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Nothing to do in my new job

43 replies

WhatthehellamIdoing · 17/03/2025 11:33

I started a new job 3 weeks ago. I have done a couple of training courses but I have absolutely nothing to do! I am sitting here twiddling my thumbs. This is having a massive impact on my mental health and I can't stop crying and my anxiety has hit the roof. I left my previous job of 14 years because of a toxic work atmosphere but I would go back in an instant rather than just sitting here. I honestly don't know what to do. I feel I have made a huge mistake. Any wise words?

OP posts:
LucyCY · 09/05/2025 11:27

WhatthehellamIdoing · 09/05/2025 08:47

@Someone2025 I have worked in a school before but not one as tiny as this. Without being too outing its absolutely tiny and hence my problem! The attendance and dinners take me half hour! The job description looked huge but sadly I don't need to do any of it because its such a small school! I think I should have realised when I agreed to take the job. My problem really is what to do next! I need to be busy and this just isn't!

I work as an administrator for a busy care home. I was told in my interview that it's a busy, varied role but it's the exact opposite. My job description was also varied and looked really interesting 😐. I'm not going to rush into accepting another unsuitable job, but I know I can't stay there for much longer.

WhatthehellamIdoing · 09/05/2025 11:33

@LucyCY I'm sorry you feel the same way. At least its some consolation that we aren't the only ones!

OP posts:
Imperfectpolly · 09/05/2025 11:38

Hi OP
I'm in the same boat at the minute.

I just keep telling myself that it's OK to be quiet and it will pick up. I've flagged it to the other manager, and my manager.

Do you think it will ever pick up there?

It kills me some days when it's quiet, but it's still better than my last job where I didn't have time to go to the toilet.

LucyCY · 09/05/2025 11:45

Imperfectpolly · 09/05/2025 11:38

Hi OP
I'm in the same boat at the minute.

I just keep telling myself that it's OK to be quiet and it will pick up. I've flagged it to the other manager, and my manager.

Do you think it will ever pick up there?

It kills me some days when it's quiet, but it's still better than my last job where I didn't have time to go to the toilet.

Sounds exactly what I'm going through. My last job was relentless and the pay was awful. I've gone from one extreme to the other! I also worry about changing jobs again in case the next one is a disaster 🙃. I'd love to get back into the legal profession but AI seems to be replacing legal secretaries

LucyCY · 09/05/2025 11:48

WhatthehellamIdoing · 09/05/2025 11:33

@LucyCY I'm sorry you feel the same way. At least its some consolation that we aren't the only ones!

I just can't understand why companies pay people to just sit on a seat all day doing nothing. I'm scared to keep mentioning it in case I talk myself out of a job

BG2015 · 09/05/2025 12:23

Could you ask the teaching staff if they need anything photocopying, laminating or cutting out?
Could you walk around school and see if any displays need freshening up in the corridors or hall? Do any of the display posters need updating or freshening up?

JoanOgden · 09/05/2025 12:32

This is ridiculous given how tight school budgets are. The money would be better spent on supporting pupils. Does the Head realise you don't have any work?

carcassonne1 · 09/05/2025 12:39

My first job was like this for the first 6 months (not school). It was a corporation where I sat in a big room of 25 people and we could all see each other. I was sat close to my manager behind a glass pane, so I was observed and monitored all the time. I had to be actually trained to do my job and nobody had time to do it, so I just had to sit there in front of my PC, with some big manuals to read and reread. I was allowed 5 min break every hour, so I went to toilet. It was the most awful time in my life.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 09/05/2025 19:15

Allaboardtheraveytrain · 08/05/2025 12:24

They won't be paying someone a salary for no reason. It will be a combination of settling in period (some teams take a few months to gradually give authority of work over to new staff) and being a 'non-busy period'.

If you're working in school admin then this is definitely the quiet period so try to enjoy it. September-January will feel a bit like chaos.

Quiet period?! It's school admissions tims. New budget year. There is a LOT to do this time of year.

We are talking about the English state educatio system, aren't we, OP?

Mumofteenandtween · 09/05/2025 19:23

Could you offer to listen to some children read?

Calmdownpeople · 09/05/2025 19:24

OP if this is affecting your mental health, causing you anxiety and you are crying every day there is a lot more going on here than your job. Hinestly that isn’t a normal reaction to a slow start in a new job.

It takes time to settle in and figure things out. And it takes time for people to give you work and they probably don’t want to overwhelm you. You left a toxic environment and now you want to go back - clearly you aren’t happy at either. Maybe be proactive and do things to keep busy. Ask others if you can help them. Speak to your manager, head, teachers if you. can help them. Be proactive and not let this passively happen to you.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 09/05/2025 19:54

How small are we talking? Is it a PRU or something? Attendance and dinner registers may well take only half an hour in a small school. But what other attendance stuff do you do? What about attendance monitoring, sending out the regular attendance letters, dealing with the EWO for persistent absentees? What about chasing up unpaid dinner money or dealing with discrepancies? How are the lunches provided? Do you deal with an external provider who you need to liaise with/provide data for?

Isn't your phone or office very busy with calls from parents and prospective parents? Social workers, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, mental health workers? Don't you receive any orders? We're always getting deliveries which have to be checked and recorded against the budget sheet etc.

What about your parental communication system? Apart from attendance messages and letters we send out lots of messages about the many events which take place in school (which also all need organising), the usual stuff about being considerate with parking.

There are parents evenings to organise, fundraising events, open evenings, concerts, Stay and Plays, trips, after school enrichment clubs etc.

What about recruitment and day to day HR stuff like staff absence, helping to manage supply?

Taking and relaying messages for teaching staff, collecting pupils whose parents are taking them to an appointment or going home sick?

Looking after sick or injured children, recording safeguarding stuff.

Free school meals admin, SEND admin.

It's endless. I just can't understand where you're coming from, tbh, unless it's a very niche kind of school with hardly any pupils and loads of money for spare staff.

At my own school it's desperate times.....we're talking trying to replace experienced qualified staff with apprentices a few grades below.

Enigma53 · 09/05/2025 20:56

Could you step into a TA role for a bit?Freshen displays? As someone said, offer to do photocopying/ laminating etc
Does the school social media page need updating with events which have happened? Or the whole school website? Delivering orders to staff classrooms. Is the school having an end of year performance? If so, maybe help out with that? Publicise sports day? Order stationary for next year?

Kahvikuppi · 11/05/2025 11:24

LucyCY · 09/05/2025 11:48

I just can't understand why companies pay people to just sit on a seat all day doing nothing. I'm scared to keep mentioning it in case I talk myself out of a job

Maybe budget, use it or lose it mentality ?

LucyCY · 11/05/2025 12:51

Kahvikuppi · 11/05/2025 11:24

Maybe budget, use it or lose it mentality ?

That's what I'm thinking too

neilyoungismyhero · 11/05/2025 13:04

I had a pleasant easy going work situation. People were lovely and the money was very good. However, I did about an hours work, if that over the entire shift 9 hour shift. It drove me nuts. I just got up one afternoon and said I was going home and never went back.

LucyCY · 11/05/2025 17:11

neilyoungismyhero · 11/05/2025 13:04

I had a pleasant easy going work situation. People were lovely and the money was very good. However, I did about an hours work, if that over the entire shift 9 hour shift. It drove me nuts. I just got up one afternoon and said I was going home and never went back.

I've gotten extremely close to doing this. I applaud you!

FinallyHere · 11/05/2025 17:58

Given your experience in another school, how about doing a timetable of what you expect to be doing over the whole school year, then work out what you need to be able to do those jobs now.

Remington speak to your manager to clear away the things blocking you from getting on would be a great use of everyone’s time. Always good to show initiate rather than complain about not being busy.

good luck. Hopefully this time next your with will be fully under sail.

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