"under" employed

[topcat2014]

I had to change jobs this year (sadly sacked..). I am grateful to have a job, small pleasant office. Had to take a 20k pay cut, but pay is still not awful.

Thing is, I don't have enough to do. Maybe person before me took longer etc.

I know this is a first world problem, and I'm sorry for those between jobs etc.

There isn't really more work I could "engineer" into my role.

I'm bored from when I wake up.

I also know that boredom is the opposite of stress - and I need to be careful what I wish for.

I need to suck it up for a couple of years to give a bit of space between my previous toxic public sector job..

I’m in this position! Although mine was a step up - I’ve taken a maternity cover position but they employed me full time when she was three days a week. There is no way enough to do to fill all week - I’m surprised it took her 3 days tbh! I’ve been there 8 months and now I’m starting to get to know people better I’ve started to offer my help to people and they’re saying yes as they trust me now. So maybe offer people some help? Say you’ve got a bit of capacity and happy to help where needed

I get how you feel though - boredom and being under-utilised is stressful in a different way. If you’re going to be at work you may as well be busy right

very tiring trying to look busy
can you ask for more work?

Thanks @Yuja unfortunately it is a small office, so I know what everyone else does.

My boss likes me, and I get all the work done (I never reached the end of my "work" in any prior jobs).

Maybe I've just been fortunate in my earlier jobs.

Boredom is stressful. Look at animals in zoos. They used to ho mad until they made thier enclosures more interesting and made them work for thier food.

Can you do a work related course during work time? Something online training wise.

I used to have a job where I just sat there doing nothing 90% of the time.

I kept asking the director and manager for more work but none was forthcoming. I ended up getting so bored that I left. I actually wish I was back there now. Rather bored than harassed!

You don't need to give it 2 years, just look for a new job now. Easy to explain why you're moving on from this one.

or as others have suggested, use the time to learn something new.

I would love this problem, my job is incredibly stressful and I will never get done everything that needs doing its impossible in the hours I have

What I would do in your position is, if no one will spot this, is do online learning of some sort, a hobby you can do online, learning a language that sort of thing. do it in your work hours.

I've had this for thr past 2 years also public sector- It was stressful in a different way. I have done lots of training and been proactive in offering help to other teams which has been gratefully received. I've also got myself trained up on new things like copilot/AI so I can offer help and support to the others as I've had time to play around with it. I'm looking for a different role now but it served me well while I recovered from a stressful role but ready to move on and not have to scrabble for work everyday. Good luck!

How closely monitored are you in the office? Can you listen to podcasts or do an online course? Do you have any working from home days? You could use the 2 years to increase your skillset so you can progress either at your current workplace or elsewhere.

I feel your pain, I’ve been in a similar position. I managed to get two working from home days where I’d go to the gym, chill out, and do online courses. I’d still get all my work done and had positive feedback from my manager saying how well I was doing.

If I were you, I’d definitely be looking at how I could use the time productively to benefit myself either in my personal life or my career.

Do you need to be in the office every day? If you could do this job hybrid you could get all your work done and then have time in the day at home to get chores done etc, or do an online course?

I know - my blood pressure is low now, in the green on the machine, and I don't manage any people.

I've only worked from home a couple of times, and I really don't enjoy it. If anything that would probably make the job even worse - but I appreciate the sentiment.

Can you pick up a side hustle? Or do some additional training or education?

Surely if you can wfh that would mean you were less bored as you could do housework or have an afternoon nap?

I had a job like this but could wfh so it was less stressful than having to sit in an office looking busy. It was quite a specialised technical role and it’s not like there wasn’t work in the office, they just never seemed to give it to me and I ended up doing a lot of ‘filling in’ type jobs that didn’t require my level of technical ability.
On paper it seemed ideal - plenty of time to do my own thing, but I actually got quite down and lost a lot of confidence and felt I was forgetting my technical skills through lack of use. I ended up leaving for a job where I am doing what I am trained for now.

I think if your manager knows you don’t have enough work it is easier as you don’t have to pretend all day, but ultimately I think you need a different job.

Boredom can be very stressful in a different way. It's not great for my mental health.

If you've asked everyone else for work, I would look at:

• Work-related training - if there's nothing available internally, look at LinkedIn, Udemy, Coursera, etc. If there's nothing directly related to your role/industry, what about things like first aid, health and safety, GDPR, ISO, ITIL, whatever else?

• Improving processes - anything unclear, overly-complicated, whatever. Are all regular, repeated tasks documented?

• Documentation - is what's there still current? Does it need updates? Are there gaps?

• Are there any internal organisations you can join, or voluntary activities? I've done a lot with our women's network, and organised STEM outreach events, and at one point, ran a public speaking club at lunchtimes. It makes life much more varied and interesting and gets me meeting other people in the organisation and outside. Could you organise a charity bake and coffee morning or something?

• if there's really nothing internal- learn a language with Duolingo or something. Read a book. Do something. Boredom can suck your soul away.

That is my dream job now! Didn't appreciate it at the time though. It just made he feel like I really didn't need to be there. Like if I didn't come in nobody would notice?!