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 does it cost you to do your best?

Your additional experience probably means you can turn in good quality work with less effort than others, so just do that and everyone will be happy.

Am assuming you took this job because you couldn't find one that paid higher so take that as an observation on the job market also.

Not on six figures but I’d agree that I found lower the wages the higher the expectations in lots of ways. Idle chit chat really frowned on whereas when I earned twice that colleagues bonding over coffee was seen as good networking

£13.50 is more than I get paid and I always do my best in my job. I just couldn’t NOT tbh, I hate the idea of letting things slide and making a mess of something. Plus if you’re that crap, you might be let go.

Crikey - I'm on £12 per hour on a nice little part time job. I was delighted to get it, and work the best I can.

You sound snobby in your attitude - if the job was so beneath you, why did you take it?

I suspect very much that the OP is not coming back to this thread...

This!

I'm shocked this is even a question. I work very bloody hard for 90p an hour less than this. Surely you work your best.

Give the job to someone else if you hate yourself for it. Carry on like this and your new colleagues will hate you too.

I earn more than a pound an hour less than you do currently, though I used to be in much high paid roles. I still work to the best of my ability, the only real differences being that when I walk out of the door I leave work behind, and that I work official flexi hours so if I stay late for any reason I get the time back.

My role doesn't use all of my skills by any means, but I do apply any knowledge and abilities I have to make things work better for me and the others in the team where appropriate. My personal pride and self-worth would make it impossible for me to do the bare minimum, and it would be completely unfair on the others in the team if I just coasted.

No, you work to the job spec and contract if you don't feel you're paid to go "above and beyond".

I once took a massive pay cut for a lower level job when I first got married as I wanted to work close to home (rather than a 90 minute commute) and wanted regular 9-5 hours instead of the occasional weekend, overnighter, evening meetings, etc. We're talking a pay cut of over 50% from a directorship level job (management etc) to a "number crunching" auditor.

It suited me. I could do the job standing on my head, with my arms tied behind my back and my eyes blindfolded. Go to walk, do a solid 8 hour day, come home again, no stress, no pressure, etc.

They tried to "scope creep" by trying to put me on audit jobs as the audit manager rather than a lower tier audit assistant. They tried to put me on assignments miles away requiring long daily commutes or overnight accommodation. I simply refused, and referred them back to my covering letter for the job application and the contract of employment. I'd made it clear at application and interview I wanted an "easy" 9-5 job close to home, I'd made it clear that was why I was prepared to take a whopping pay cut and drop down several levels of seniority and management etc.

Just because "I could" manage an audit didn't mean I had to manage an audit on the pay of a lower level auditor, They got the message! Once they realised they couldn't "scope-creep" me, they started offering a better job/package which I refused, again referring them back to why I was there in the first place, and eventually we just all accepted I was what I was and I spent a relatively happy few years there. I was happy, and they were happy (ish) as I was giving 100% for the job I was paid for and had been appointed to do. I was a dream for the audit managers I was working on jobs for as they didn't have to supervise, manage nor train me as I knew the job probably better than they did, I just didn't want the stress of the management/supervision side of things nor commuting or overnight stays.

They got the message in the end! It's hard to not go "over and above" in a role that you know inside out and beyond, but for me, it was easier because I had other reasons for not wanting a stressful job, i.e. new marriage, new home, and wanting a healthier lifestyle, so I could find the headspace to do the role and not get involved in things beyond it.

I work really hard on my feet all day every day and get a£12. an hour.

You turn up, you do the job as well as you can and you go home.

People who think they are too good for the job they applied for are a bit of menace. Think of the eye rolling teen in the coffee shop or the ‘too cool for school’ waiter. Surely you don’t want to be like them!

Since I retired, I’ve been volunteering in charity shops. I do the job in exactly the same way I did my professional job: I work as quickly and conscientiously as I can, for no pay. Why wouldn’t you work as well as you can in a job you’re being paid to do?

Generally the less you earn, the harder you work.

I've been trying to articulate how actually cross OPs attitude has made me and you've summed it up for me perfectly.

Don't take this job with this attitude. It seems very dishonest.

Always do the best job you can was my rule all my working life.

YABU. You should always do your job to the best of your ability.

I've always been in low paid jobs and I work hard. One of the "pros" if you can call it as such of being low paid is usually that when you clock off you can forget about work. I work hard, but I work my contracted hours and that's it. Higher paid roles usually come with extra work outside of contracted hours.

The pay reflects the work. Do what you’re paid to do and have a clear cut off.

Do the job you are paid to do and do it well. No one likes working with someone who does the 'bare minimum'.

My EXH had a senior role in IT, managing people and projects. He used to go on about getting an easier job with less responsibility. I made it clear to him that he wouldn’t be able to hack it. He was used to making decisions and being respected, also managing his own time and holidays.

Soon after he left he took basically a posh customer service job which included international travel. …. Hated every minute! Had to be nice to people, never tell them they were wrong even if they were. He also had to wear a uniform, which he hated, and was given his work rota,, no discussion!

I laughed!

Do the job to the best of your ability if you don't and people think your just lazy then be prepared to look for another job when they let you go.

I think this is important. The op reads like she just wants to do the job she has been paid to do badly and not put effort in, because she is better than the job.

But if she really means, (borrowing from pp's sector) I'm being paid as an animal care assistant but should I work as a vet, then it's a very slippery slope to vets all earning just above minimum and employers thinking they can ask for animal care assistants to have a vet degree. It would be very hard not to apply knowledge /skills you had to help an animal! But I don't think it would be unreasonable to say "I'm not making home visits on my own, or leading an operation, I'll do what ever assistants do, well.

That's not to say being an animal assistant is not hard/valuable. But if an employer wants a vet they shoukd pay for one. But by the same token if op wants to be paid as a vet she has to be employed as one .

Why would you do that? Do the job you are paid to do the best of your ability. Add extra value where you can but not to detriment of your mental or physical health. It may be stepping stone to something much bigger and better.

I contracted a lot when I was in my twenties and someone zipped worked with mentioned that I probably did't care as much because it was a fixed term job. I was like, "What?!". It couldn't have been further from the truth. I also found the opposite with other contractors as they had better skills and work ethic to the permanent staff. A sought after contractor recognises that a good reputation and reference helps for their next role.

What's the job? Is it related to your freelancing?

This is difficult, as employers have completely unrealistic expectations now regarding skills, experience and the commensurate salary they should pay for the person they actually need. I have found small/micro employers have a more significant "getting their money's worth" attitude than big corporates, so once they know you're overqualified for the role, they will expect you to be using those skills for the low salary they pay. e.g. if they know you used to be a business management consultant but are working for them as an administrator, they will still ask you to write their business plan. I would do the job you've been hired for to the best of your ability, but I wouldn't go out of your way to offer additional support or input on things that you may know about due to your previous area of expertise.

You applied for the job knowing what it was. You accepted the job knowing what it was. Why do you feel entitled to do a crap job of it? If you think you’re worth more, leave. Even when people are working just as what their contract says (ie no unpaid overtime, not picking up colleagues’ work etc) you should still make the effort to do a good job