My manager doesn’t think I’m working my hours

[Polarbearflavour]

So I’ve posted about my job before. Every day I have my resignation form on my desk but I never get around to handing it in such is my loathing for this place.

So I’m a civil servant working on a military base. My line manager is military. I have my own office and very little work to do. When I say very little I mean I have basically nothing to do. There is a military colleague already in the post doing my job. He too does very little and goes home early / to the gym / works from home.

My issue is, my manager (hates confrontation but think he’s a great manager as he’s been on a “Managing Civilians” course) asked me how working my 37.5 hours a week for me was working out and what hours was I working? It came out of the blue and now I’m wondering if he or somebody else is keeping tabs on me.

Now, I leave early on a Friday as military personnel tend to depart at 12 on a Friday. I leave at 1pm on a Friday as I do volunteering in a school for which I am entitled to 6 days a year off as part of civil service employment. I cleared this with my boss before starting. Fine.

There is no clocking in and out. No timesheets. I rarely see my boss or anybody regulary as nobody comes in my office.

Then we have the fact that I was told not to start until 10:30am on a Monday (as that’s when they start) and if I’m still in the office on a Friday when they go at midday I’m told “not to hang around.” So of course, once they leave, I go home. As I am essentially sitting in an empty building.

So no, I’m not actually doing my full hours a week as I’m told to not do them effectively! On a few occasions when the IT / electricity has been down, my colleague has told me to go home and do some studying as we can’t do any work.

And when I’m sitting here like today, sure I’m physically in work but with nothing to do so I’m reading my Kindle. So it’s all a bit pointless really!

My manager obviously doesn’t like me. The rest of our small team are all military and I’m not included in the WhatsApp group or conversation.

Should I just leave, especially now that my manager is questioning what hours I’m working? I have the feeling he just wants to get rid of me as I don’t fit in and don’t really do anything! I hate this place to the point that I cry before, during and after work as I just feel so bored and useless.

Hmmm so I bumped into the CO of the entire base as I had a walk around just now and went over to the officer’s mess to get some coffee. The place is of course empty.

He’s quite affable and always stops to talk to me and asked me why I was still here on a Friday afternoon especially as it’s now Easter leave and then HE told me to stop being so silly and go home.

He obviously outranks my boss. Just find it completely bizarre! Do I mention that to my boss when I see him next? Or do I just go home now that I’ve been told to by a senior military officer?!

It’s ridiculous such jobs exist, especially when being paid by the taxpayer.

When the manager started asking about your hours and how they are working out, why didn’t you say I don’t have enough work to fill the hours

If you’re leaving in 8 months regardless can you use the spare time to do something worthwhile ie could you get away with doing an online course, or even write a novel!

I think you need to specifically ask your boss why he's questioning your hours. If you can find out the agenda here you will be better tasked to deal.

Why not take his advice.

If you want to resign anyway.

Could you not chat to someone else other than your boss about the role. You said someone else gives you work to do.

It is indeed ridiculous that these sort of taxpayer funded jobs exist.
Meanwhile nurses, etc are working flat out with barely a moment to take a tea or toilet break.

I’m a civil servant and I have never heard of any job like this! It’s mind boggling that they’re paying you to do nothing and I can completely see why it feels a bit soul destroying.

I suppose the risk is that they turn round and dismiss you for doing nothing or not doing your hours. But probably a faint risk if you can prove they haven’t given you a role and that you have properly tried to find stuff to do.

I can’t really imagine it as these places always have stuff that needs doing, even if it’s just filing etc, but if they just say no no no then what can you do?

In your circumstances I’d look into virtual-PA work. My friend did it and it’s v flexible.

Do you have objectives? There are civil service standards for these things. Might be worth a word with HR?

Are you sure they aren’t expecting you to be a ‘self starter’? And be making your own job? (That is common in CS.)

And yes, I can afford not to work and we have rental income coming in from another property. I don’t want to give the impression we are loaded because ideally I do need to work, if only part time. And working pays for all my little luxuries and I like to save into an ISA and pension etc...I also don’t want to place the burden of paying the mortgage on my husband.

I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to say you don’t have enough hours to fill the role in any job as then you won’t have a job once they make you redundant! I would then also have to explain what I’ve been doing for the past x months. My manager must be aware that I (and my colleague who is hardly actually here) don’t have a lot to do.

And the government wastes BILLIONS of pounds and spends money on things I don’t agree with. Meh, what can you do? My salary is a drop in the ocean.

When I worked in the private sector, I found myself in the position of having nothing to do. I used my initiative to ask another assistant in my wider team if I could help her. HER boss then came over demanding to know why I was trying to steal work from her team and then my boss told me to focus on my own work. So I spent the rest of that job on the Internet and no more was said.

In another job - asked for more work and was given a week of secret file document shredding / archiving to do. Then after that “exciting” week I was back to doing nothing.

So now I know not to rock the boat. Better to stay quiet.

I don't think I could do that. It would drive me mad. Can you sort files out? Tidy up? clean? Make coffees anything to keep you busy. Start working out in the office? Write a book?

Well if you won’t seek out more work then you’re left with 2 choices OP - stick it out or leave. It sounds like you hate it there which is why you’ve taken a passing comment from your boss and got the hump about it. He probably just read a book about management and how you’re meant to check in with your team, and will never mention your working hours again.

It sounds like the sort of role that was created as a kind of benefit for military spouses: “sorry we send your husband away for months at a time; and sorry it’s difficult for you to have a career because of us moving you about all the time - here’s a low stress job to help pay the bills”.

I think I would do a bunch of online training or work on my book then. At least there’s only 8 more months...

BackOnceAgainWithABurn - my manager gave me three objectives and I do them. There is a HR business partner but there are under 20 civil servants here as it’s so military focused and HR aren’t based here.

The few bits of work I do get filed away and never commented on. I don’t think anybody actually reads them. My role is just box ticking. It’s ultimately pointless.

I don’t think it’s a role I need to make my own, I’m not that senior! Or senior at all. I’ve just been shadowing what my military colleague has been doing.

Glad the CO told you to go home. Your boss was probably just posing a question and didn’t mean anything by it. You do what you are asked and work the hours of the base, or if you have extra work to complete you stay to finish off, and that it that. Perfectly acceptable within your setting. Is it likely that your military boss will be posted before you move and therefore the role might change?

I would use the time to study. What skills do you fancy learning?

Hi BloodyWorried, no, I think he has another year here.

In answer to the above questions - well, I’ve alresdy written a published novel (no you aren’t allowed to guess!) and I’m seriously lacking motivation to write.

I do have a level 3 qualification linked to my job (specialist) to study, which I have self-funded. I normally do an hour or two a day but my eyes glaze over. As our IT is so outdated, I can’t study the online course on my desk PC as the internet browsers haven’t been updated for years. So I use my iPad.

My office is cleaned by a lovely lady every morning who is the only person who talks to me. I’ve wiped down my desk, tidied my single shelf of files and watered my plant who also has serious failure to thrive.

I’m starting an Open University education module in October in preparation for doing a PGCE too.

I love my school work so maybe there is hope that I can find something fulfilling.

I used to work as a temp in an MoD facility and they really don't like you being around once they've all bogged off, which they do, a lot!

I know what you mean!

Wherever I have worked I have to complete timesheets detailing the work I have done, usually broken into 10 minute intervals. If you regularly have more than 10% downtime there would be questions.

Can't believe jobs exists where you just sit around doing nothing all day and don't have to justify it

According to the brilliant book “Bullshit Jobs” around 40% of all jobs are just that. I can believe it. I think it’ll only get worse with the creep of automation.

I once temped as a medical sec and there was little downtime. I just did tapes and tapes of audio typing and printing out letters as there always seemed to be a huge back log. That was a “useful” job but I believe that a lot of med sec roles have disappeared due to automation (digitalisation, no need to type up letters) and some typing work being outsourced offshore (cheaper).

Other jobs I’ve had - worked on a beauty counter as a student which was lots of time standing in an empty Department store. Once you had dusted and cleaned the counter there was nothing to do and few customers. Pointless.

I did actually train as a healthcare professional at university but for various reasons it wasn’t the right job for me. That was generally busy. Apart from a theatre placement in Recovery that involved a lot of sitting around.

Can't believe jobs exists where you just sit around doing nothing all day and don't have to justify it

There are loads of them. Mine is mostly like that, because I've been doing it a long time and process anything incoming very quickly. Sometimes there are busy periods but it's mostly quiet if you are on top of things.

What are all these jobs?!? I’m currently completely snowed under and have been (again) denied the resource to expand the team to try and keep on top of things!!!

In a Mil setting, the FLC work to military Ts and Cs which are completely different to Civilian employees, which includes work and leave patterns and entitlement. It's comparing apples to oranges. So what seems 'strange' to civilians is very normal to military. Reality is Mil spend a lot of life filling in empty time, then suddenly it's Ops and they're working flat out almost 24/7 continuously. It's mayhem.

PBF - speaking from experience here, you need to take your "marching orders" including leave to deviate from your working hours directly from your Delivery Manager, or at least keep them in the picture about what you're doing, if you don't have work to do or if you don't complete your (37.5?) hpw. My understanding is that Civ log their hours onto a web system, but that may be different if they're on a Mil Base.

Even if someone in Mil is a Brig General, they don't have LM authorisation to tell you you can leave early, unless your DM directly states you should take instructions from them. It just opens up this question of you "not doing your hours" , it's best to cover your backside by keeping in touch with your DM.

One of the weirdest things about it is that it's incredibly difficult to be sacked! Almost unheard of....

Acronym city - FLC Front Line Command, Mil Military, Ops (Operations - I.e the nitty gritty of what FLC do on the front line).

We've just been told to go at 3 unless we have something particular to do. We normally get out at 3 every week.

My last job let me come & go as I pleased really. As long as my 2 work was done. My dog had cancer, the other had complications from an op, my mum had an accident and I had to be up there (90 miles) every weekend, DP had a terminal relative, dentist/doctors etc etc etc. 2 hours lunches when we went to the shops when no meetings etc on. They were very amenable to work/life balance

Honestly you don't like the job and can afford not to work so I wouldn't worry a bit as long as you are absolutely doing all the work you have been set and anything useful you could be doing. They aren't going to be checking up on you that much if everyone has gone before you are they? Just make sure you never leave anything undone and you are definitely in if they need you.