Stagnating at work.

[MaraScottie]

So I've been in my company almost 10 years (IT related) - including 2 years of maternity leave. I'm lucky enough to work a 4 day week with the option to work from home. The company in general is incredibly family-friendly, flexible, good salary and has some great perks that I wouldn't get elsewhere.

The issue is that although I absolutely loved it for the first few years, things have become so quiet that there is very little work for me to do. I've no active projects and nothing coming down the pipeline at the moment as my area of expertise is very niche. This has been going on for years really (but I was so distracted with stuff going on at home, that I didn't mind) - there has been less and less work for me to do and I feel my skills and confidence have just died a death. Everyone else around me is mad busy with other stuff that I just don't have the skillset to deal with. It's soul destroying. I've asked my manager about a temporary transfer to another department to try build up some new skills but of course there are layers of red tape to deal with so not even sure if that will be possible.

I feel so useless, stagnant, with a skillset that would have been up-to-date 5 years ago but not really relevant any more. I just don't know where to turn. My manager is aware of the lack of work but he's a very 'glass half full' person - he's doing his best to get more work for me but it's just not materialising. He's happy once I'm officially assigned to 'something' even if there is no actual work to be done. I've tried online courses, volunteering for internal projects etc but that stuff will only get you so far.

Part of me just wants to carry on because the perks are so good and the culture so flexible that it's hard to give that up when I've a very young family. The devil you know and all .... The other side of me is concerned about what will happen in 3-4 years time when I'm completely unemployable elsewhere. I need to do something but I don't know what. Finances don't really allow me to return to study full time (even if I knew what to study!) and it'd be so difficult to study part time with my young kids. I'm almost 40 btw, shy, and an introvert which really doesn't help matters either!! If I moved to another company to the same job title I was trained up in originally, I'd be earning half of what I'm earning now but working a full week! I just don't see a way out right now.

Help!

As it is IT related could you use the time to study other IT skills? It will show to your manager that you are serious about expanding out of the niche role and will enable you to be better economic value for the company.

are you me? Seriously, you sound just like me.

I'm keeping my eyes open for other positions but like you, there aren't many similar jobs as my role is also niche and the benefits aren't always as good elsewhere. Plus these companies have probation periods...why jump ship if you aren't sure you will be made permanent?

So yeah, not got any advice to give, we are both effectively stuck. The best I can do is apply for internal positions in other departments. Could you try that?

The obvious path would be to retrain as either a PM or a developer. But either way, you're in competition with other employees who have 10 or 15 years experience behind them already.

I know some of my skills are transferable but the whole thing just seems pointless. Although I feel my lack of confidence is not helping one bit. I need my mojo back!!!

I think it's much easier to re-orient yourself from within a company rather than leaving and trying to start again. Consult people wider than your manager? Eg organise coffees with other managers you are friendly with, and ask them what problems they have/what skill set they are going to be looking for in the future, what they see as the direction of travel for the company. If you come across something you find interesting, you could tell them you'd like to move towards that area and ask for their help. The company I work for is constantly changing its "big priorities" and seems happy to help the employees move with them rather than get rid of everyone and hire externally each time they change focus.

Personally I went through an experience of leaving my job and then finding a new job with different skill set and different sector, after 6 months of unemployment. That experience really taught me how much you have when you're on the inside - access to a great network of people, training, mentoring, career advice, software (for making your own portfolio), business cards, conferences.... Once you step out of the workforce you lose all that! Not that you are suggesting leaving without a job to go to, but I'm just trying to say you have access to some valuable resources from where you are.

That's super advice Feeding, thanks. You've made loads of good points. I need to make the best of what I have and actually start talking to people.

The shyness part always prevents me from doing the networking thing! I need to really get over that tbh.

As it is IT related could you use the time to study other IT skills?

Ha, this was me 20 years ago. In the company I was in, you could only access software if you needed it for work purposes - which made it impossible to retrain on other software while at work otherwise I would maybe not have been made redundant

Networking sounds cringey but it's excellent advice. I was rubbish at it otherwise I would maybe not have been made redundant

Not sure PM would be a good role. Confidence helps when you are having to cajole people to get things done!