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Are you able to work from home? The worst part about being idle in the office is that the day goes on forever. However, being idle at home is not nearly as bad.
Work from home with an average of 5 hours a week of 'real' work?
Lol, I don't even think you can even count that as work at that point... you're just basically getting money for free.
Most days, I work for an hour and could spend the other 7 watching Netflix, or reading. It's terribly boring and it's a dead end. The pay is good, and benefit are good, but I feel like a leach and unproductive.
There are hundreds of thousands of people who would LOVE to have this job.
And you're complaining?
Be grateful.
You will never find another job like this. Never.
But let's solve the boredom issue.
Find a co-worker who has work. Offer to help out on their work. Boom. Problem solved and you are looking awesome to the others.
Find a co-worker who has work. Offer to help out on their work. Boom. Problem solved and you are looking awesome to the others.
The problem with that is that it reveals you to be an employee with not enough work to do; better to fly under the radar. Can you continue your education online while "working"? If so, would that qualify you for a better job with more to do? If you're WFH and hardly ever have any work, then take care of household chores, run errands, work on hobbies or projects, walk the dog. Just check in every now and then; it's likely no one will miss you.
You are not the only .gov employee who is being underutilized.
The people above you (I hesitate to even call them "management") don't care at all that you're interested in taking on new duties.
Most agencies have a Wellness Program, which will probably make you feel better, and will break up your day. Utilize it and workout 3 hours a week. You'll be healthier and feel less like that last horse in the barn.
Randomly finding another job probably won't yield good results.
There are hundreds of thousands of people who would LOVE to have this job.
And you're complaining?
Be grateful.
You will never find another job like this. Never.
But let's solve the boredom issue.
Find a co-worker who has work. Offer to help out on their work. Boom. Problem solved and you are looking awesome to the others.
As I mentioned earlier in the thread, if the co-workers have a light load as well (which you can assume), then they would likely refuse help.
It seems crazy, but ... people really do want to work. Some people do want to sit there all day and do nothing, talk on the phone, surf the web, but it's a small minority.
It's only because we're overworked ... forced to do the same exact thing for 30-40 years ... never get to have a break in employment other than a couple of measly weeks or months, otherwise someone looks at your resume and thinks you're lazy and can never work a 'real job'.
Not sure what to do in this situation, but here goes. I'm turning 50 later this year, and not sure where my career is heading. I'm an RN working in Mental health case management type of job for the Federal Govt. The job was a new position that management never really developed a clear role for. I have tried for the last 1 1/2 to 2 years to try to fill that job with things to do, with not a ton of luck.
Most days, I work for an hour and could spend the other 7 watching Netflix, or reading. It's terribly boring and it's a dead end. The pay is good, and benefit are good, but I feel like a leach and unproductive. The immediate department I work for, and answer to, tell me I'm safe and will occasionally throw some easy administrative stuff to do. The other departments know I have next to "do nothing" job and hardly talk to me. I feel pretty disliked, to be honest.
I can't return to bedside nursing, as I have previous spine surgeries and pretty much relegated to desk jobs. I feel like an old horse that they keep in the barn. It's a pretty depressing way to spend the work side of my life. I have a side job and sometimes spend my F/t job hours catching up on it. I've applied to other positions, but was passed by for a job and never got called for other resumes I submitted.
My only options are: go back to school for my BSN, then MSN. Sit in my chair for the next 12 years until I can retire or leave my Fed job. The last option is the least appealing as I have over 15 years in the federal system and do not want to forego on the retirement. Can't say I'm motivated to go back to school and write APA formatted papers, but if it leads to something else, guess I 'll have no other choice.
Any advice, or suggestions, is welcome.
Yes, go back to school. I would say disability retire; but, it sounds like they have accommodated your disability. It would be better if you can qualify yourself to do something that does not require the bedside nursing, but, be more interesting and busy. You may want to work longer than 12 years; it is too early to make that decision.
Be careful what you wish for. You could find a new job or get more responsibilities, and then be working crazy long, stressful hours and yearn for the days where you felt bored 7 hours out of the day.
If you're really that bored, learn something with those 7 hours out of the day like a new language or something that would benefit you personally or professionally. Learn how to cook, how to invest, how to change your oil.....etc. etc. There are a million things you can learn via the internet now.
Yes.
This is exactly what I tell my good friend who's also a longtime nurse in his 50s, with the federal government, in a fairly new job he's bored to death in. He keeps telling himself he's only got 7 years to retirement, but then wonders if he'll be able to stick it out that long.
I think he's so used to being crazy busy at other hospitals that, like OP, he feels unproductive, which isn't good for him at all. He likes a fast pace. So, I've been telling him to make the downtime work for him, learning new skills, taking classes online, etc, which could lead to a more fulfilling role.
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