Doing very little for this salary? Panic

[Greenwip]

I’m earning close to 70k. I do have times where I am worked to the bone and very stressed (maybe 7 days since start of the year so averaging one day a month). The rest of the time I work 90% of the time from home and have naps, a bath, food shop etc in between a few emails and remote meetings. It sounds great and sometimes it is but I am constantly worried about job security. I wonder if this is more common than I think?

Yep. The ‘W’ in ‘WFH’ doesn’t stand for ‘work’…

I’m honestly not saying this to be harsh but rather to provide an honest view in my experience, but there is a very strong likelihood you are far more conspicuous than you think. People that do nothing in highly paid jobs, on a regular basis, will very likely be caught out

We can all see why you're saying this. It's very transparent!

There do exist jobs where you're being paid so they have access to your expertise at the irregular times it's needed, where things are very boom and bust. Often those roles are well renumerated, as they tend to require niche skills. So it doesn't especially surprise me to hear from someone in your situation OP. But without specific knowledge of the industry, one can't rule out that you're conspicuous and at risk of redundancy.

Gotta say...that doesn't sound right. In the past I earned a decent salary but was always working long hours. DH earns well...but works incredibly hard.

Although I’ve never had that type of job my ex does. He gets paid a six figure salary but he’s paid for his knowledge rather than physical work. Our son interned there once and said his dad just has lots of meetings, sometimes he wasn’t even present at them, he’d be a voice on an intercom. He chairs those meetings (so everyone else is doing the running around). He’s a solutions man. Pity he didn’t put those skills to use in our relationship, sigh.

I was in the same position and earning £80k. I think a lot of it was because I had been there a very long time so could get through the work a lot quicker. I actually hated it though as I was bored out of my mind. I recently quit and am now looking for a job where I'm going to be kept busy.

Oh god OP, have you maybe forgotten how much expertise you have? I earn well and sometimes think 'wow, I am def overpaid', but then someone with less experience joins and I realise my value and that I have just forgotten that nobody can come in and just do my job. After many years my job just seems easy to me.

Just make sure you blow your own trumpet regularly as any man would do and you'll hopefully be fine.

I agree with this. Your salary reflects the responsibility and your experience to know exactly what to do and when.

Im not near your salary but i think the same a lot! I have weeks where I’m busy but if everything is going ok I’m bored shitless. Then my manager is like your doing a great job 🤷‍♀️ I work on construction projects

My son earns well. Management happy with him. Works in fits and starts. Spends rest of time on YouTube or PlayStation. Gotta work smart not hard

I'm on £70k and don't feel guilty about my quiet days as I am genuinely the only person in my large organisation who can do what I do. I could train other people up but they won't give me any additional resource so I'm quite happy to be indispensable. This means when there are problems I'm the only person who can solve them (current mode I'm working in) and things can be hectic and stressful. But outside of that I have downtime. Tto be honest I'm underpaid for what I do but I love my workplace and the flexibility so don't complain.

Well I have just left a job WFH being paid a TINY fraction of that and I was killing myself working to the bone - I was barely away from my PC all day. It was utterly soul destroying as I was severely overworked and underpaid. I’d count myself lucky if I were you.

Gosh! No wonder Britain has a productivity problem.

I'm a care assistant and looking to change jobs as I'm often very stressed on just above minimum wage.
I do have a degree from 20 years ago...
Hmm OP & others how do I get a better job like yours?? Where I'm not worried all the time about clients & on low pay. I'm serious, I just don't know where to start.

Could you look at doing a work related course or additional qualification. If you have hours free you could study.
More qualifications might also help if you are at risk of redundancy.

I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong. Make the most of it whilst you can. From what others are saying it sounds like this is pretty common in corporate jobs.

This thread definitely showed that the common reply on here that people on higher salaries are working harder than those on lower salaries doesn’t really hold true though.

I haven't been in the office for 10 years! I go twice a year for the summer get together and Christmas lunch. Some corporate companies have done smart working for years. I remember thinking when I first joined.. does anyone actually have an office desk, truth is American companies (the ones I've worked for) have worked like this for decades. It works well because people respect the flexibility and don't take advantage. The work gets done and everyone is happy. Public sector workers took the piss and were disgruntled when they were asked to go back..!

OP, I remember feeling like this, and my sister said, "you are not paid for the quiet days, you are paid for the days you work after 10:00pm or the weekends that you just happen to check your emails... you are paid that for the times you make things happen or catch stuff before it falls through the cracks." The thing is other people will look at the job and baulk at the plate spinning I do but I just think, "Oh go on, give me a bit more!" I like the pressure as I feel as though I work better.

Oops @Greenwip not sure how it quote you - apologies. 🥴

I guess this isn't that surprising. .certain jobs in certain industries aren't that pressurised. Other jobs you work your fingers to the bone for not very much.

Those of us on lower paid jobs are monitored. We have no choice but to work.

Seems pretty unfair to me but I thank you for your honesty. There are alot of people WFH who I meet at the school/hairdresser/nail bar/allotment etc.
Sums up the unfairness of life and the extreme diversity of fairness. In the public organisation I work in, I work with some incredibly hard working people who work full on and others who I struggle to work out exactly what they are supposed to be doing. A large percentage of those are senior management who are adept at management speak , earn enormous salaries and from my place of standing do very little that impacts on productivity and outcomes.
At the same time, some members of staff ( typically low paid ) have to 'clock in' and if they are late for any reason at all ( it traffic jam/transport delays). their wages are docked accordingly. Thank you OP for your honesty, I admire it. All those WFH and those who I have referred to, that is not a problem.
Hey Ho, who said life was fair? None of this is a criticism of you OP, just my honest opinion. Could you report this to your manager and explain that you are under utilised and have insufficient work to fill your contracted hours?

I am another person who would like to hear concrete examples of what these jobs are.

Also how are they advertised?

I wonder if I overlook some of these jobs because the job description looks terrifying, but the reality isn't?

Most of my life I have had really busy, stressful jobs. It's why I went freelance, but I would like more security.

Do I need to target corporate? Sometimes it seems like a case of luck.

Don't any of these posters have management checking on them frequently? Obviously not! Because it seems extraordinary that someone can be so underutilised. The job would get made redundant very quickly if people realised you had nothing to do.

If you are being paid for a particular expertise that's different.

But when it's just a vague "management" job I think ...don't you actually have anything to manage?

Spot on, my views entirely