I feel like I am probably the most qualified person in the world to answer this…
Since I graduated in 2005, I’ve held 4 full time jobs. Of those 4 jobs, three of them had a tremendous amount of “down time”, and the 4th one wasn’t too far off at times.
I work in IT. Specifically, I’m a programmer. Although I know that not all jobs are like this, most of the work I’ve done has been for small companies. Typically I am brought in to do a specific project or contract, and when that runs out, my job is over, and there’s literally nothing to do.
On my first job, we had a contract to write some software
I feel like I am probably the most qualified person in the world to answer this…
Since I graduated in 2005, I’ve held 4 full time jobs. Of those 4 jobs, three of them had a tremendous amount of “down time”, and the 4th one wasn’t too far off at times.
I work in IT. Specifically, I’m a programmer. Although I know that not all jobs are like this, most of the work I’ve done has been for small companies. Typically I am brought in to do a specific project or contract, and when that runs out, my job is over, and there’s literally nothing to do.
On my first job, we had a contract to write some software for a surveillance camera. We were given about a year and a half to write a front end. The bulk of the work for the software was done within about 2 months. From that point onward… I would often come in to work and just sit at my desk. During this time I read several programming books on C# and taught myself a new programming language. My educational background had been with C++ and Java, and I thought the software industry might be heading towards C#, so I decided to program the project in a new language.
On my second job, I was working as a maintenance programmer for a large law firm. The software had been written in Visual Basic, so I decided to continue in the original language. In this job I was working help desk software. In layman’s terms, I sat a desk and waiting for “complaints”, bugs, or new field/page requests to come in. Some weeks, I would have 20 requests. Some weeks, I would have none. The work was eratic, and I’d often find myself sitting at my desk doing absolutely nothing. I taught myself SQL, VB, and ASP during this job.
On my next job, I was working for a document imaging company. In this company, I decided to switch back to C#, and update my ASP to 4.0. I also started dabbling with AJAX/JQUERY. At some point one of our contracts fell through, and we suddenly found ourselves out of work. I would come in every day and just sit and stare at the wall… eventually I bought some programming books and started reading through them…
Next job was a contract position installing some ERP software for a company… about 8 months in, everyone gave up on the project… it was too risky and complicated to implement, and we ended up getting mired down in details and hesitation… at some point everyone just stopped working on it, and I was sent back to my desk and told that there was no more work for me. I was free to go, or stay and they would try to find something for me to do. Unfortunately that something was just me sitting at my desk doing absolutely nothing for almost 8 months…
My career has been punctuated by this frequent completely lack of work, at work…. the first time I saw it happen, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was confused, worried, afraid… I thought for sure, any moment, someone would come around to my desk and tell me they knew that I wasn’t doing anything productive, and that I should leave..
However, the reality is that this never really went down that way. At some point, yes the work dried up, and I had to move on. But day to day.. as long as I came in to work on time, kept up appearances, was pleasing to work with, I generally found that no one noticed or cared. Co-workers in general are too busy with their own jobs and lives to notice or care what you are doing. The only person you’re beholden to is your boss, so that’s the only person you have to keep happy. Communication is important…
As for me, I ask a few times for more to do, but if at a certain point I am ignored or I get a sense like I’m bothering people, I stop asking. At this point I basically just go into “new training mode”. I find something related to my career that I’m interested in, and I start learning some new skill or just trying to find something useful to do…
I don’t really know what else to say except that I have found this is common in white collar jobs. I often feel guilty about it, and I feel that some blue collar people are looking at me and hate me or are jealous or they think I am a hypocrite. I notice the casual jokes when people walk by my desk and say, “Must be nice just sitting around surfing the net all day. HA HA HA.” Yes.. ha ha… I just laugh with them and smile… there’s nothing else you can do. I’ve had to tell myself that this is what I went to college for. This is why I spent $100,000 and 8 years of college… I am doing a trade that very few people can do, and I am being paid for 15 hours of work a week, and 25 to be available in case more work comes in. That’s just the way it is…
On the flip side, when I was at the law firm, I frequently worked a few 50+ hour weeks when I was learning the job, or something really time-sensitive came in or broke… As a salaried person, I do not get paid for those extra hours, or get over time… as I got better at my job, and faster, I did not need to do that any more… but the fact is that my work has been consistently erratic throughout my entire life, and it’s something I’ve had to accept and be comfortable with.
Rather than complain, I have tried to use that time to be productive… learn new things, keep myself up on new technology… but I admit also that at times I just simply read books or listened to music. At the end of the day… I have tried not to beat myself up too much about it, nor do I try to let other people’s judgements get to me. I said it earlier, but you really have to keep in mind that most people you work with just simply do not think of you, one way or another. They think about themselves, their own problems… I’m not telling you to be narcissistic about it, but either learn to be comfortable with it, or try to find another job where you will have enough work to make you happy.
I’d also suggest asking for more work, but since I read your comment that you have been doing that and it isn’t working, there is more to suggest.
First, you say you suspect something personal - race, gender? If so there isn’t much you can do in the time you have and not a lot of point making a fuss in a 4–week temp job so just bring work from home or reading, studies, etc. Keep asking people, but if they don’t give you any work, do your own stuff. I would suggest not appearing ‘not busy’ or with head phones on unless it fits the environment.
It happens sometimes that people bug the boss to brin
I’d also suggest asking for more work, but since I read your comment that you have been doing that and it isn’t working, there is more to suggest.
First, you say you suspect something personal - race, gender? If so there isn’t much you can do in the time you have and not a lot of point making a fuss in a 4–week temp job so just bring work from home or reading, studies, etc. Keep asking people, but if they don’t give you any work, do your own stuff. I would suggest not appearing ‘not busy’ or with head phones on unless it fits the environment.
It happens sometimes that people bug the boss to bring in help, but then say they’re too busy to explain their work to a temp, so you aren’t alone in finding this happens. People love to complain about how busy they are, but often find excuses to stay busy so they appear indispensable and important. The other temps may have prior relationships with people who trust them and have taken the time to explain what’s needed and you just haven’t been around long enough to break the ‘friend’ barrier that may exist.
I suggest asking for more work. The problem with having only a little work is that you can become so bored that you hate your job. Also, you could be easily laid off because it’s important that workers are productive or else companies are losing money.
If the workload doesn’t increase, I suggest that you look for another job.
I hope this helps!
It is the dullest phase when you reach office all bright & active, turn on your system & then you realize you do not have any work to do.
Well, no doubt this phase can dampen your skills & make you under confident. However, you can chose to use this time wisely on your self-development. When you do not have any substantial work to be done over the course of time, then the best thing is to invest that time on your self-development by taking various certification courses, watching videos or reading articles that would sharpen your skill & enhance your personality.
Hope this helps:)
Enjoy dude. There would be times in your life, when you will pray for some free/relaxing time. Work would come your way eventually.
I started all my businesses while I had nothing to do at my job :) so maybe start a side business or a blog!
In the short term, not being busy can seem like a great thing. However in the long run you are prevented from learning new skills and also as you age the best way to protect your brain from dementia is by having a challenging and stimulating job. Try and ask for more work, if you are not given more work, look for a new job and once you have an offer resign from the current job.
Be proactive and look for something to do — not sure what line of work you’re in, but when I have down time I catch up on scanning, filing, cleaning, reorganizing, and/or ask co-workers if they need help with any projects.
Ask others if you can help with their work.
You have not been working there long, was there a lot of work for you initially; and has it now fallen away?
Bear in mind this was a temporary job in the first place. Sometimes an employer over-estimates the work available and what they at first thought was going to be a six week assignment, may discover that the back-log of work was not as great as they thought.
Has there been a sudden change in the pattern of the job and indeed the company’s operation fallen away and are there clearly money issues?
Finally has there been a rapid turnover of staff, and in particular Directors and Department Head
You have not been working there long, was there a lot of work for you initially; and has it now fallen away?
Bear in mind this was a temporary job in the first place. Sometimes an employer over-estimates the work available and what they at first thought was going to be a six week assignment, may discover that the back-log of work was not as great as they thought.
Has there been a sudden change in the pattern of the job and indeed the company’s operation fallen away and are there clearly money issues?
Finally has there been a rapid turnover of staff, and in particular Directors and Department Heads?
If the answers to all four are yes; even 3/4 then I would suggest looking for another job. Register on as many agencies as possible, and start looking at the press and job-boards on the internet. With reference to the latter, be warned that a lot of the jobs that turn up on these boards are duplicated/recycled and what may appear to be an active market, in fact isn’t. Certainly this is true in the UK jobs market.
Again, the temporary sector by its nature is very unstable, and I have had contracts “dry up” on me before, and what was thought to be a six month contract is starting to wane withing two months.
You can obviously see that something is going adrift, and if you feel that insecure the faster you start looking for another post the better. Notify your agency and tell them that you are not happy that things are going well with the company (not your job, but their stability). They may pull you off-site and transfer you to another assignment; and the quicker you notify them the better. They are paying you, and do not want to make a loss; neither do you.
To that end, unless the Agency you are currently with provide you with a good work flow, and you have been with them for a time; I would register with as many agencies as possible, to get continuation.
Best of luck.
I once worked at a K-Mart where everybody forgot I existed.
I started working there right before Christmas during my senior year of high school. I use the term “working” lightly, because I was only scheduled for one or two days a week, only for five or six hours a night. I had two main functions: Get the carts and straighten up the seasonal aisle right by the carts.
Later, K-mart decided to turn some of their stores into Big-K, which was meant to compete with Super Wal-mart, offering a combination of home goods and groceries. The renovation effort was massive. An entirely new team of managers ca
I once worked at a K-Mart where everybody forgot I existed.
I started working there right before Christmas during my senior year of high school. I use the term “working” lightly, because I was only scheduled for one or two days a week, only for five or six hours a night. I had two main functions: Get the carts and straighten up the seasonal aisle right by the carts.
Later, K-mart decided to turn some of their stores into Big-K, which was meant to compete with Super Wal-mart, offering a combination of home goods and groceries. The renovation effort was massive. An entirely new team of managers came in to deal exclusively with the remodeling of the store, with their own set of employees.
One of the first things they took over was the entryway into the store, where the seasonal aisle and the carts were located.
For a little while I tried to join them. I helped get carts and put them in the new area outside the front entrance where they were stored, and when they were all grabbing tables and shelves and other stuff that had to be lugged around, I would belatedly join in and walk the objects back and forth wherever they were supposed to go.
They started giving me weird looks and shutting me out. I mean, LITERALLY shutting me out, standing in front of me and blocking me during group meetings, avoiding me during breaks, that kind of thing. After a couple weeks, I took the hint and stopped checking into that area.
I started walking around the store, waiting for customers to ask me for help. I would stop by each department and ask if they needed assistance. I swept the floors, front-faced merchandise, re-arranged displays, anything to keep me busy. The regular managers stopped having tasks for me to do, the intercom never called out for a code 70 anymore.
Eventually I found a little area in the shipping and receiving section filled with old wicker furniture and all the hooks and tags and hangars from the clothing department. I made that into a little bedroom, and took naps in there and brought in Star Wars Episode I magazines to read. I put together a bike and rode it around the loading dock area. After a while I cautiously pedaled out of the back doors and into the neighborhood. I started calling friends and going to parties while I was still clocked in. I made food for myself at the K-Cafe. One night, I was helping some of the guys unload a pallet and I overheard two managers in the next aisle talking about old employees.
“You know who I miss?” one of them asked. “That kid John.”
“Yeah,” said the other one. “I wonder what happened to him.”
When the summer ended I put my two weeks notice in so I could go to college. The renovation was almost finished and a new GM was brought in to run the whole operation. When I gave him the news he took me aside and told me in confidence that he had really liked what I had shown him, and that he could tell I was headed straight for the top one day. He offered me a position as assistant manager if I would stay.
SARC ON!
Russia Today has repeatedly shown ‘n told me how boring it is to work in the office all day in America. You, Americans, have to keep yourself busy even when you have no work to do, while surreptitiously reading listicles on BuzzFeed and answers on Quora.
In Mother Russia, we don’t need to pretend. We invent problems and then pass the time solving them. That’s what I call real work. Try it sometimes!
Office in Russia is so much fun that we can’t wait to go back to work from an abusive husband or a nagging wife and the elderly inlaws, with whom we are stuck in a tiny, cramped apartment.
I s
SARC ON!
Russia Today has repeatedly shown ‘n told me how boring it is to work in the office all day in America. You, Americans, have to keep yourself busy even when you have no work to do, while surreptitiously reading listicles on BuzzFeed and answers on Quora.
In Mother Russia, we don’t need to pretend. We invent problems and then pass the time solving them. That’s what I call real work. Try it sometimes!
Office in Russia is so much fun that we can’t wait to go back to work from an abusive husband or a nagging wife and the elderly inlaws, with whom we are stuck in a tiny, cramped apartment.
I show you my office and I prove it is fun.
On my way to the office, I drive along the sun-drenched riverside in the center of Moscow. That glass building is the British Embassy. It took me only 2.5 hours to get here from my suburban hut! Isn’t it fun?
Look at these guys fishing in the open manhole on the left. Driving in Moscow is akin to playing Grand Theft Auto - so many cool and totally unexpected obstacles and berserk drivers. Never a dull moment!
There’s a barrier. A guard is looking for a parking pass. My heart is racing. It’s a game, ‘Muricans! There are only three such passes for the entire company, and I never know until the last moment whether I get in or have to drive to the parking lot under an overpass two miles away and take a shuttle bus back to the business center. This time I’m in luck!
We have two cages full of annoying birds. They’re chirping all day long. In the beginning, they gave me a headache and I was certain that they’d drive me nuts and I’d have to look for another job. But now I don’t hear them anymore!
There are a lot of potted plants in the office, so the air is crisp and pure! You probably want to know what I do in the office. I market healthcare products. I invented the project myself. I deal mostly with women, because Russian men don’t take care of their health, and they die before their retirement or younger. My work is fun!
This is my workstation: birds, plants, a cactus.
During the break, I read Russia Today because I’m a Russian patriot!
We have four printers! I suspect that one is currently broken. It’s either the second from the left or the first from the right. I like to send a file to print to a random printer from the list and then I have fun figuring out which printer will print it.
I measure my body temperature every morning to see if I got COVID-19 or not. It is not fun, because the thermometer always shows a way too low temperature since it’s cold outside and the skin’s cold.
For my break, I go to a Vietnamese restaurant. I can’t pronounce any of the names of the meals so I just point my finger at a picture of the meal and say, “I want this. Not spicy, please.”
Haters of Russia claim we are a poor country. But look at those vehicles!
When I don’t want to eat Vietnamese food, I go to the office kitchen. I used to cook full meals there — see there’s a stove — but now I mostly reheat food in the microwave oven.
The TV in the kitchen is always turned on to a federal state-controlled TV channel to make sure that only patriots stay in the kitchen long after finishing their meals. Since this is the only place in the world where I watch Russian federal channels, it provides me with fresh ideas for Quora answers!
This is the map of the Russian Federation with pin flags showing the cities where we have medical representatives. It’s an old map, and Crimea’s not shown as part of Russia. I offered to paint the peninsula red with a Magic Marker but was told that we have a branch in Ukraine so it’s not a good idea.
I hope you enjoyed my tour of our fun office in Moscow! I’m sorry I couldn't show you any of my co-workers for security reasons.
UPDATE. We now have a giant bird cage!
Start searching for jobs that will give you good work!
Even i face a similar situation.
This is my daily office routine:-
- reach by 10:00 & checkout all mails received, reply to them. Usually done within 20–30 minutes.
- I write & read on quora till 12:30
- I try and learn something new daily by researching about it on google. I am doing distance MBA & i teach as well. So i read for the next 1.5 hours
- lunch is from 2–3 pm. I go for a walk this time
- check mails. usually done within 15 minutes.
- checkout some new music on youtube. use instagram for sometime. Usually till 4.
- 4–5 i like to read a novel.
- 5–6 i prepare day’s reports including sales, stock summaries et
Even i face a similar situation.
This is my daily office routine:-
- reach by 10:00 & checkout all mails received, reply to them. Usually done within 20–30 minutes.
- I write & read on quora till 12:30
- I try and learn something new daily by researching about it on google. I am doing distance MBA & i teach as well. So i read for the next 1.5 hours
- lunch is from 2–3 pm. I go for a walk this time
- check mails. usually done within 15 minutes.
- checkout some new music on youtube. use instagram for sometime. Usually till 4.
- 4–5 i like to read a novel.
- 5–6 i prepare day’s reports including sales, stock summaries etc.
- now i head to my class:)
Many think that i have an easy job! But its actually tough to sit idle throughout the day!
I don’t agree with your statement of “Totally Overpaid”.
Considering that you are not doing at all in your office everyday, I think you are “Totally Underpaid”.
- Do you get up early in the morning to get ready for the office?
- Do you travel using Bike/Car/Public Transport to reach your office?
- Do you spend your full day in the office?
If the answer is “YES” to any of the question above, then My Friend, you are not paid as per your efforts.
You are investing your TIME, don’t take me wrong, but in other words, you are WASTING it. Nothing, really nothing can compensate the Loss of TIME.
Few of my suggesti
I don’t agree with your statement of “Totally Overpaid”.
Considering that you are not doing at all in your office everyday, I think you are “Totally Underpaid”.
- Do you get up early in the morning to get ready for the office?
- Do you travel using Bike/Car/Public Transport to reach your office?
- Do you spend your full day in the office?
If the answer is “YES” to any of the question above, then My Friend, you are not paid as per your efforts.
You are investing your TIME, don’t take me wrong, but in other words, you are WASTING it. Nothing, really nothing can compensate the Loss of TIME.
Few of my suggestions:
- STOP thinking about you being overpaid. Keep this point aside. Make peace with it. You are being paid because you are giving your time. Take a leave and you will understand, either it will be deducted from your leave balance or you will be on Loss Of Pay.
- If you are in a Technical role, Grab a new skill and try to improve on your existing ones. There are ample of online websites which are providing free tutorials.
- Learn a new skill. It can be about a new Instrument, a new Game or a new Language.
- Start Networking. It is always good to have connections. This is a life long process.
- Give more time to your Parents/Family. They will be with you in your bad times, not your colleagues.
You have an opportunity to make the best out of it. Don’t let it pass just like that.
Time always change, whether it is good or bad.
Hope it helps.
Cheers :)
PS: If you liked my answer, please up-vote to inspire me to continue writing :)
Move jobs as soon as possible!
I had this for 4 years at a really inefficient company. No idea why they kept me there earning earning high salary and doing nothing. I kept pushing and asking for more work but never got any. I found another job and resigned but they promised to rectify the situation and gave me a pay rise so I stayed and nothing changed. I then left again but as a result I found it really hard to apply myself in my new job. I hadn't hfad to concentrate seriously for years so it was a real struggle for me. Fortunately it was fine but working in a job where you don't do anything f
Move jobs as soon as possible!
I had this for 4 years at a really inefficient company. No idea why they kept me there earning earning high salary and doing nothing. I kept pushing and asking for more work but never got any. I found another job and resigned but they promised to rectify the situation and gave me a pay rise so I stayed and nothing changed. I then left again but as a result I found it really hard to apply myself in my new job. I hadn't hfad to concentrate seriously for years so it was a real struggle for me. Fortunately it was fine but working in a job where you don't do anything for years can really damage your ability to apply yourself.
Hi Akhilesh,
Thanks for A2A. Sorry for the delayed response.
Well, to stay productive when there is no work at the office, I suggest to have a personal goal. Build something amazing. There is a lot to learn and achieve apart from 9–5 job. If you think , you really love your job and want to excel in it, then I suggest you to have mastery over your technology such that no one can beat you. Having said that,
- you can learn new courses.
- Improve your communication skills if need be.
- Take a new book and complete it. I presume, you can manage reading an e-book at your desk.
- Avoid chatting with colleagues ne
Hi Akhilesh,
Thanks for A2A. Sorry for the delayed response.
Well, to stay productive when there is no work at the office, I suggest to have a personal goal. Build something amazing. There is a lot to learn and achieve apart from 9–5 job. If you think , you really love your job and want to excel in it, then I suggest you to have mastery over your technology such that no one can beat you. Having said that,
- you can learn new courses.
- Improve your communication skills if need be.
- Take a new book and complete it. I presume, you can manage reading an e-book at your desk.
- Avoid chatting with colleagues near the coffee machine
- Avoid using cellphone and try not to use social networks. Because when you are free at work, you accept Facebook, Twitter, Instagram as your best friends.
If this answer has helped you, please upvote so that I know I can be of help to people.
Please dont tell me when thy need you are the impotant person and as soon as the responsibility strikes them you are the person to blame to?
I would say start learning in the background and it would be tough in the beginning but trust me you will escape this.
Focus on yourself, in every situation of your life you are imp. Situation is tough in this pandemic to get a new job but learning is not.
If you have enough savings , quitting will be still risky. I would say get disciplined and start working on your mental health first.
Have faith, it will take time. Thats why i strongly recommend working ou
Please dont tell me when thy need you are the impotant person and as soon as the responsibility strikes them you are the person to blame to?
I would say start learning in the background and it would be tough in the beginning but trust me you will escape this.
Focus on yourself, in every situation of your life you are imp. Situation is tough in this pandemic to get a new job but learning is not.
If you have enough savings , quitting will be still risky. I would say get disciplined and start working on your mental health first.
Have faith, it will take time. Thats why i strongly recommend working out. Bcs in office people are cruel. Dont share anything about ur plans with anyone right now.
If thy are giving you tough time, you also give them by getting a job at a good place. You can do it.
If you can ask for help, you are enough to help yourself. All the best.
It happens. Go talk to your boss and ask for a list of your duties.
Sometimes, some people play games and want you to be fired for their own motives. Sometimes it is just disorganization. Don’t be the victim.
I have never done this because it takes so much more work, trying to get out of doing your work, than just working and pacing yourself. When your employer pays you to do a job, you are expected to carry out the job they hired you to do.
you are at the point in life where you don't have anything you immediately NEED To do... This makes it easy to do nothing which almost inevitably leads to depression... We are meant to be accomplishing things and growing. Inertia is a terrible force to fight against. If you essentially haven't really moved in seven years it will feel very difficult to make a move. Let's try and figure out what steps you can take that will help you get some momentum.
You have various aspects of your life that need to be addressed in order to feel fulfilled:
Physical - honestly probably the first and relatively
you are at the point in life where you don't have anything you immediately NEED To do... This makes it easy to do nothing which almost inevitably leads to depression... We are meant to be accomplishing things and growing. Inertia is a terrible force to fight against. If you essentially haven't really moved in seven years it will feel very difficult to make a move. Let's try and figure out what steps you can take that will help you get some momentum.
You have various aspects of your life that need to be addressed in order to feel fulfilled:
Physical - honestly probably the first and relatively easiest aspect of your life to address. Find a goal that you will stick with and train for it. Does boxing appeal to you? Hire a trainer and Train for an amateur match to have in 3-4 months. Mud runs appeal to you? Start running and sign up for a spartan race for the summer. The key is not to just go to the gym to work out but to set a deadline and goal that is close by that will keep you motivated to train when what you want to do is fall back into old habits and watch tv
Financial - you have a job that doesn't challenge you but provides financial security. This might not be the best place to make a change right now but keep in mind you will need to find a way to improve your job situation down the road.
Intellectual - Learn a new skill or learn about a content area that you've been curious about. Ideally you commit to training 3 nights a week physically and 2-3 nights a week to training and learning a new skill. You can't be passive about it. Treat it like a school project with a deadline otherwise you'll make excuses to ignore it.
emotional - connect with someone or something outside of yourself. This can involve joining a community or simply connecting with old friends to go out once a week.
Spiritual - this is down the road if you feel the need to connect to something bigger than yourself. I think it's hard to develop your spiritual side if you are depressed so I'd put this aside for now.
When you're depressed very few things help more than exercise. It increases endorphins, serotonin and confidence! Down the road you can find projects to increase your financial security and spritual aspects but for now I strongly urge you start training for something!
The take away message is for you to find something that you can accomplish that will help you move past your comfort zone and grow. This should be a life long process... Good luck and keep us posted!
Shit, kick back and relax.
Employees are not obligated to seek out work. If there is work to be done, it is on the boss to assign or delegate.
I work in travel nursing. Any job I take is under contract. My contract is clear; I am guaranteed 40 hours a week.
This is important for later.
So I sign my contract and start my first day. Because the nursing home hired several nursing staff, I was often shuttled to sit on the sidelines so they could be properly trained.
Whatever.
So I was kicking it in the breakroom when one of the other nurses came in and asked me for help. I was walking down the hall with
Shit, kick back and relax.
Employees are not obligated to seek out work. If there is work to be done, it is on the boss to assign or delegate.
I work in travel nursing. Any job I take is under contract. My contract is clear; I am guaranteed 40 hours a week.
This is important for later.
So I sign my contract and start my first day. Because the nursing home hired several nursing staff, I was often shuttled to sit on the sidelines so they could be properly trained.
Whatever.
So I was kicking it in the breakroom when one of the other nurses came in and asked me for help. I was walking down the hall with her when another nurse, employed by the facility, approached us and told me, “Shannon, I can take it from here,” and the two of them went on to do whatever.
Okay. Back to the breakroom I go.
After nearly three hours, the unit manager snapped at me.
“Why are you sitting in here doing nothing?” she asked.
“Because I was told to stand down so the new hires could get more training,” I said.
“Well, we don’t need you here, so you can leave,” said the unit manager.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “Are you sure you want to send me home?”
“Yes, Shannon. I am sending you home,” she said.
“Okay, then,” I said. I logged into my job app to clock out and had her sign it. I added a note that I was being sent home and she initialed it.
Off I went. I was cool with it because I was still getting paid.
So I waited until the next day and called in to see if I was on the schedule. I was not. So I didn’t go in. Saved myself a two-hour round trip.
Rinse and repeat for the next four days.
Frustrated, I called my recruiter to ask to be sent elsewhere because this facility clearly did not need me there. My recruiter asked me to sit tight while she called the facility. The unit manager told the DON (Director of Nursing) that they had plenty of people and didn’t need me and told my recruiter not to send me back since they were well-staffed now.
Except for one problem.
I have a legally binding contract that guarantees that I get paid for at least 40 hours. I get paid even if I don’t work.
They closed out my contract, citing the reason as “refusal to work.” But my recruiter reminded them that the unit manager said they did not need me because they had enough staff.
That meant I was eligible to be paid for that contract. It was an 8-week contract at $32 an hour. It was sweet.
Boss can’t get mad at you for not doing any work if they didn’t assign you any work to complete. If they want you productive and busy, then they need to make sure to find something for you to do.
Otherwise, kick back, relax and enjoy the ride. If you come to work and they don’t have any work for you to do or they don’t put you to work, that’s on them.
Insult to injury? Hmmm... Well... Consider yourself truly blessed (for a bit anyway). Why? Because you have complete freedom to develop anything that you want, including yourself!
Let me give you an example: I was hired into the Software Training Dept. of Cray Research, Inc. in 1988. My job for the first months was to learn the nuances of the Cray Assembly Language (as used on the Cray-1 & Cray X-MP). I had the class & previous instructor video taped. And began to study. ... (That's what management thought, initially.) So, what happened?
1) I played those tapes in the background every day until
Insult to injury? Hmmm... Well... Consider yourself truly blessed (for a bit anyway). Why? Because you have complete freedom to develop anything that you want, including yourself!
Let me give you an example: I was hired into the Software Training Dept. of Cray Research, Inc. in 1988. My job for the first months was to learn the nuances of the Cray Assembly Language (as used on the Cray-1 & Cray X-MP). I had the class & previous instructor video taped. And began to study. ... (That's what management thought, initially.) So, what happened?
1) I played those tapes in the background every day until I could parrot everything that the other instructor said. When I didn't understand what was going on, I would stop & replay the tape & then research the specific topic. (That tape played whenever I was in my small office.)
OK, so, what did I do with the other 4~6 hours of the day to avoid total burnout?
I wandered around a bit. Read the Wall Street Journal on my Lunch Break. And observed the students & instructors. ... Then!
2) I noticed that the students were struggling in all of the classes. They were being FORCED to use a UNIX BOX (A Pyramid Computer) to edit & submit their programs & they were totally unfamiliar with UNIX. I sat down & scribbled up a (sh) Shell script package that let them automatically edit their programs (starting from a canned JCL & program template that I wrote), submit them, and know exactly where they would come back to on the UNIX BOX so that the students could then review their work.
3) I implemented the script structure in my first class that I taught. It was a hit! I then sold it to the FORTRAN class instructors. & so on. ...
Net result? I was surprised some 6 months later when my supervisor came into my small office with a letter. The letter said "Thanks!" and included a check for $1,000 (taxes pre-paid)! !!!
So, long story short. Use the time to create something useful for your co-workers & management. Or, study like crazy for your next (planned) job. You're being PAID to do it unless being told otherwise.
PS. That extra work that got me the bonus? I got fired from my prior employer for "wasting my time" making backups of the department's work (every Friday afternoon). ... The irony was that when that system crashed UGLY, some months later, I got a call from an ex co-worker, "Do you know where the backups you took are stored?" I responded, "I gave them to my supervisor just before leaving."
If you are being paid to do nothing, then dont do too much.
In a lot of places, inefficiency is key. It looks stupid, but if you look deeper, there is a good reason why people do so little.
For example right now, I work for a company that provides customer service to other companies. Someone needs a customer service team, they sign a contract with my company, who will provide a certain number of hours of service (people available to answer phones and such), and a certain level of service.
If I was hired directly by the client to do customer service, then the client would want me to do as much wor
If you are being paid to do nothing, then dont do too much.
In a lot of places, inefficiency is key. It looks stupid, but if you look deeper, there is a good reason why people do so little.
For example right now, I work for a company that provides customer service to other companies. Someone needs a customer service team, they sign a contract with my company, who will provide a certain number of hours of service (people available to answer phones and such), and a certain level of service.
If I was hired directly by the client to do customer service, then the client would want me to do as much work as possible.
However, since I am working for this other company, who bills by the hour, well they have no incentive for me to work super hard. There is no reward for it, it will just lead to fewer billable hours if we are too efficient. There is a whole bureaucratic process around each call to make sure we aren’t too efficient. We are encouraged to meet the minimum level of service, but that’s it. Being on time is supremely important though, even if there is nothing to do. Small delays add up over time to fewer hours billed to the client, and thus less income for my company.
In a system like this, if you press for more work, the best thing you can hope for is being given a useless task to keep you occupied.
In general, if you are paid to do nothing, especially if you are paid by the hour, then its not a good idea to try and do more unless you negotiate something out of it first.
Hey,
You seem pretty pissed off with life, isn’t it? Before even that you read fast to know the answer, I would rather say that you take a deep breath dear and get calm.
Hmmm so you got your first job with difficulty……… a point enough to tell that this job wasn’t your liking rather you just needed a job.
Now that you have got the job you struggled to get, obviously you won’t like it. Because you never had interest in the job from the time you wanted to get into it.
But presuming you must be having financial obligations, I would still suggest you just leave it!!!! Yeah you heard it right 7 months i
Hey,
You seem pretty pissed off with life, isn’t it? Before even that you read fast to know the answer, I would rather say that you take a deep breath dear and get calm.
Hmmm so you got your first job with difficulty……… a point enough to tell that this job wasn’t your liking rather you just needed a job.
Now that you have got the job you struggled to get, obviously you won’t like it. Because you never had interest in the job from the time you wanted to get into it.
But presuming you must be having financial obligations, I would still suggest you just leave it!!!! Yeah you heard it right 7 months is enough time to have accumulated a bit of savings to sustain a few months of mental peace. Why do you have to force yourself into things you do not wish to do or to stay where you don’t belong. The word ‘torture’ is a strong feeling and the reason enough to quit…..ummm I would rather prefer using the word leave because quitting is never an option, you always seek for the best since you are worth it!!
So buck up urself, tk a chill pill and relax. Give yourself time and ask what is that you really are interested in doing and put your head into it!!
Believe me it’s one life and and you got to live in each moment! :)
Well what do you want to achieve?
Is your goal to grow and become a more established analyst and gain skills? If so, then you should make it abundantly clear to your superior that you want to work on more projects. If he continues to put your requests off, perhaps it is time to go above your boss and ask for more work. You should also weigh this against just weathering through this period if you think your boss is genuinely going to give you more work soon. If not, then you should probably look for other teams within your company and even start looking for other jobs. I understand the frustrati
Well what do you want to achieve?
Is your goal to grow and become a more established analyst and gain skills? If so, then you should make it abundantly clear to your superior that you want to work on more projects. If he continues to put your requests off, perhaps it is time to go above your boss and ask for more work. You should also weigh this against just weathering through this period if you think your boss is genuinely going to give you more work soon. If not, then you should probably look for other teams within your company and even start looking for other jobs. I understand the frustration of not seeing yourself grow at work. It is existentially challenging to know that you aren’t accomplishing what you could be so I understand the desire to do more.
However, on the other hand, you can do a lot with the freedom you are given. As many others have said, being paid to not do work is not the WORST thing. Just because you aren’t growing through your work doesn’t mean you focus on personal growth. Perhaps spending all your time surfing Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, etc, you can take some classes off of Coursera at work? Or perhaps you could read a pdf of some interesting books. You should maybe spend more time chatting/contacting old friends and building relationships. These are all very valuable uses of your time that you could easily do while waiting for more work to come your way.
At the end of the day, I do think that we derive a lot of our happiness from seeing ourselves grow. Just because you are not learning from your work at this moment, doesn’t mean you can’t be productive with the time you have. However, one of the biggest opportunities for us to grow is in the work that we’re doing. If you think that you will never be able to grow at your current position/under your current boss, perhaps it’s time to start looking for other opportunities.
I personally think that it is not enough just to make a good salary but you have to feel like you earned it. It is inherently unsatisfying to be given something you don’t feel like you deserve (unless you feel like you deserve to be paid for surfing the internet). If you do find a new position, make sure it is somewhere where you can add value commensurate to what you are compensated. I assure you, you will be much more fulfilled that way. Unless you are perfectly fulfilled by accomplishing nothing and getting paid for it (which is fine in short increments). But I doubt that is the case because then you wouldn’t be asking this question.
Good luck man! I hope you figure out a good path forward.
Well, I am an IT Engineer. So I barely get spare time at my work. But the one who don’t have any work at workplace, in terms of IT we call it on-bench.
If I will be on-bench, what I will do?
- If there are some training session of new technologies are going on then I will attend them. My interest is to learn Angular, React, NodeJS, MongoDB, Salesforce, IoT, AI, Robotics etc.
- If there is no training then I will try to study above technologies at my own by searching tutorials over the web / youtube.
- If I learn all above things then I will go for more complex concepts and some good practices in each.
- If
Well, I am an IT Engineer. So I barely get spare time at my work. But the one who don’t have any work at workplace, in terms of IT we call it on-bench.
If I will be on-bench, what I will do?
- If there are some training session of new technologies are going on then I will attend them. My interest is to learn Angular, React, NodeJS, MongoDB, Salesforce, IoT, AI, Robotics etc.
- If there is no training then I will try to study above technologies at my own by searching tutorials over the web / youtube.
- If I learn all above things then I will go for more complex concepts and some good practices in each.
- If I get bored with this then I will checkout and go for tea.
- At evening (after 3.30), I will check the stock markets for ups and downs. Keep eye on some stocks.
- Learn some trading lessons from youtube. Or find someone who is already doing good in stocks in your company (make sure he also have nothing to do :-) ).
If I get over from all above things and still I have nothing to do then surely 2 things will happen.
- Management will fire me because I am on-bench and I am unused resource for them.
- I will find someone else who hire me to do their work.
Firstly you really arent a special case - most 28-35 year old programmers (ie non managers) who have more than 6 years of experience in a corporate job are in the same situation. I think this is because if your really smart, you figure out how to do the least amount of work.
Try to imagine how you'll feel when your 40 and look back on the last 10 years of your life. At 40, it would be hard to classify yourself as "young" so you'll have to deal with the question "Did I spend the best 10 years of my life doing something that was important to me?" or worse "Did I waste the last 10 years of my lif
Firstly you really arent a special case - most 28-35 year old programmers (ie non managers) who have more than 6 years of experience in a corporate job are in the same situation. I think this is because if your really smart, you figure out how to do the least amount of work.
Try to imagine how you'll feel when your 40 and look back on the last 10 years of your life. At 40, it would be hard to classify yourself as "young" so you'll have to deal with the question "Did I spend the best 10 years of my life doing something that was important to me?" or worse "Did I waste the last 10 years of my life?".
My advice or "todo list" would be:
- Start saving that money so you can actually use it on an exciting life in the future. Start to minimize your cost of living this boring life. Input all your accounts into mint.com, your debugging-brain along with mint's great UI will show you where to cut down nearly instantly. (Rent will be where you can really save some cash)
- Use your free time, at work and away from work, to figure out what you want. to do.This can be done by just trying out different things that you've always wanted to try. Since your used to doing something thats boring everyday, this will not be easy to do.
- When you have a 200K and you've figured out what you want to do, quit and do that which you love. Again this will be very difficult because for the past 4 years you've been doing something thats boring.
To be bored for 8 hours a day during work days implies that your life is boring for nearly 71% (5/7ths) of the time. Life can be much better than that but be careful about what you wish for ;) ...
Congratulations on being so self aware.
Welcome to corporate world where one gets salary and perks for hust doing routine tasks and being a Yes man/woman.
If you have this squeaky inner voice which snubs you for being so mediocre and taking salary for not adding damn thing , then see your boss. He too is just passing his time.
And yes I too have gone thru this and am going thru this.
So just flow with tide and learnt to silence that squeaky little voice within you.
There's always stuff to do. Hone your craft.
1. Read
Sites like CSS Tricks, Web Design Journal, Quora and tech news. Learn more about your industry and study the trends, not just your tools.
2.Write
Start a tech blog! Sure, you may not earn a dime from it. But being able to articulate the stuff you know, brings your expertise up another notch. Don't be afraid of making a fool of yourself - plenty of developers and techies are already doing it.
3. Tinker
Experiment with the stuff you do know. Find new ways to rock that CSS and JS.
4. Steal
Take a gander at some cool web templates and special effects. T
There's always stuff to do. Hone your craft.
1. Read
Sites like CSS Tricks, Web Design Journal, Quora and tech news. Learn more about your industry and study the trends, not just your tools.
2.Write
Start a tech blog! Sure, you may not earn a dime from it. But being able to articulate the stuff you know, brings your expertise up another notch. Don't be afraid of making a fool of yourself - plenty of developers and techies are already doing it.
3. Tinker
Experiment with the stuff you do know. Find new ways to rock that CSS and JS.
4. Steal
Take a gander at some cool web templates and special effects. Try to replicate those using your own tools. Failing that, copy the code and find out how it works.
5. Build
Side projects. Earn a bit of extra income (but not in the office, please).
6. Interview
Look at the companies that are hiring. See what your industry needs and gauge how marketable you are. Arrange for a few interviews, if only for the practice. You think HTML/CSS/JS are the only skills you need as a developer? Surprise, surprise. Interview skills are skills too.
7. School
Sign up for classes. It could be programming, or mobile dev, or design. Add new tools to your arsenal.
8. Teach
Be a volunteer instructor at some non-profit. Teach others what you know. It'll bump your expertise level up like crazy.
9. Test
Take Microsoft certification or something. Or go through some katas in Code Wars.
10. Contribute
Plenty of open-source projects need the input of talented developers. (Again, not at work please)
Hello,
If you are just starting out and you just started working it is a huge transition
You are going from this
To this
Before this, likely your only primary concern was school. Now there is family, money, bills, relationships. It all can't be ignored. And worse, nobody seems to care anymore. Everyone is busy with their lives doing god knows what.
That's because work is only a tiny fraction of your life (or should be)
Work, for a healthy person is only 1/4th of their life (and probably the least important). Work for a healthy person can be replaced… They know they can find work somewhere else, so t
Hello,
If you are just starting out and you just started working it is a huge transition
You are going from this
To this
Before this, likely your only primary concern was school. Now there is family, money, bills, relationships. It all can't be ignored. And worse, nobody seems to care anymore. Everyone is busy with their lives doing god knows what.
That's because work is only a tiny fraction of your life (or should be)
Work, for a healthy person is only 1/4th of their life (and probably the least important). Work for a healthy person can be replaced… They know they can find work somewhere else, so they are not stressed.
So, start by looking at your life. Are you going home exhausted? Not enjoying life? Have nothing to look forward to after work?
Do you go home fall asleep and wakeup and go to work?
Do you have no “energy”?
Are you putting all your effort into work and not getting results?
Do you expect work to be like school?
If you aren't dividing your life into a minimum of two parts, ideally four, you will always feel unsatisfied
The problem isn't that you hate work. The problem is you have to make a huge paradigm shift. There are times and places where you can go “all out" for work for example if you are building a business for yourself or if you are getting equity. But if you are working for someone else for salary. You could be let go at any time for any number of reasons not necessarily malicious. The market is the market.
So do not put your health in other people's hands. Or family. Or your future.
Create a life for yourself
That is the difference; before you were told what kind of life you could have. Now you have to make a life.
Good luck!
No.
I would be bored out of my skull.
I would be wandering around to other areas of the business, volunteering to help out with other things that needed help.
Not only would this alleviate my boredom, I’d learn other aspects of the business.
Based on my new understanding of the relationships between the components of the business, and how they function, I would be better at my own job, should work come up that needed to be done.
Additionally, I would be better prepared to start my own business ssome day, should the occasion arise.
If you are in this situation, find work to do to make yourself useful
No.
I would be bored out of my skull.
I would be wandering around to other areas of the business, volunteering to help out with other things that needed help.
Not only would this alleviate my boredom, I’d learn other aspects of the business.
Based on my new understanding of the relationships between the components of the business, and how they function, I would be better at my own job, should work come up that needed to be done.
Additionally, I would be better prepared to start my own business ssome day, should the occasion arise.
If you are in this situation, find work to do to make yourself useful.
Be proactive.
Otherwise, find a different job.
Be proactive.
I think "challenge" and "learning curve" may do more harms than goods in this case.
I used to think the same, leaving jobs if it does not offer me new challenges. Or else, I would think my learning is done.
Wrong, until when I bumped into the series of months and days unable to find a proper job. My egotistical self would convince me to ditch the learning and embrace the payment.
You know, learning material is all around you. It is on the Internet, in your local library, in the people around you.
Learning is not just the matter in your job solely!!!
It is very vastly underestimated that if you trea
I think "challenge" and "learning curve" may do more harms than goods in this case.
I used to think the same, leaving jobs if it does not offer me new challenges. Or else, I would think my learning is done.
Wrong, until when I bumped into the series of months and days unable to find a proper job. My egotistical self would convince me to ditch the learning and embrace the payment.
You know, learning material is all around you. It is on the Internet, in your local library, in the people around you.
Learning is not just the matter in your job solely!!!
It is very vastly underestimated that if you treat your job as a learning experience, you will always get bored of it eventually when the learning thirst is not quenched.
As for my job and what I did to stop the boredom of work is to start volunteering for extra project that awards me with real knowledge.
Then, there goes that day, I got assigned to a brand new project based heavily on selling. Me? I got no prior selling experience nor would I be a good persuasive guy, but that doesn't stop me from exploring my inner potential.
That project turned out to be a huge success and I got the most deals landed than any other team globally.
If I choose to stay at one place and wait for chances to arrive? It will never arrive.
Same thing as your question, leaving the current job without doing the fullest exploration of your situation will not guarantee a better opportunity or learning takeaways.
Sometimes, learning is not the vital part but taking initiative like this may give you better options.
Ah, either Federal or State or Local government, I see !
It’s perfectly fine, and enjoy it while it lasts. Of course, if you don’t deliver results, you might find yourself out of a job sooner than later.
And then you’ll remember fondly those good old days when you were being paid for doing nothing.
Find stuff that your boss doesn’t know is an issue, and work on improving it.
Find a colleague in every department and come up to speed so that you have a much better grasp of the big picture of how the company functions.
Find a way to make yourself invaluable to the organization.
Then find a way to capitalize on your being invaluable!
If you’re salaried then take it as a blessing and enjoy the extra hour. If you’re hourly try and get an answer as to why he wants you to cut out early. Are other employees getting the same cut, or just you (or only a handful)? Is something happening which is impacting your ability to work that last hour?
Years ago, the company I worked at moved office locations. The computers were not up and there was no phone system to answer. I’d basically be sitting around twiddling my thumbs if I was there. Obviously not my problem, and I wasn’t happy with losing the pay. But, I understood the boss’ predica
If you’re salaried then take it as a blessing and enjoy the extra hour. If you’re hourly try and get an answer as to why he wants you to cut out early. Are other employees getting the same cut, or just you (or only a handful)? Is something happening which is impacting your ability to work that last hour?
Years ago, the company I worked at moved office locations. The computers were not up and there was no phone system to answer. I’d basically be sitting around twiddling my thumbs if I was there. Obviously not my problem, and I wasn’t happy with losing the pay. But, I understood the boss’ predicament. They’d just spent thousands on the move, which was having unforeseen difficulties.
I would love if you can contribute to social cause, as you are ready to work free and any work. Start gathering groups of people who are illeterate and innocent and educate them about the things you know. The journey begins from there... you will learn a new perspective of life, rest assured on me, you will definitely make a good career too.
Be proactive, read the documentation they have in place. Offer to help on any issue/project.
If the above fails start studying reading, keep yourself busy
Its best if you start hunting for a new job(most likely on the domain that has always fascinated you - if that has fascinated you, then you know a lot about that domain in your mind by default) and quit your current job.
Once you loose the interest, it will be boring and if your are bored, do something else!
The trick and key is to keep yourself occupied with various other things. If your job requires you to be in a specific behavior, keep that "Poker Face" in your work and become a different person outside your office! Trust me, your life will be a lot more interesting then you can imagine!
You will get bored at certain point of time in your office and you don’t know what to do and how to pass the time till office ends?
The solution is simple. Here are the some interesting websites for you to check out and kill your boredom.
1. ← FACTSlides → Amazing FACTS you didn't know!
This one is my personal favorite. Who doesn’t like extra info on everything? There different categories like World, history, society and nature. Very interesting facts to pass the time. You don’t even know how time ends in here.
Truly addictive, Little Alchemy challenges you to create 550 elements
You will get bored at certain point of time in your office and you don’t know what to do and how to pass the time till office ends?
The solution is simple. Here are the some interesting websites for you to check out and kill your boredom.
1. ← FACTSlides → Amazing FACTS you didn't know!
This one is my personal favorite. Who doesn’t like extra info on everything? There different categories like World, history, society and nature. Very interesting facts to pass the time. You don’t even know how time ends in here.
Truly addictive, Little Alchemy challenges you to create 550 elements from just the basics: water, earth, air, and fire. Basically, you combine elements to make new ones (so for example, water + water = sea). It doesn’t take long to get sucked in.
Is reading is one of your habits? Are you addictive reader of Novels? Then bump in to Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg has over 49,000 e-books for free, with more being added regularly. You can download them to your phone or Kindle – or just keep one open in a tab to dip in and out of.
As the name says it is The Useless Website, its only goal is to show you the most pointless websites that exist on the internet. Just click the big pink button to discover one, and it will automatically open in a new tab.
5. The Oatmeal - Comics by Matthew Inman
Created by Matthew Inman a.k.a. “The Oatmeal,” his popular humour website caters to the avid comic lover and quiz taker. His wacky drawings are mainly based on relatable life situations, education, and crazy stories that would never be possible in real life.
1000+ Tips to hack-up your life. Make it amazing every day!
A website where you don’t need to click anything. Everything is controlled by movement of your mouse. If you click anywhere it will buzz like an old Tv’s picture without any connection. Do tell me how many times you clicked.
8. Games: 2048
Who doesn’t like classic 2048 game? Do you want to play on your PC or Laptop? Why late click the link.
This sounds like something you should discuss with your direct manager. Unclear job role is a very common problem, they should be able to clarify what you should focus on.
Whether you should quit depends on mamy factors - some ideas to consider: do you enjoy being there? Are you paid well? Can you use the free time effectively (e.g to learn skills that would help you improve in your profession)? Are there awesome people around? Is the company doung well? Will a short work period look bad on yo...
You are obviously in the wrong place then :)
Sometimes, in a big company, people are put on ‘desk’ temporarily - which means no work assigned until further notice (awaiting client feedback, new project) type of thing. If you literally have nothing to do or contribute for whatever reasons… just leave the place and work somewhere else.
It is true some people have an opinion about the definition of a “Do nothing” person.
It is physically impossible to do nothing.
A chair is occupied, a job description exists, someone is responsible for the work of the “do nothing” person and is not of the same opinion.
Unfortunately I hear this happen often. A lot of people leave these new jobs as they get bored and are nervous that they are stunting their career growth. It is not an ideal situation at all