Little or no work to do. Should I move on?

[Dahlia82]

I have a well paid salaried creative role. I WFH, in the office one day a week. The company I work for is brilliant.

But the work is dull and I’m hugely underused. The work I get is also v sporadic which means I can have literally NOTHING to do for days. So i spend my time just pottering, walking the dog etc.

The boredom/ lack of stimulation is getting me down. I feel like a failure, just coasting towards retirement. It’s really affecting my confidence. I feel like my career is over already. I’m 49.

My boss is brilliant and tries to put as much work my way as he can, but it’s just not enough.

Should I look elsewhere for something more challenging (possibly upskilling to get something more senior), or just suck it up and count my blessings I have a nice/easy if boring job?

There are no similar roles or opportunities within my company so I would need to look elsewhere. But at my age I’m also worried I wouldn’t even get a sniff at another job!

I completely get why this is getting you down. Dealing with ‘rust out’ from not enough work can be as demoralising as dealing with burnout from a heavy workload.

I was in a similar situation once and I talked to my boss who got me some more work to do from outside of my team. I liked the work and it stopped me feeling fed up.

I think it would be worth discussing with your boss if you haven’t already. If you can improve things that way then you may not have to make that difficult decision about whether you want to take the risk of moving on or not.

Eitherway don’t ignore your feelings because you think you should be grateful to have an easy ride. Feeling miserable at work can be really awful.

If it's nice / easy but boring could you do something for yourself in the extra time, like an Open University course in a subject you're really interested in?

Do you want to start a business or anything like that?! If you do it sounds great.

If you don’t then yeah I would look for something else, it’s really soul destroying and if you aren’t keeping your skills up to date it will knock your confidence and make you less employable

I'm in this position now OP and it is so tough. Well paid job, WFH, great company, but I moved from a very fast paced job to this one at the start of the year (within same company) and although it's a role that'll look good on my CV, the work is boring, project not well planned out and I'm really struggling with motivation.

I'm actively looking for a new job. I'd much rather be stressed I've decided! I'm 45 and a bit too far off retirement to start coasting though (likely retirement early 60s)

Ah OP I hear you, I am making stupid money currently in a role with a workload easily a few grades below what it is. I should be enjoying the quiet time, I'm doing some training, but it is miserable. I can't coast like this, keep hearing about "lazy girl jobs" but feel like my brain is disintegrating and it's having a huge impact on my mental health. I've been here 6 months, I'm exploring options with my previous employer right now, but no, one way or another I don't intend to stick around for long.

I was in this position until a few months ago (not well paid though), and weirdly enough I managed to get stuck into a few more projects just by saying ‘I could take the lead on this’ and even though most of the projects would be totally fine without me, I turn up with a smile and relax all day. I find actually going into office fun and stimulating, I make friends and chat around the office. If anyone asks me to do something I get it done straight away. I have developed a great reputation of getting things done and ‘bringing people together,’ though anyone with a brain can see I’m basically doing one/two days worth of work a week.

I’m actively job hunting as my development is on reverse with so little responsibility! I reckon we can get better opportunities Dahlia, give it a go!

I had this situation a couple of times early on in my career, it is utterly soul destroying and in no way a blessing. I am wondering if having more of a presence in the office would bring more work your way? It could be out of sight out of mind. If you are sure that is not the case, then yes I would be looking for a different job, you have too many working years left to be stuck in a rut like this. Your skills will get rusty and it may become hard to talk about your current job in interviews the longer you leave it.

Bide your time and look for something else

Use the time to run your own freelance business and do some further study. That's what I did. Time is a gift.

Is there a danger of redundancy OP?
The danger with this ‘enforced’ coasting along is you slowly de-skill, slowly you’re no longer keeping up to date with the developments in your tradeable skills.
Redundancy happens, then you’re on the back foot looking for work.
Needing to fluff up the CV you realise you’ve not got much to write about in the last two, three years.
You try to come up with a convincing answer to ‘So , tell us what you’ve been working on the last 12 months?’

Ask me how I know this 🙂

At the very least, you should be signed up to Indeed and LinkedIn job alerts for the role you do or want to do. It’s a very easy way to discover what’s out there.

Good luck.

It's hard not having enough to do to to fill the time. And for me in particular it's disastrous as I'm not that self motivated-I have to have a deadline and some pressure or I get nothing done at all. This happened to me once and i actually became depressed.
Speak to your manager and ask for more work-you Dan tali's by doing that. But otherwise either look for something else or find a way to fill the time yourself-OU course or other.

I'd be more worried about the stability of a business that's paying staff to do very little.

Their profit margins must be awful and I'd be seeing redundancy flags.

The creative industry is on its knees, so I'd keep my head down and hope it gets busier.

You could suggest doing charity work to fill the gaps? Donation of creative time etc?

Or could you help with new business push for the company? Internal updates?

I'd take in a side hustle, as long is it didn't compete with your work. Something that can see you through to retirement perhaps?

I wouldn't move for the sake of moving, although I fully understand how demoralising it must be not to get enough to do. I would keep my eyes open for really, really great job opportunities - the ones that are never available when you need to change jobs. In the meanwhile enjoy the freedom, knowing it's not forever.

I would definitely be looking at completing some additional courses/ OU degree/ upskilling etc, whilst you are waiting for more work to find your way.

What about doing some volunteering work in an area of interest?

I would use the time for yourself and see it as a gift. Learn AI, if you haven't already because it will impact everyone's job eventually. There are a ton of free courses, some technical and some creative. Especially Google they have a huge number of courses for free, or you can simply learn via YouTube videos.

Also as @ForestGoblin suggested do some freelance work, start a business, and/or learn a skill you have always wanted to master.

If a company is prepared to pay you for your work and not worry that your time is not fully utilised then I think it is fair game for you to use that time that benefits you but in the long, your increased skills could benefit the company.

What do you mean by creative?
I was a graphic designer for 20+ years and bored mindless for the last 5. I talkies my way into some more digital/product/UX projects and eventually got promoted in not a different team in a rôle focused primarily in this. Steep learning curve but more opportunities for growth, as I say I was doing my job with my eyes closed and it's ok for a while but so demoralising. Can you take on new scope?

What an opportunity! Use all that extra time to do some cool stuff. Either for you (courses, side hustle, personal care etc) or for work (organise a conference, a hack, a new project idea, shadow another role etc). If you’re underworked everyone else probably is too - do you have someone at work you can confide in? Maybe not your manager if you’ve told them there isn’t enough work and you still don’t have enough.

Doing something extra whatever that is will help if you want to look for another job too - who wouldn’t want to hear about the internal design conference you ideated and led 😊

Thank you @vincettenoir ‘Rust out’ is a new one on me but it captures this perfectly. I’m glad you understand.

I raised all this with my line manager last year and he’s been brilliant in scoping out extra projects (outside my contract) for me to work on, which have been great. But these are again sporadic. I keep being told I am hugely valued and to hang on for bigger projects due in 1-2 years time but that’s a long way off…

It’s funny you mention that @OwlBabiesAreCute because when the home working thing started, studying a second degree was the first thing I looked into. Attended open days, spoke to tutors etc. But since I already have a degree, wouldn’t get funding and I just couldn’t justify the fees. Would love to do that if I could!

Thanks for your reply @Heatherbell1978 Our situations do sound familiar. But to be clear I won’t be retiring until at least mid 60s. (Ha!) So will simply be coasting (and rusting) for the next 15 plus years unless I take action.
Like you, I need to be busy. So job seeking it is I think. Good luck with yours! x

I’m with you there @fgfhds. it really does affect your MH, confidence and self esteem. I’m sorry you’re going through the same.

I feel like all my years of study and hard work have come to nothing atm.

Let’s hope this is just a tiny blip and better things are on their way for us. Good luck x

Thanks @tanstaafl! Good advice.

@BetterCare Upskilling is definitely a priority.

I’ve recently completed a remote learning course to expand one skill set. But some extra free courses is a great idea. Thank you.

I have great experience, so keen to build on what I have, fill in the gaps etc.

I’m limited in what I can do in terms of a sideline business due to contract confidentiality terms so I’d have to be either under the radar, or do something completely different, though both would feel like I’m cheating on my employer…

Thank you x

Hi @BobShark . I’m a copywriter (large organisation). Similar 20 years plus experience. Now pretty much a consultancy role.

A steep learning curve but with fresh opportunities for growth is exactly what I need.

I think content/UX roles are a logical next step. It’s time.

I’m glad the move worked out for you. Thanks for sharing.