Accepted a low paying job - should my work reflect this?

[bluerooms]

I recently took a low paying job, it pays £13.50 an hour.
I have been self employed but had a dip in client work & was under pressure by dh because we have a wedding to pay for.
This way it's stable income and any client work is a bonus.
Pre self employment days my hourly salary would've been around £20ph (£35 self employed)
Being honest, my heart isn't going to be in this job at all, and the pay doesn't help matters.
Btw I am aware that this is potentially selfish and Ive taken a job I don't want that someone else might've loved but needs must etc.
Anyway, I knew i'd get the job due to my experience vs what they were paying. So now my question is, do I work like i'm worth what i've been paid previously or do I work a bit more than the bare minimum to reflect the £1 more than min wage they are paying me? (From April 25 anyway) ??

What type of role is it? If they are paying as much as they can, and at a level that is right for the role I think you should not deliberately under perform as such.

If they aren't taking advantage eg paying you an admin assistant pay scale but expecting complex payroll and HR duties to be carried out - ask yourself, Is it something you can work up to better pay by performing well? Gain Better/new experience to gain better roles in future? Something that could lead to freelance work? Do the best you can, and don't think about the money.

Without knowing the detail of the role, the responsibility etc I'd suggest maybe getting a completely different role in an unrelated sector may help you feel less resentful.

I don’t think I’d be taking work home, but I wouldn’t be slacking either. And probably looking for something better paid.

Obviously depends on the role, but I found the work I did at minimum wage FAR harder than the work I do now on 6 figures. You can work how you like but if they recognise you're regularly slacking you'll lose the job - make sure your work output is matched with others doing the role.

Low paying jobs are just stepping stones jobs until you find something better. The level of you work should reflect the pay. Do the job, but don’t go above or beyond, and absolutely no unpaid overtime. And take all your lunch break.

It’s tough out there for freelancers at the moment, I understand your thought process - was considering something similar until I lucked into a contract job recently.

but… I think ‘always overperform’ is a really useful mindset when you’re a freelance. You never know where your next client might be - she might be the person you’re emailing, she might be sitting in on a meeting with you. She might be someone the boss knows socially. Always put yourself in a position where if there’s work going, everyone who’s interacted with you thinks ‘oooh, you know who would be good for that? This woman who’s clearly too qualified for her current job…’

plus, I really believe that deliberately underperforming is bad for your own morale. Days always go quicker when you put yourself back into it. Good luck though, I know it’s sucky.

How about you just do the job to the best of your ability and to the standard required. £13.50 is more than a lot of people get per hour.

Apart from anything thing else it might come back to bite you.

It depends whether it is low paid for the role or a low paid role.
If the second you have to do it properly.

You should work to the best of your ability regardless of pay etc. You chose to do it. Underperforming is a slippery slope, especially deliberately. Fair enough not to go above and beyond, ie extra unpaid hours, higher standard of work then the job specifies, etc., such as morphing into management or supervision, etc. Just work to the job spec to the best of your ability to do that. No more no less.

Bit of an odd way to think. You took the job to pay for a wedding, it's your choice to have a wedding which is expensive.

You have accepted the role, do the job properly and to the best of your ability.

Yes fine 'work to rule as they say' but I think it's very poor that you would be questioning at what level to do the job.

You do the job you agreed to do and the hours you agreed to do.

I'm on minimum wage and work to the best of my ability.

I'm a little bit annoyed that you're saying your wage is low. It's about the same or more than our registered veterinary nurses, receptionists, admin staff, VCAs and pharmacy staff get paid.

If we under-performed we could have dead animals on our hands.

You should do the job to the best of your ability. You took the job knowing the wage.

I dont agree that low wage justifies doing a poor job or putting minimum effort in...some of the most important job roles are minimum wage eg care work, childcare ...the people supported by those roles deserve workers who care about their job and put effort in (I say this as someone who has previously done care work and knows how hard a job it is)

What a weird question.

You do the role you’re being paid for.

It's not April yet and you are being paid over £2 an hour more than a minimum wage worker. I don't know how long you've been in your job but if you are still on your probation period I wouldn't be slacking off just yet.

Ugh I hate this attitude!

If you just do more than the bare minimum then you can expect to lose your job fairly quickly.

I've done this twice, taken a pretty significant pay cut when I've been stuck after redundancy. Both times I worked hard and my pay increased significantly pretty quickly - the second time it literally doubled within 3 months as I was offered a new role. I wouldn't underperform. It feels insulting somehow when you've been given the job over other candidates.

This attitude is hardly likely to endear you to your coworkers or managers tbh. You sound very much like the job is beneath you and they will be picking up on that. I don't think this is the job for you.

Surely you do the job to the best of your ability? It may be a wage drop for you, but for others applying it wouldn't be and the salary is deemed to be in line with the expectations of the role.

This is a pretty poor attitude to take tbh.

Wow, just wow.

I used to have a very well paid, professional job. Now I earn minimum wage in a job that suits my family and school hours. I actually work harder now than I did before. Just because someone earns less, doesn’t mean the work is less. This is a total lie.

Your work colleagues will hate working with you if you don’t pull your weight, and you think you are above it.

Truth is you aren’t above it. You are there, you need the money. Also, if you aren’t pulling your weight, you aren’t worth £13.50.

Same. I'm on minimum wage and would love £13.50 per hour.

It’s hard to under perform. You just do the job in the available hours surely?
Poor performers or under qualified people might work more slowly, make more mistakes, misunderstand. If you’re competent you just do it well.
Do you mean you do the job then just sit and do nothing because you’re efficient? Or do you mean you don’t add to the role or make improvements to processes etc because you can’t be bothered? I don’t really understand how you can do less unless you mean that.

I would do the work for the best of my ability but I wouldn't go extra mile.

have some pride in your work as well as your colleagues