Author Topic: Bored at work  (Read 23202 times)

mpbaker22

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Bored at work
« on: August 13, 2013, 08:15:48 PM »
This may belong in the off-topic forum.  I started typing this in the MMM at work thread, but I didn't want to hijack it.

Does anyone else have long periods of boredom at their job?  I've actually asked my manager for more work on a few occasions.  Usually I'm told there just isn't more work or I'm given some bullshit repetitive task.  Part of the problem, I think, is I'm the only worker in my 20s in my group.  There's only one worker in her 30s (Actually she might be 29).  My group has 18 people and I'm definitely the most tech-savvy.  I work in finance, yet I'm the only one in my group that can do macros, which I used to run the extra, but repetitive, tasks I was given automatically.

I'm starting to rant, but I've only worked 40 hours in a week maybe twice during the 19 months I've been working at my company.  It's a large corporation and pays quite well, but I am frequently bored and I don't really enjoy the work I do have.  I may have just hijacked the thread during this rant.  Anyone with similar situations or with advice for my situation?
« Last Edit: August 13, 2013, 08:22:09 PM by mpbaker22 »

brewer12345

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #1 on: August 13, 2013, 08:29:51 PM »
OMFG, I feel like I am serving a prison sentence.  I have literally nothing to do for days at a time, but my employer is big on face time (no telecommuting) and I have to be there 8 hours a day regardless.  I have to stick around through the end of the year for vesting purposes, but it is torture.  I count the days and wait patiently for the very occasional periods when I actually have something to do.  Gah.

ender

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #2 on: August 13, 2013, 08:33:25 PM »
Write more complicated macros or just mess around with them.


kkbmustang

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #3 on: August 13, 2013, 08:36:49 PM »
Side hustle?

Or read Tim Ferris' 4 Hour Workweek for food for thought.

Read or take online enrichment courses to expand your skills?

I've been in that position before. I found another, more challenging job.

lifejoy

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #5 on: August 14, 2013, 06:03:47 AM »
Yes- I often have days where I need to kill time here and there, but it is nothing as bad as other jobs I've had where I would literally sit at work for 8 hours and only have enough work to fill one of them. 

Luckily I had a computer and an unfiltered internet connection.  I did a lot of research on a personal project I was working on, started a blog, and became awesome at meal planning.  I also planned a lot of elaborate fake trips- picked out hotels, restaurants, sites I wanted to see, planned train trips.  It was actually really fun and ate up an amazing part of my day.  And now if I win the lottery I know everywhere I'll go :)

But I still quit the moment I had something better come up!

kt

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #6 on: August 14, 2013, 06:07:36 AM »
if you can use the internet maybe leverage the spare time to your advantage. it's something i've been considering/doing. i've read a lot about meal planning, budgeting, housing, gardening, growing veg etc... could do with a new topic now! something i can read about on the computer that will save me money/time/effort.

StetsTerhune

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #7 on: August 14, 2013, 06:36:38 AM »
I would say about half of all weeks I do less than 5 hours of work total. The other half somewhere in the 5-15 range with another 15 hours of meetings.  And I'm good at my job. I would work harder if there would be any material gain to it. But there wouldn't be, I'm already going to get the max the max bonus/raise/promotion schedule at this level of work.

Some weeks it's absolutely awful and I feel like I'm dying inside. Some weeks it's amazing and I feel so lucky that I'm being paid (a lot) to sit here and goof off. I will say that in my last area I was in the OP position -- the only 20 something in a room of 30 and 40 somethings. That was much worse. Now that I have a bunch of other people to talk to, even if they generally actually do work and are annoyed by me, it's better.

Plus there's the internet. The sweet, sweet internet. Teacher, mother, secret lover.

I guess all my suggestions to OP depend on how visible your screen is to others and what your employer has blocked. We have youtube blocked but not much else and few enough people can see my screen (4 people who I trust, to a point) that I'm willing to do anything but sit and watch HBOGo all day.

longform.org, listen to NPR podcasts (this american life has archives of ever show online), email old friends, chat at work and make new ones, chat online and make new ones, try your absolute best to live a real life from your chair at work while being paid enough that you soon won't have to sit in that chair anymore.

Also, taking an hour (or however long you can get away with) walk for lunch really helps.

totoro

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #8 on: August 14, 2013, 07:09:57 AM »
There is a balance between autonomy and working for a living when you are not FI.  That said, if you are bored at work and have time, make that time count.  Create value.  Life is time-limited and you don't get these hours back.

I would suggest that you start thinking about what you can do to increase the quality of your life and those around you at work.  Increasing your quality of life might mean even mean changing your job eventually.  Do you know what would make you happier/more satisfied?  If not, find out.  Have you done a five-year/ten-year plan?

Could you cultivate relationships at work by putting a bit more into helping others?  Can you start a volunteer project that follows your inclinations/motivations that your employer would back?  Can you investigate options in your field that would increase your income or satisfaction?  This could involve reviewing the competition as part of a research project for your firm and making recommendations for change. 

Find out what you really enjoy and find a way of bringing that into your workday in a way that benefits you and your employer.

brewer12345

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #9 on: August 14, 2013, 08:21:57 AM »
There is a balance between autonomy and working for a living when you are not FI.  That said, if you are bored at work and have time, make that time count.  Create value.  Life is time-limited and you don't get these hours back.

I would suggest that you start thinking about what you can do to increase the quality of your life and those around you at work.  Increasing your quality of life might mean even mean changing your job eventually.  Do you know what would make you happier/more satisfied?  If not, find out.  Have you done a five-year/ten-year plan?

Could you cultivate relationships at work by putting a bit more into helping others?  Can you start a volunteer project that follows your inclinations/motivations that your employer would back?  Can you investigate options in your field that would increase your income or satisfaction?  This could involve reviewing the competition as part of a research project for your firm and making recommendations for change. 

Find out what you really enjoy and find a way of bringing that into your workday in a way that benefits you and your employer.

In my case, I hae done all that.  I used downtime over the course of the year to plan and execute my ESR escape and I have done or scheduled literally everything on my to do list already.  The last piece to fall into place is healthcare insurance and I cannot even look at it until the CO state insurance exchange goes live and realeases policies and prices on October 1.

footenote

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #10 on: August 14, 2013, 08:24:54 AM »
In MN our exchanges are scheduled to publish rates Sept 6. Counting the days...

(Read a good reminder to remember that published rates will just be the opening act. Rates will change as insurers figure out the usage experience over time.)

Re: Bored at work, I was so there is so many of my jobs. I would constantly ask for more work or gin up productive projects on my own. It really was one of the more grating things about corporate life.

totoro

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #11 on: August 14, 2013, 08:42:31 AM »
There is a balance between autonomy and working for a living when you are not FI.  That said, if you are bored at work and have time, make that time count.  Create value.  Life is time-limited and you don't get these hours back.

I would suggest that you start thinking about what you can do to increase the quality of your life and those around you at work.  Increasing your quality of life might mean even mean changing your job eventually.  Do you know what would make you happier/more satisfied?  If not, find out.  Have you done a five-year/ten-year plan?

Could you cultivate relationships at work by putting a bit more into helping others?  Can you start a volunteer project that follows your inclinations/motivations that your employer would back?  Can you investigate options in your field that would increase your income or satisfaction?  This could involve reviewing the competition as part of a research project for your firm and making recommendations for change. 

Find out what you really enjoy and find a way of bringing that into your workday in a way that benefits you and your employer.

In my case, I hae done all that.  I used downtime over the course of the year to plan and execute my ESR escape and I have done or scheduled literally everything on my to do list already.  The last piece to fall into place is healthcare insurance and I cannot even look at it until the CO state insurance exchange goes live and realeases policies and prices on October 1.

How are you going to make this time count?  What can you do to create value?  It is a good question to ask.


MrsPete

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #12 on: August 14, 2013, 09:01:12 AM »
Holy cow!  I can't imagine not having enough work to fill my week.  The thought is completely alien to my experience in the workplace.  I assume y'all mean you have times of "feast and famine".  That is, you work really hard some weeks . . . and other weeks have little going on.  My husband's job is like that at times.   

If I had extra time at work, first, I'd ask myself if I'm really doing all I'm supposed to do.  I'd "work ahead" and prepare things that would help me when things get busy again.  Then I'd look around and see if I could do anything that'd help me move up in the company -- you know, take on any extra jobs that're going undone, help other people who may be more busy than I am.  I know that lots of people here claim to genuinely hate their jobs, but if you're taking the pay for a full week, you do have an obligation to put in a full week's work. 

If no work existed and that just wasn't a possibility, I'd bring home projects with me and use that time.  For example, right now I'm working on organizing and typing my recipes into a single book.  I'd work on a couple things I'm making for Christmas presents.  I'd work on buying/pricing items for the house we plan to build in a couple years (for example, I'd stalk light fixtures on ebay).  I'd take care of my personal correspondence, or even this year's Christmas cards (which, if I had all of your free time, might be homemade).  I'd plan out next year's vegetable garden.  I'd plan next year's vacation.  I'd organize my digital photographs and send them out to be printed, then I'd actually get them caught up into scrapbooks.  I'd read. 

If I had extra hours in my day, even if it were at work and I wasn't free to do literally anything I wanted, I could absolutely fill them with projects that interest me.  Boredom wouldn't be an issue. 


ace1224

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #13 on: August 14, 2013, 09:08:13 AM »
i wouldn't say i'm bored, i just don't have a lot to do.  while what i do require skill once its up and running a trained monkey could watch it. 
i watch my gas chromatograph, i watch my varian, i watch my bubblers change color.  we make solid products so in the 7 years i've been working i've seen maybe like 3 failures and only one was a major finding.
i can't remote from home because i have to actually have the equipment. 
all of that being said, this is the perfect job for me, i am not a go getter.  i dislike being busy.  i fill my time reading books at my desk or chatting with my lab partner who is my irl best friend. 
when i was getting my MBA a lot of times i did school work.  i used to run a womens meetup group so i'd do that from my desk.
now i mainly read books on the kindle app.  i love reading, and they give out free books on amazon!!!! amazing!!
i also stalk blogs for good DIY projects and budgeting stuff.  its awesome i get paid awesome for my area to work at like 75-80% effort. 
don't get me wrong some days we are slammed and whenever there is a national disaster we work crazy overtime trying to make and get product out on time.  when the tsunami hit japan i think i worked 25 days without a day off trying to get enough tested and made so that we could get products out to help with the clean up effort.
the boston bombing had a major effect on business as well. we sold an order of 10 million riot controls to nypd after that.
most of the time i'm on auto pilot though and only ramp it up if i have to.

Marmot

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #14 on: August 14, 2013, 09:21:17 AM »
Plus there's the internet. The sweet, sweet internet. Teacher, mother, secret lover.

This is an instant classic. Just had to quote!

mpbaker22

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #15 on: August 14, 2013, 09:27:05 AM »
Thanks for all the responses.  I have done a lot of them, but a few could use more time devoted to.
For one thing, I was able to write the macros I did because I was literally doing nothing but writing the macros for a full week.  I’m actually starting to get recognized for lean projects.  The company has a view that lean should be top down, which basically means every ‘lean initiative’ gets caught up in the bureaucracy.  My approach has been to develop more efficient practices and work them up, as applicable, and it seems to be paying off.

I have done quite a bit of personal education while at work, but haven’t taken much of a comprehensive education/courses.  The most useful was probably learning macros – I went from not knowing how to create one to making some pretty useful stuff.  I’ve also begun to learn other useful systems and functionalities.

Non-work and career related:  I’ve found tons of recipes, DIY cleaning, house-repair, bike-repair, etc. information as well.  And I’ve read all of ERE and MMM.  These might not be the most useful way to spend time, but I figure it’s far better to learn something than scroll through facebook all day.

Iron Mike Sharpe

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #16 on: August 14, 2013, 09:49:52 AM »
I split my time between goofing off on the Internet and using the Internet to learn things like investing and living frugally.

Eric

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #17 on: August 14, 2013, 10:12:09 AM »
I assume y'all mean you have times of "feast and famine".  That is, you work really hard some weeks . . . and other weeks have little going on.  My husband's job is like that at times.   

I don't think so.  I can't remember the last time I worked more than about 15 hours in a 40 hour week.  Usually less.

The job I had before this one was a little more feast or famine, but still mostly famine.  I can't remember the last time I actually worked 40 hours in a week.  Over a decade at least.

kkbmustang

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #18 on: August 14, 2013, 11:05:12 AM »
I assume y'all mean you have times of "feast and famine".  That is, you work really hard some weeks . . . and other weeks have little going on.  My husband's job is like that at times.   

I don't think so.  I can't remember the last time I worked more than about 15 hours in a 40 hour week.  Usually less.

The job I had before this one was a little more feast or famine, but still mostly famine.  I can't remember the last time I actually worked 40 hours in a week.  Over a decade at least.

I've heard of jobs like that, but I thought they were stuff of urban legend.

sloof70

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #19 on: August 14, 2013, 11:13:58 AM »
Does anyone else have long periods of boredom at their job?
Yup, most of the time.

I've actually asked my manager for more work on a few occasions.
Yup.

Usually I'm told there just isn't more work...
Yup.

...or I'm given some bullshit repetitive task.
Fortunately, nope (great boss).

Part of the problem, I think, is I'm the only worker in my 20s in my group.  There's only one worker in her 30s (Actually she might be 29).
Until recently, super yup.

My group has 18 people and I'm definitely the most tech-savvy.
Pretty yup.

I work in finance, yet I'm the only one in my group that can do macros, which I used to run the extra, but repetitive, tasks I was given automatically.
Not finance (sales), but otherwise yup.

I'm starting to rant, but I've only worked 40 hours in a week maybe twice during the 19 months I've been working at my company.
Yup (albeit longer).

It's a large corporation and pays quite well, but I am frequently bored and I don't really enjoy the work I do have.
Not large, probably doesn't pay as well, but yup.

aj_yooper

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #20 on: August 14, 2013, 11:15:35 AM »
Yes- I often have days where I need to kill time here and there, but it is nothing as bad as other jobs I've had where I would literally sit at work for 8 hours and only have enough work to fill one of them. 

Luckily I had a computer and an unfiltered internet connection.  I did a lot of research on a personal project I was working on, started a blog, and became awesome at meal planning.  I also planned a lot of elaborate fake trips- picked out hotels, restaurants, sites I wanted to see, planned train trips.  It was actually really fun and ate up an amazing part of my day.  And now if I win the lottery I know everywhere I'll go :)

But I still quit the moment I had something better come up!

Very funny! 

MrsPete

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #21 on: August 14, 2013, 11:33:49 AM »
I assume y'all mean you have times of "feast and famine".  That is, you work really hard some weeks . . . and other weeks have little going on.  My husband's job is like that at times.   

I don't think so.  I can't remember the last time I worked more than about 15 hours in a 40 hour week.  Usually less.

The job I had before this one was a little more feast or famine, but still mostly famine.  I can't remember the last time I actually worked 40 hours in a week.  Over a decade at least.
Why are they employing you full-time?  I can understand the occasional lean period, the off-season, but constantly?  Don't they realize you have so little to do?

ace1224

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #22 on: August 14, 2013, 11:37:10 AM »
I assume y'all mean you have times of "feast and famine".  That is, you work really hard some weeks . . . and other weeks have little going on.  My husband's job is like that at times.   

I don't think so.  I can't remember the last time I worked more than about 15 hours in a 40 hour week.  Usually less.

The job I had before this one was a little more feast or famine, but still mostly famine.  I can't remember the last time I actually worked 40 hours in a week.  Over a decade at least.
Why are they employing you full-time?  I can understand the occasional lean period, the off-season, but constantly?  Don't they realize you have so little to do?
probably not.  my company rocks at redundancy and inefficiency.   some days i actually work a little slower so that i have stuff to do the next day, bc when the testing table is empty they usually come up with some stupid bullshit for me to do

mpbaker22

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #23 on: August 14, 2013, 11:50:00 AM »
probably not.  my company rocks at redundancy and inefficiency.   some daysAll Days i actually work a little slower so that i have stuff to do the next day

Edited your post for my situation.  I certainly don't want to reveal what company this is, but it seems to be a massive problem.  I think part of it is that our work force is so old.  At some point management realized there wasn't going to be anyone to replace the old people, so they started hiring younger people, without getting rid of the older folks.  All the other young people I know have the same problem in their groups (and the old people love to mention how busy they are, but I see people on facebook, personal banking, personal email, etc. all the time).

Eric

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #24 on: August 14, 2013, 12:37:54 PM »
Why are they employing you full-time?  I can understand the occasional lean period, the off-season, but constantly?  Don't they realize you have so little to do?

Part of the issue is that I'm good at what I do.  Therefore, if someone else were to do my job, it would take them a lot longer.  So they view my duties as taking way longer than they actually do.  And lots of times I'll slack off all day long, and then just do all my work for the last hour or so before I go home, so it looks like I'm really busy!

Like others have mentioned, when I've asked for more work, I don't get real work, only busy work.  I'm not going to do busy work, so I stopped asking for more.

But!  I found a new job and I start on Monday!  So hopefully I'll be busy there.  At least I know I will be at the start.  However, I'm actually pretty nervous that I might not be able to break my bad habits of checking the internet constantly and going hours at a time without doing any actual work.  Wish me luck!


brewer12345

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #25 on: August 14, 2013, 12:41:09 PM »
There is a balance between autonomy and working for a living when you are not FI.  That said, if you are bored at work and have time, make that time count.  Create value.  Life is time-limited and you don't get these hours back.

I would suggest that you start thinking about what you can do to increase the quality of your life and those around you at work.  Increasing your quality of life might mean even mean changing your job eventually.  Do you know what would make you happier/more satisfied?  If not, find out.  Have you done a five-year/ten-year plan?

Could you cultivate relationships at work by putting a bit more into helping others?  Can you start a volunteer project that follows your inclinations/motivations that your employer would back?  Can you investigate options in your field that would increase your income or satisfaction?  This could involve reviewing the competition as part of a research project for your firm and making recommendations for change. 

Find out what you really enjoy and find a way of bringing that into your workday in a way that benefits you and your employer.

In my case, I hae done all that.  I used downtime over the course of the year to plan and execute my ESR escape and I have done or scheduled literally everything on my to do list already.  The last piece to fall into place is healthcare insurance and I cannot even look at it until the CO state insurance exchange goes live and realeases policies and prices on October 1.

How are you going to make this time count?  What can you do to create value?  It is a good question to ask.

Meh, been there, done that and now I am very burnt out.  At this point it is a matter of killing the last few months before I bail.  I will be seeing exactly how many sick days I can take...

hybrid

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #26 on: August 14, 2013, 12:48:12 PM »
Good lord no.  There are always several projects on my plate at any one time, and where there isn't I have documentation to take care of.  The place where I work needs two of me, fortunately I'm really, really good at what I do and am efficient to boot so I save this place thousands, if not tens of thousands, every year just by walking through the door every day.  And I do mean every day, because I am almost never sick.  When I am sick I gut it out.

I did have a slow day last week and introduced my boss to MMM.  That may have influenced this post slightly.

Albert

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #27 on: August 14, 2013, 01:02:23 PM »
I have plenty to do and if there is nothing else I can always do some work in the lab myself to supplement the efforts of my technicians (we are in R&D). Occasionally I don't feel motivated enough to go beyond what I absolutely must do and then there is some time to kill on the internet or by chatting with colleagues.

ace1224

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #28 on: August 14, 2013, 01:04:35 PM »
I have plenty to do and if there is nothing else I can always do some work in the lab myself to supplement the efforts of my technicians (we are in R&D). Occasionally I don't feel motivated enough to go beyond what I absolutely must do and then there is some time to kill on the internet or by chatting with colleagues.
R&D sounds fun! I'm in quality control so its the same stuff over and over

Albert

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #29 on: August 14, 2013, 01:20:00 PM »
R&D sounds fun! I'm in quality control so its the same stuff over and over

It is and that's why I'm not particularly eager to retire early. I've spent 11 years in academia to get there, though...

Freeyourchains2

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #30 on: August 14, 2013, 01:35:49 PM »
www.stealthskater.com should entertain us tech-savvy bored workers for hours of interesting readings.

Anything from Tesla to Nuke Science.

Keep sharp, as the world wants to keep you dumb, keep you working, and keep your paying taxes until death...then they tax you some more.

Also the FBI released their Vault online, because of the Freedom of Information Act.

Here: http://vault.fbi.gov/
« Last Edit: August 14, 2013, 02:05:44 PM by Freeyourchains2 »

Freeyourchains2

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #31 on: August 14, 2013, 02:13:20 PM »
Holy cow!  I can't imagine not having enough work to fill my week.  The thought is completely alien to my experience in the workplace.  I assume y'all mean you have times of "feast and famine".  That is, you work really hard some weeks . . . and other weeks have little going on.  My husband's job is like that at times.   

If I had extra time at work, first, I'd ask myself if I'm really doing all I'm supposed to do.  I'd "work ahead" and prepare things that would help me when things get busy again.  Then I'd look around and see if I could do anything that'd help me move up in the company -- you know, take on any extra jobs that're going undone, help other people who may be more busy than I am.  I know that lots of people here claim to genuinely hate their jobs, but if you're taking the pay for a full week, you do have an obligation to put in a full week's work. 

If no work existed and that just wasn't a possibility, I'd bring home projects with me and use that time.  For example, right now I'm working on organizing and typing my recipes into a single book.  I'd work on a couple things I'm making for Christmas presents.  I'd work on buying/pricing items for the house we plan to build in a couple years (for example, I'd stalk light fixtures on ebay).  I'd take care of my personal correspondence, or even this year's Christmas cards (which, if I had all of your free time, might be homemade).  I'd plan out next year's vegetable garden.  I'd plan next year's vacation.  I'd organize my digital photographs and send them out to be printed, then I'd actually get them caught up into scrapbooks.  I'd read. 

If I had extra hours in my day, even if it were at work and I wasn't free to do literally anything I wanted, I could absolutely fill them with projects that interest me.  Boredom wouldn't be an issue.

Until you have done all that mentioned, every year for the last 3 years...plus have maxed out your investment portfolio returns, have started a side nonprofit and profit business and are approaching full successes, and are leading everyone in your life to leading better happier lives, all the while fighting against a "corporate" lifestyle that some bosses and government officials depend the masses on being imprisoned to survive.

rocklebock

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #32 on: August 14, 2013, 02:29:00 PM »
I had a job like this for about two years when I was in my early 20s. Full-time and there was maybe 10-15 hours of actual work per week. I ran an eBay side hustle, worked on grad school projects, and goofed off on the internet. I still felt like I was "wasting time" and moved on as soon as possible. Every job I've had since has had a virtually unlimited workload, which can be overwhelming, but I much prefer it.

I disagree that if you're employed for 40 hours, you are obligated to come up with 40 hours of work to do. Coming up with work for you to do is your manager's job. Asking for more responsibility is a great idea, but it's subject to your employer's policies and culture. I asked for more responsibility in the job above, and in a subsequent job, and my managers told me to just keep acing the job I already had.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2013, 02:40:50 PM by rocklebock »

Rural

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #33 on: August 14, 2013, 07:42:56 PM »
I have down times sometimes (not now! Dear god, right now is a constant blur of crisis management!), but then I tend to just go home / stay home for the day. It's more than balanced out by 80 hour weeks (this week may hit 100). I know I'm lucky to have the flexibility I do.

dweebyhawkeyes

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #34 on: August 14, 2013, 08:18:05 PM »
Can I just ask what on earth you guys are doing?

My job is 40 hours at child care but I am constantly running everywhere, hauling, lifting, playing, planning, teaching, reading, preparing food, etc. and I basically don't get a lunch break but I still get paid only a bit over minimum wage. What do I need to learn to have such a lovely idle job? Not that I'm planning to jump ship just now, but I feel like I'm doing the work of three people right now and it's frustrating. Are you guys all in something tech-related?

mpbaker22

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #35 on: August 14, 2013, 09:05:35 PM »
Can I just ask what on earth you guys are doing?

My job is 40 hours at child care but I am constantly running everywhere, hauling, lifting, playing, planning, teaching, reading, preparing food, etc. and I basically don't get a lunch break but I still get paid only a bit over minimum wage. What do I need to learn to have such a lovely idle job? Not that I'm planning to jump ship just now, but I feel like I'm doing the work of three people right now and it's frustrating. Are you guys all in something tech-related?

I'm not in a tech-related field.  I'm in finance at a large company.  It's certainly not an exclusive list, but I think desk jobs tend to have more downtime than others.

AlmostIndependent

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #36 on: August 14, 2013, 10:32:48 PM »
Government jobs tend to have a lot of down time. I've had 3 and been bored out of my mind in all of them. You will have plenty of down time but beware; the gubment loves to filter the shit out of the internet.

Albert

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #37 on: August 15, 2013, 12:32:13 AM »
Can I just ask what on earth you guys are doing?

My job is 40 hours at child care but I am constantly running everywhere, hauling, lifting, playing, planning, teaching, reading, preparing food, etc. and I basically don't get a lunch break but I still get paid only a bit over minimum wage. What do I need to learn to have such a lovely idle job? Not that I'm planning to jump ship just now, but I feel like I'm doing the work of three people right now and it's frustrating. Are you guys all in something tech-related?

I'm not in a tech-related field.  I'm in finance at a large company.  It's certainly not an exclusive list, but I think desk jobs tend to have more downtime than others.

That is true because job descriptions tend to be more vague than for hands on jobs and there is more to be gained by being particularly efficient.

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #38 on: August 15, 2013, 08:09:27 AM »
Can I just ask what on earth you guys are doing?

My job is 40 hours at child care but I am constantly running everywhere, hauling, lifting, playing, planning, teaching, reading, preparing food, etc. and I basically don't get a lunch break but I still get paid only a bit over minimum wage. What do I need to learn to have such a lovely idle job? Not that I'm planning to jump ship just now, but I feel like I'm doing the work of three people right now and it's frustrating. Are you guys all in something tech-related?

Broadly speaking, white collar desk jobs tend to have down time, blue collar service jobs do not.  My wife has been carrying the mail for 25 years (and I did it for five in the 90s before switching to IT) and there is absolutely no down time for letter carriers other than two scheduled ten minute breaks each day.  Want down time at work?  Get an office job somewhere and take care of business, because business is often less than eight hours a day.  Just don't flaunt it.

rocklebock

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #39 on: August 15, 2013, 08:10:10 AM »
Quote
That is true because job descriptions tend to be more vague than for hands on jobs and there is more to be gained by being particularly efficient.

Yep. My boring job was an entry-level clerical position in a library (not a govt. job). I had two broad areas of responsibility. One of them took half an hour a day at most. The other might take up to 2-3 hours. Maybe once a month I'd get pulled away for some extra work that would add a few more hours temporarily. The funny thing is, the position had once had a lot more responsibility, until my predecessor complained that she was too busy, and the manager re-delegated a bunch of her work. Not a lot of interest/ability in efficiency going on there.

ace1224

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #40 on: August 15, 2013, 08:30:08 AM »
Can I just ask what on earth you guys are doing?

My job is 40 hours at child care but I am constantly running everywhere, hauling, lifting, playing, planning, teaching, reading, preparing food, etc. and I basically don't get a lunch break but I still get paid only a bit over minimum wage. What do I need to learn to have such a lovely idle job? Not that I'm planning to jump ship just now, but I feel like I'm doing the work of three people right now and it's frustrating. Are you guys all in something tech-related?

Broadly speaking, white collar desk jobs tend to have down time, blue collar service jobs do not.  My wife has been carrying the mail for 25 years (and I did it for five in the 90s before switching to IT) and there is absolutely no down time for letter carriers other than two scheduled ten minute breaks each day.  Want down time at work?  Get an office job somewhere and take care of business, because business is often less than eight hours a day.  Just don't flaunt it.
true.  the production workers who make less than half of what i do are on their feet 8 hours a day and only have 2 ten minutes breaks and 1 20 min lunch.  they have to make production numbers too or they are reprimanded.
at this particular minute i am surfing the net eating cheez-its and monitoring 4 tests from my desk.

Albert

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #41 on: August 15, 2013, 08:50:11 AM »
There are some advantages for factory workers as well, in my company at least. They work strictly 40 hours (1 h lunch break) and not a minute more and when they are finished they go home and don't think about it until their next shift there as in busy times I spend more hours in in the office and regularly take some work home too (mostly reading technical literature or analysing patents).

mpbaker22

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #42 on: August 15, 2013, 09:19:59 AM »

true.  the production workers who make less than half of what i do are on their feet 8 hours a day and only have 2 ten minutes breaks and 1 20 min lunch.  they have to make production numbers too or they are reprimanded.
at this particular minute i am surfing the net eating cheez-its and monitoring 4 tests from my desk.

From what I understand our production workers are pretty highly compensated, probably making equivalent amounts to what I make.  They have 3 or 4 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch.  I guess it depends on union benefits.  But yes, they typically are hard-working in the sense that they do work for a significant portion of the 8 hours.

ace1224

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #43 on: August 15, 2013, 09:36:41 AM »

true.  the production workers who make less than half of what i do are on their feet 8 hours a day and only have 2 ten minutes breaks and 1 20 min lunch.  they have to make production numbers too or they are reprimanded.
at this particular minute i am surfing the net eating cheez-its and monitoring 4 tests from my desk.

From what I understand our production workers are pretty highly compensated, probably making equivalent amounts to what I make.  They have 3 or 4 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch.  I guess it depends on union benefits.  But yes, they typically are hard-working in the sense that they do work for a significant portion of the 8 hours.
unions are illegal in my state otherwise they'd probably get more.  our production people are pay grades 1 and 2  i'm a pay grade 7.  my work pays good for the area though.  this week we have 3 production workers who will celebrate 40 years with the company at the employee meeting.
we all tolerate certain amounts of "abuse" bc they pay so great.  (again for the area) they just cancelled my vacation day i was supposed to take tomorrow bc we have to get an order shipped. 
i do really really love my job though.  its perfect for the amount of effort i like putting forth.  plus i do what i want for most of the day. and my coworkers in the lab are amazing.

kkbmustang

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #44 on: August 15, 2013, 09:41:04 AM »
Can I just ask what on earth you guys are doing?

My job is 40 hours at child care but I am constantly running everywhere, hauling, lifting, playing, planning, teaching, reading, preparing food, etc. and I basically don't get a lunch break but I still get paid only a bit over minimum wage. What do I need to learn to have such a lovely idle job? Not that I'm planning to jump ship just now, but I feel like I'm doing the work of three people right now and it's frustrating. Are you guys all in something tech-related?

If you are good at (or can learn) typing and word processing software, you can contact temp agencies. They tend to pay more than minimum wage and will train you. I did this in the summer between college and law school. The only drawback is that some projects are only a few days long, but some are for several months (like to cover someone on maternity leave). You get treated like an idiot and a lot of times you're just "holding the job" so they won't give you much to do, but it pays better than minimum wage.

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #45 on: August 15, 2013, 09:53:30 AM »
unions are illegal in my state otherwise they'd probably get more.  our production people are pay grades 1 and 2  i'm a pay grade 7.  my work pays good for the area though.  this week we have 3 production workers who will celebrate 40 years with the company at the employee meeting.
we all tolerate certain amounts of "abuse" bc they pay so great.  (again for the area) they just cancelled my vacation day i was supposed to take tomorrow bc we have to get an order shipped. 
i do really really love my job though.  its perfect for the amount of effort i like putting forth.  plus i do what i want for most of the day. and my coworkers in the lab are amazing.

We seem to have a similar corporate structure even though in different countries. Our production workers are also pay grades 1 and 2, but perhaps we don't have so many grades as I'm only 4. 7-10 is for senior management (a boss of my boss is 7 and has about 400 people under him). Lab technicians would be 2 or 3 depending on education and experience, in some very rare cases 4. Most of them would stay for life albeit now it's changing a bit. I think the record was someone retiring recently after 46 years with the company.

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #46 on: August 15, 2013, 10:00:01 AM »
I write requirements documentation for software developers and then test the delivered code that they produce.  Right now there is a bottleneck in development with no free developers, so I do not have my next project to start.  And the business hasn't even decided which project will be next for me.  So, I am broadly looking over a couple of possible projects and coming up with big ideas, but I can't actually begin work because I don't know which project will be my next one and don't have the actual business requirements for that project.

So, I'm basically goofing off.  And using some vacation days here and there (I get 5 weeks vacation b/c we were a European company when I started).

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #47 on: August 15, 2013, 10:18:30 AM »
Yep. My boring job was an entry-level clerical position in a library (not a govt. job).

So your library job was at a private university?  Otherwise, I think you may want to review your definition of what constitutes a government job.

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #48 on: August 15, 2013, 10:27:43 AM »
I disagree that if you're employed for 40 hours, you are obligated to come up with 40 hours of work to do. Coming up with work for you to do is your manager's job. Asking for more responsibility is a great idea, but it's subject to your employer's policies and culture. I asked for more responsibility in the job above, and in a subsequent job, and my managers told me to just keep acing the job I already had.
http://www.bravenewlife.com/07/retire-by-35-an-update/

MakingSenseofCents

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Re: Bored at work
« Reply #49 on: August 15, 2013, 10:32:40 AM »
I'm bored at work but it's more because I hate the stuff that I have to do. We are SWAMPED, but it is incredibly boring work.