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But, when I was, it seemed like it was either feast or famine. I had a few jobs where I was idle 80% of the time, and then I had others where I barely had time to go to the bathroom once in 10 hours, and there was always more to be done.
I had more of the busy-busy-busy extreme, personally.
When I was in client service, I couldn't work fast enough- there was always more to do than there was time in the day. Then I switched to in-house corporate and I'd have entire weeks go by where there was nothing to do, then a few weeks of ~40 hours of work, but usually something like 25-35 hours of work out of the 40 hours I'm in the office. I make more now than I did in client service too, so can't complain.
But yes, there are boring times. It was hard to adjust at first but I settled into it.
I have found larger companies which compartmentalize jobs (to their detriment in my opinion) are really stifling. I was lucky I guess that that was not the trend when I was younger. As a result of not being cubicle-ized, I learned to be a well rounded one armed paper hanger - and my resume reflected that. There were loads of opportunities to 'help out' in other areas and gain a much better perspective of the entire operation, etc. - and that stood me in good stead because eventually it all added up to .. very well developed and practiced problem solving skills ... I understood the details .. I understood the scope .. I understood the overall enterprise .. and I made a great manager as a result.
Whatever business you are in, perhaps spend your lax time learning more about that business if nothing else. Go snooping around and find out what other areas are doing, think about how you might be able to help them - don't just ask if you can help them till you know how you could really fit in and help. If they have to do too much training and organization to fit you in for short periods, they will probably always say nope .. nothing you can help with - and you may be just a nuisance if you persist. Figure all that out first. Read up more about the business in general (beyond just your own company and upper management, etc.). Eventually, if you do that, you will be noticed .. and if you aren't .. put it all down on your resume and move on.
Go to the busiest person, offer assistance. Typically, at least where I work, assignments go to people who are always busy, as the slackers never finish, or have a bad attitude, or for whatever reason management gives.
My corporate experience was the opposite. If there was down time, the manager would let the department downsize by attrition. Then the few remaining are worked to the bone. Ah productivity up and labor down! Completely micromanaged... If your bathroom break was more than 5 minutes, you got a stern talking to buy a supv. Calls on hold, mail coming in nonstop, calls to return, files to re-open, etc etc etc. numbers going down down down. it was terrible.
I quit the madness because the stress and dread was keeping me up at night. I went into some manual labor jobs. I got hurt now looking to go back into an office setting. I'm glad to see some office jobs are not frantic and fast paced.
I work for the federal government. Even if I'm not busy with a current project or cannot find another project to work on right away, I can work on my continuing training and take online training, refresh myself on our rules and regulations and guidance documents, read reports that are applicable to my functional area, offer to be acting manager if my boss is on travel which involves lots of meetings and action items, etc. There is no way I could ever run out of work related material to read. Also organize the files for a completed project, clean out and organize my hundreds and hundreds of emails, etc.
There is no way I could ever run out of work related material to read. Also organize the files for a completed project, clean out and organize my hundreds and hundreds of emails, etc.
I worked 38 years for a major international energy company. Had 21 jobs or so during that time with them. All jobs were over loaded with demands. Staffing levels held flat despite company growth to force employees and leaders to set priorities on what should be done first. Hardest part was finding time to stop and leave for work life balance. We had some who never figured out what and how to do it so they stared at walls a month or two then were gone. If you are a professional you can find things that need to be done.
I hope this post by OP is a joke not a serious experience....
Well staring at the wall of your cubicle isn't stimulating either. Reviewing reports in my spare time is part of professional development to maintain my technical competence and keep up to date on new practices and requirements. Organizing my folders helps to more easily locate items that may be relevant to a future project. Yes, it is not all that stimulating but that is why they call it "work." And I generally have a lot of regular work to do - it may be slow for a few weeks a year at most.
I never waste time as an engineer, I can always find something to do. Pick up a text book on amazon, register for a professional development class, brush up my skills on some piece of software, study for another professional license in another disapline, etc etc. It would be hard to drag out of bed if all I were going to do was stare at the cube wall.
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