I’ve really messed up at work

[ohbuggera]

I’ve name changed for this and I’m deliberately leaving it vague to avoid being outing.

I have worked in my public sector job for just over a year. I’ve bedded in and worked between multiple different departments in that time.

I’ve recently been given what is essentially control of the smallest department. I’ve been doing this for a few weeks and it’s not really a full time job. I can work at it for one day a week and it would be done. I feel I could work in at least one more department and still be fine.

I’ve raised this to my manager who completely agrees with me and raised it to our big manager.

The big manager is fuming. My concern is that if jobs were to be cut mine would be the first to go because of how small my role is. I’ve heard her talking all morning, in earshot of me, pretty unhappy that I’ve raised this. She’s agreed to meet with me but now im terrified.

AIBU to think raising this wasn’t actually an issue?!

I suspect the problem is that you've highlighted mismanagement at a higher level, OP. But you should never be ashamed of acting with integrity. Hope things work out, and if they don't, private-sector jobs would appreciate your efficiency.

Boredom at work is bad for my mental health.

I would not say, "this job can be done in a day," but, "I have a bit capacity,, are there any reports/rotas/other pieces of work I could get involved with to ease up your workload?"

If there is nothing forthcoming, I would look at:

• Is there anything in the department i can do to improve procedures. Probably not, if you're not that busy anyway, but no harm in looking at any annoying processes.
• Is there any online training I can do (there's always technical training for us. Or how to write AI prompts or something)
• Is there any work shadowing i could do in another department that I'm interested in? I know you've been told you can't get involved in other departments, but you can network and ask about them, and then inform, rather than ask permission...
• Are there any employee groups I can get involved in, e.g. women's network or similar?
• Is there any mentoring I could be involved in?
• Is there any volunteering I could be involved in? (e.g. we have links to a locsl school, where we can be involved I mentoring Y9s and CV workshops and things,)

If there’s really nothing (don't believe that, but human barriers can block things,) then I'd spend the time updating my CV and looking around for places who can make decent use of me.

I once had a similar sounding job where I could get through a full days work in about 2 hours. I asked my manager for more to do and was denied. It was so boring. I didn't have a window to stare out of so started reading. Literally sitting at my desk reading a book for 6 hours per day. Totally ridiculous but continued for a couple of months until a director wandered through my section. We talked, no anger, and within about a day I was assigned to help out another department as and when I could. Still remember sitting there reading Catch 22.

If only wfh was a thing back then. Would have been a dream! I can see why the public sector are so keen on it.

In your position I would have kept my head down and my mouth shut. I would have written a novel or run an Ebay shop in the unused time.

@ohbuggera "I haven’t pointed out that other people aren’t doing much. I’ve just pointed out that I feel I could do more."

Bit naive OP. If you aren't doing much it stands to reason that a shed load of other people aren't either. So you've basically flagged up spectacular inefficiency. The big boss will naturally feel incredibly threatened with any suggestion of mismanagement or over-staffing which could lead to job cuts. Especially their own or their cronies!

Exactly.

This just doesn’t sit right with me at all. I can do more, why would I not say that?

There are team members who are incredibly overworked where I could help, and end up doing so late on a Friday afternoon! My point is I could do that through the week

Perhaps to salve your conscience you could have unofficially offered to help your colleagues on an ad hoc basis, while not making it clear to your boss that you were consistently under employed. Now you have a target on your back for rocking the boat.

Oh my dear why were you not a little more wise?

so you want to take others work
they are too busy to do so but it is part of their job description but you have come in and want to make changes to the job descriptions
and t hey dont like it

I have been in your position OP.

I worked years ago for a very large company and was placed in X Dept and was fine there, learnt the role and was getting on great. They then moved me to Y dept as a lady was going on maternity and I was to apparently be her cover. There was only me and another guy going to be doing this job.

Well I say there bored shitess all day. Nothing to do at all. I couldn't even make work to do. I spoke to my old manager and she said they must just be a little quiet and it will pick up as the two there previously were always busy.

I gave it another 6 weeks of literally doing nothing, working maximum of an hour a day unless I helped out my previous department. As such I offered to float between the two as at least I wouldn't be so bored but was categorically told no, no not happened and they seemed angry I offered.

It was the most money I'd ever earnt in my life and it was hard to walk away from that but boredom is no joke! I spent hours picking my weekly shop online from Sainsburys just for something to do!!

HOW the two in the department made it a full job each when it wasn't even one job is beyond me 😂

Yes, I do understand and that all makes perfect sense in the real world. And I know you are trying to be sensible and probably smart too. But no good deed goes unpunished. Like it or not you have threatened the position of the big boss. You've basically called them inefficient. Why do you think she/he is "fuming"! Surely you get that on some level?

Uhhhh, no

This. Plus flagging up the mismanagement of the big boss. I don't think the OP actually wants to hear any of this. Good luck to her I say.

I’m genuinely curious as to how me saying I have more capacity for work can be construed like this

Sorry but this is a boss with a fragile ego.

Pointing out you don't have enough to do and would like to do more is a positive attribute in a member of staff, and only really shit managers would think otherwise.

We recently had a senior manager leave and at her leaving speech she was praised by Directors for speaking up when she did not have enough to do rather than keeping quiet and cruising to retirement.

This is appalling. All the comments saying this is commonplace and everyone accepts it. No wonder our country is as fkd up as it is. Where have peoples morals gone?

Only deeply insecure managers with dysfunctional personalities think like this.

I’ve not worked in the public sector but a family member was a consultant for few different departments and the gist is that efficiency and productivity are frowned upon. They try keep as many people in employment as possible and protect headcount budget.
i remember my family member telling a story where he suggested an automation of a big process that in essence would replace 4 people and be done in hours instead of weeks and was told by the department manager that’s a no go as people would lose jobs and would cost too much to make them redundant.

I’m appalled by the people saying I should just read or online shop!!!

I could understand if I was saying I think I could replace people - I can’t. We need more people in the team but don’t have the budget to hire. It’s not about making people redundant but wanting to help and having the capacity to do so.

I completely agree. No wonder productivity in the UK is so far behind most other western countries

Output Levels: According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK output per hour worked is roughly 15% to 20% lower than the G7 average and significantly below the United States, France, and Germany

I’m inclined to agree

When I joined the Civil Service 40 something years ago, I took over a job that had been done by 1.5 people. I then took over the admin of another section which was merged with mine and the full time role of their admin. After a while I went to the boss of the new section and asked if there was any more I could do for that team, as I was still a little underutilised despite having taken on some basic PA type duties for the big boss as well as the team admin.

However in another roles after promotion (same department, very different area of work) both me and my boss had worked so much necessary overtime that when they asked if we wanted to take it as flexi rather than paid overtime, we both worked out we had around 2.5 months worth of flexi in hand built up over the preceding 6 months (loads of evening & weekend working away from home).

Where I am now in local government we were one person down out of 5 for around 9 months and 2 of us ended up signed off with stress & exhaustion, but the council wouldn't break their money saving recruitment freeze even in those circumstances.

It can vary so greatly between local and central government, and from department to department between them. But in local government they are much tighter now about staffing as they are all broke.

This is endemic in the public sector. I worked in a LA for 8 months and was utterly perplexed at everyone being ‘busy’ but there was nowhere near enough work. There was one period where, I kid you not, I did pretty much nothing for two weeks. That was the impetus to get a new job.

Manager after manager were not held to account for inefficient teams and projects not moving.

The number of people castigating @ohbuggera is really frustrating. Where is the desire for fulfilment? To make a difference?

I don’t think anyone should be worked into the ground but what OP describes I saw everywhere and it hurt my leftie brain as I so wanted to love the public sector but was disappointed at every turn.

I suspect front-end services are swamped and back-office is bloated and the comments on this thread show how many people really don’t want to work to close to capacity.