To have pretty much automated 90% of my job and pretend I'm very busy?

[IroningBoardAgainstTheWall]

So, I run a database and predecessor didn't seem to actually understand databases and what they can do so was working 50+hrs and not achieving very much. We'll call him Phil.
I took over and was warned how much work Phil did, he was very busy and he was actually in a retainer in case I needed his help or had any queries over certain tasks. I work in education and there's weekly, half termly, termly and annual tasks, quite cyclic and not difficult.

Within a month I'd automated the daily, weekly and monthly reports, added more useful ones and sent them out. During my first academic year, I'd introduced new systems to automate tasks for others, developed new ways of capturing and reporting data, linked systems to the main MIS to automate account creation and syncing etc

So basically I have very little to do anymore. I do ask for stuff to do, but there's nothing much really. I look for stuff to do but again, there's not much.Occasionally I'll get feature requests or specific reports.

But honestly I do about 4-6 hours of work a week...max, and that includes stuff that isn't really my job, like fixing printers and laptops and stuff.

Should I confess?

I have technically documented everything.but not the actual code... So some one would have to know enough to use them. Which is fine. But I do have some secrets that I don't tell the student! Also local knowledge is powerful.

Mostly self taught tbh.

I'd carry on as you are while your daughter is little. Not ask for more work (it draws attention!) and take on a second job, something entirely remote like private sector data analysis, even data entry. Whatever, make money!! Then when daughter is older and settled find a job that challenges you.

I'd love to be in your shoes.

I had a job similar to this. What took my predecessor all day I did to a higher standard in two hours max. He'd worked at this small company for decades and because no one else understood the job they didn't question his productivity. At each review, I expressed that I was bored to tears and was met with 'leave it with me' yet nothing materialised. Ultimately, I figured I was being paid for my work, not the time I spent doing it. When remote working kicked in during lockdown, I used the extra time to write a novel.

In that case her own taxes are also subsidising her dossing.

And I expect you've never been bored since!

You sound fantastic. Independent schools are struggling at the moment due to the 20% VAT increase. Is the school financially viable? If in any doubt, look for something else.

An interesting thread.
Folks with exceptional output are rarely appreciated and usually gaslit, some managers are convinced that people only have one success in them and when they've delivered it they should be shown the door.
I'd been working for 20 years when a man with a lot of imagination hired three of us - it was the first time any of us overachievers worked with likeminds.
We saved almost £100m before we were driven out - the best thing that ever happened to us, two of us earn three times as much, now that we understand our worth better.
@IroningBoardAgainstTheWall Don't give up your day-job or confess your lack of work.
There are maybe 30 useful functions in Excel, some only exist in 365, PivotTables terrify many, PowerBI is another beast altogether. Write a book that helps folks build confidence and structure their thoughts more usefully.
Depending upon your contract (are you paid for the holidays?) you could run courses to prepare those looking to enter the world of work or university - just make sure that your book is hardcopy, printed on coloured paper with a pale font to make scanning and sharing less easy.
There are legitimate ways of receiving the proceeds without causing PAYE issues and there are some other ways of selling your skills that will preserve your anonymity.
Well done for getting as far as you have.

But do they realise it takes very little time to do at this stage?

Well, when knows? I've asked for more work. 40 ISH people are now receiving automated reports. The data tracking guy produces more now.

Apart from shouting it out, I can't see how slt don't know. Maybe they don't. But that's kinda my aibu. .

But from your colleague's responses it seems they're assuming that you're working much in way Phil was and there's kind of a lie of omission going on?

That @IroningBoardAgainstTheWall is exactly what I mean. So many people in schools - not just the one where I work - are overworked that they don't have the time to step back and work out how to improve things. Or they're too scared as they can just about manage very basic excel tasks and don't want anyone to realise how useless they are.
We had one person convince SLT she needed a side kick on a 0.5 contract as she had been asked to produce various bits of data. I heard about it, managed to set up a meeting to which I brought this one person who actually seems to know how to use a database and she set up a few things and this all happens automatically now.
Meanwhile, we have a "Phil" who is convinced of his own brilliance and not very nice to work with as he thinks he's indispensable and everyone tiptoes around him as he's convinced them too. Actually, he probably is indispensable for his own systems but I have a sneaky suspicion there must be better ways of doing it.
You've also reminded me that I think I should be able to streamline at least two aspects of something I do. I'm going to make that a project! But an efficient one!

What you have done sounds really impressive.

I couldn't bear to just have 6 hours of work a week though and I would feel incredibly guilty doing what others have suggested and either taking on a second job or doing your own thing in work time. I'm genuinely quite shocked that so many people think you should keep quiet about all your spare time.

I would be telling my boss about all the innovations I had introduced, and offering to take on additional work, for example doing further work interpreting the data and flagging up key issues for the heads of year, or extending your improvements into other areas in the school.

The people working in those areas may not want to change the way they do things but I bet the school management would be keen to make the systems more efficient.

You’ve automated the reports but is the quality of what’s being sent out any good? Have you had any feedback?

Does your contract state how many hours of work a week you should be doing?

Is there a risk you could be in breech of that?

I think you need advice from someone who works in HR.

Dont confess just yet. But what you did for this place, package it and sell it to others as a consultant. There will be others. Whats tour yearly salary? Charge that for the package sell it to 20 places including training for someone to do it. Confess once youve got your packages together for testimonials. Then enjoy :)

I’d do exactly that. They are paying you to do a job which you’re doing very efficiently so no skin off their nose. Make as much money as you can while you can, it can go a long way when you retire early.

Definitely don’t tell them. You’re doing the job you’ve been employed to do and it sounds like you’re doing it to a very high standard. You’re fulfilling your responsibilities- enjoy the easy ride!

100% request to work from home for as much of the week as you can get away with.

Study for a qualification?

If I were you I'd use a good chunk of my time on professional development.

This is really a thing... I can't do power BI (might learn!) but I'm decent on Excel and have had jobs where honestly making a few spreadsheets saved days and days of work that others were doing manually.

So I'd not rush to confess just now but instead use the time to build even more skills and think about how you could advance your career - perhaps consulting as you say.

They may also just like keeping you on as you are there to maintain the systems and keep things running smoothly and way more efficiently than it sounds like they were running previously.

Either they dont know in which case, why rock the boat, gift horse and all that. Spend the time make more money other ways. Or they do know but are scared that with you gone, no one in the building will be able to pick it up and everything will go to hell until they find someone else to take over which will take months, and they see that as worth the money they pay you to not have to sort out. You may have everything documented but that doesnt mean anything if no one else has even a vague understanding of what any of it means. If your description of some of the people you have tried to help is accurate, then I doubt any of them would have a clue.

I would definitely put together a proposal for SLT about HR though, especially if you can prove that it will save them a significant amount of money (I bet their stationery bill is eye watering!).

Why would you feel bad though?

Pay is not just for "hours worked", if it was we would all be paid the same per hour, and arguably those in supermarkets/warehouses/building sites would earn more than those in office jobs. They are paying for her knowledge, her skills, her ability to keep things running smoothly. She is being paid to make sure that if there is an issue, she can sort it and it sounds like she does. That is her job, she is doing it and they are paying her for it.

Very interesting op.
I agree with Kipper, certain jobs pay for your skills, expertise and knowledge. I taught my previous boss a very simple thing, to import into xero, which saved him hours.

If you can stand to have so much time with nothing to do, then carry on. Do some training/study for a qualification to use some of the time usefully (and it'll look better to your employer when the truth eventually comes out).
I couldn't do that though, I can't stand even ten minutes without anything to do at work, I go around asking people if they need help and if all else fails I start cleaning don't have a desk job though so can't just browse the internet for entertainment.

Kudos for your efficiency, OP! Enjoy it while it lasts - you never know what could change - and just try to use the extra time as productively as possible, whether that's being a more effective parent, taking a qualification etc.

I know the job is convenient for you distance-wise but I'd be using the spare time to update my CV and apply for new jobs, citing this efficiency you have put in as evidence.