want to go for a different role at this company. That being said, I also don't want to leave - at least not for a couple of years - because I do genuinely appriciate the great work/life balance I have, and because they will support me complete a postgrad qualification which will help me reach the next stage of my career.

So I'm left trying to fill my days in the office 😂As you can imagine, I am very up to date with life admin, podcasts, my fave Netflix shows and every thread ever posted on Mumsnet. I've also joined a gym near the office, and run all my errands during the day. I've signed up to complete my CIPD L7 (Masters degree level) from September, which the company will pay for and support me with time to study, however this is a suggested 15h a week which will help but still not completely fill up my days.

I'm considering adding in a side hustle - not sure what it would be - something using my HR or events management experience. I've checked my contract and this is allowed (into commute times or the evenings, not techinally during work hours obviously. Though other members of my team openly talk about their additional jobs consulting etc). The money isn't strictly speaking necessary but would be nice, especially as bar cost of living increases, my salary will not go up for a few years.

I feel like I've spent so long starved for time, and now suddenly I have LOADS. Too much, because I'm not sure its great for my mental health to have so much time spent doing nothing.

So my AIBU is this:

YABU - enjoy the little work you have to do, don't add in anything else. (+ for suggestions of how to create more work for myself or who else to talk to)

YANBU - definitely try and fill your days with more, here are some suggestions of what I would do with this extra time!

Can you do some mentoring to support women further down you on the career ladder?

Your work may ramp up in the future so I would enjoy it while you can. I think most roles are limitless, in that there are always so many ways to improve the organisation and the way things are done. For me there is always work to do because I have imagination and can always create more work for myself and my team.

Could you do an extra day at home?

Then you could spend more time on hobbies/friends.

I would be careful what you wish for because I went into a lower stress job and took on extra responsibility to stop myself from being bored and then it was expected of me and it caused a lot of issues.

Perhaps you could look into extra training.
I am planning on doing an OU masters degree which is going to take up at least 15 hours a week and has a lot of reading involved.

I was in a role Like this (Not management or anything close) but a role that really didn’t need a full time person, I ended up leaving, not doing anything sounds fun for a little bit but it was incredibly damaging to my mental health, I was always concerned with redundancy as the job was redundant and could be done in so little time, and just sitting twiddling my thumbs was awful and I felt I was losing skills.
i know it’s not something you want to do anytime soon, but I would personally keep an eye out for any jobs that take your fancy.

I've worked in logistics and it's mental, I left burnt out and it took me years to feel like I was doing enough work as I was so used to spinning a gazillion different plates. I now work in a project management and marketing role which is varied enough it stops me getting bored. Just enjoy it, your body will adjust over time and enjoy the work life balance and time with your family.

Women's network is a great suggestion, also what about an employee forum, Wellbeing or Recognition lead, some additional job title you could take on and plan a strategy for?

It’s so refreshing to read a post from a woman who’s great at her job and knows it!

Sad to see the first response was a typical response seeking to bring a successful woman down.

OP, if you have capacity, I’d say keep busy . Sign up for training. Find out if there is a leadership programme. Become a mentor. Get a mentor.

Future proof your career - businesses go bust, taken over and decisions are made to contract out HR, especially when in house staff are expensive and have instigated processes that make a full time employee (them) unnecessary.

If you're HR I'd be far less worried, all it takes is one messy issue and you'll be at full capacity. Enjoy the quiet times 😉

I temped for a company once, was there for over a year in the end. When I joined I was told that it was manic, my predecessor was always so busy, hopefully I could stay on top of it etc.
I've no idea quite what my predecessor did all day. The job entailed basically being given a piece of delivery paperwork, opening up the order on the system and confirming that the delivery note matched the order. They received around 10 orders a day, which equated to 10 minutes of work max. Occasionally it was busier and I might have 30 mins of work to do.
I would often end up begging my manager for other work as I was sooo bored. I spent a lot of time filing, or even helping to pack things in the warehouse...

It is nice to be able to relax and not feel stressed, but equally, boredom is stressful in itself, so I'd want to look for ways to keep busy.

If you feel happy and fulfilled then just enjoy it! Wish I worked in HR - sounds easy!

And here goes a bitchy comment straight away. AIBU all over. Jealousy is never a good trait you know!

OP - I'd echo what others say, try to do one day WFH if you can.

I was a bit like you in a previous role, legal PA/Sec/office manager. Basically I did everything but the kitchen sink and got paid badly for it but I enjoyed it. Showed up my lazy arse colleague though as she spent most afternoons counselling our boss in the pub but being paid for it! It does make you wonder if some people are really bad at their jobs but just wing it and then there's you and me and others who are good, implement good things and do them really well! Have some or and or a if that's more your thing, you deserve it!

I guess when it's a really nice company with a stable workforce who are happy, without much need for on-boarding/ grievances/ people leaving/ recruitment then an HR role could easily be a bit quiet.
It's great you have taken on the committee. I used to struggle with some jobs I did where a lot of the time I was just sitting there on my own, awaiting instruction or something to do. Being overworked and too busy/stressed is total hell on earth though in comparison. I guess you can do a hobby or study something in your down time subtly as long as it's not to immersive. You have offered yourself as someone who wants to help and it could be that you just need to work slower. This is not great and can lead to boredom. But it sounds like the place has lots of positives so if I were you I would just continue to make it known you are ready and willing for new and challenging tasks as always.

I work more efficiently than the rest of my team , I have one other colleague that works as well and as fast . I found out during a work crisis , everyone else really struggled and we both had to solve most of the issues . Anyway I see it as it’s not my fault that despite having the biggest work load ( I’m also team leader ) I can do it faster and more efficiently so I stopped worrying about it . As I work from home I just multitask . In my case I normally have a few stressful days when one or two team members are off sick or for other reasons .
Life is short enjoy it

Oh man, the people on this thread who would ask for extra work.

I bet there would be people asking for training opportunities too.

I’d be working out how to rig up an early warning system so that I could be alerted to anyone coming while I napped all day.

I’d milk that for all it was worth and my mouth would be clamped shut.

Given the firm is so great to work for, I’d just tread water, see if more work kicks in when you’ve been in the job longer, and even if doesn’t, stay put and see if you can progress up the company in time. A company that is actually nice to work in is gold dust.

You could pack this in and find yourself in a new firm battling with arseholes, non kid friendly hours etc.

Feel the same OP. I went from working in a high stakes, high daily responsibility , high stress and low pay common public sector job to Lead Management level within a project. My salary has more than doubled (50k) but I've gone from being on my feet for sometimes 12 hours in an exhausting job where I could kill someone to sitting at a desk wfh 4 out of 5 days a week and getting all my work done over 2-3 days.

After a few months of guilt and worry I was about to get "caught out" my manager laid it out for me like this: I have a lot of overall responsibility and a huge amount more direct accountability in this role than my last. If shit hits the fan they aren't going to come after the band 4/5's working their asses off, they are going to come directly for me and my manager. So yes, I might be sitting here "not doing much" most of the time but the stuff I am doing is pretty critical I am responsible for making sure the shit stays firmly in the compost pit. It sounds to me like you are in a similar position.

And damn, have I earned it after working those 12 hour shifts from hell, most weekends, more night shifts than is healthy and having probably 3 Christmas' fully off for almost a decade and a half.

im in a similar situation - i have this one crazy week a month - then it's fairly quiet!!

I just work from home 3 days now and pick my daughter up at 4.30 at nursery sometimes and we have more of an evening together! i have very flexible working so nobody really cares how many actual hours you work once your work is getting done!! i enjoy the balance!

That crazy week I have sometimes im still working at 9pm after my daughter is in bed so it all sort of balances out for me

@Whataweirdsituation hey I know this isn't related. But would you be opened to mentoring? I'm a single mother of two and currently homeless as a result of an abusive relationship. Trying to get back on my own feet and am working as a administrator at the NHS. I do not want to rely on the council and housing benefit, I want to be able to thrive in life for my kids, and provide better for them. So if you can advise on what qualifications I could apply to, any career advise you could for a mother in my position

I move to a new role in a couple of weeks, I cannot wait as I'm so sick of doing absolutely nothing! ... Being idle is not for everyone.

Hey all! Still reading and loving all the comments/suggestions/solidarity!

@Lifesingflowers Oh wow - I'm honoured you'd think that - I also totally get the feeling around wanting to thrive. I'll drop you a message now :)

I also have a job like this. Only my adult DC know, as it’s almost embarrassing.

I am not remotely ambitious so I just sit back and keep taking the money. I go above and beyond what my colleagues do which is noticed and appreciated by managers, but still actually work for only 25% of my contracted hours.

Enjoy it, it may not last forever and you could end up back in a job as demanding as your other role

I also work In HR and previously stumbled into one of these jobs. On paper it was amazing to have so much free time and no real stress. I was also used to fast paced demanding roles.
I wasn’t for me and I only stuck it out for more than a few months because I got pregnant
I would stay and complete your level 7 then make a move. If you are a driven person this type of role really gets to you after a while.

Stay, this company has obviously been run badly and needs you. Keep doing what you’re doing: you could be at board level in a couple of years.