First ill preface that I know i am REALLY spoiled to even have a wfh job. Im honestly amazed something like this exists.
Which leads me to my question. Im good at my job, its a great company, I get nothing but good feedback. But honestly, its easy. Really if anyone wanted to learn, they could do it. I feel guilty pretty much everyday at how easy it is. But the fact that its easy also makes it really difficult to put in 45 hours of real work. I try to use some of the time for educational videos or something related to work but honestly with my adhd mind, 9 hours is a lot unless im SUPER busy.
All my previous work has been jobs running around all day, fixing problems, managing people, which I dont want to go back to necessarily but sometimes I miss it. I work very well in chaos.
I have tried meds to zoink me out and they do work, but I prefer not to be dependent.
I stopped caring, because honestly, I’m a salaried employee. You pay me to perform a job, NOT to be in the clock for X hours.
Employers do that because they figure that they’ll pay less in the long run than paying employees hourly rates with overtime added in.
If their attempt to screw me over fails, I honestly couldn’t be happier.
Same here. Mostly WFH and salaried. I do my job. It only takes a few hours at the busiest of times. That said I’m responding to phone calls between 7am-7pm 6 days a week. I felt lazy at first then realize my numbers for my branch are high and I’m doing what they pay me for and if I did more it’s still the same pay so fuck it.
Exactly. I make the money I do because I have a rare skill set that pretty much has to be learned on the job, and you need a solid 4 year education as well.
So no, I’m not going to sit in my seat and stare at a screen for 8 hours a day. I will do the work that needs to be done that falls under my team. But again, I’m still fielding calls/emails all day, and all pretty much ‘on call’ 24/7. The minute I hear anything other than a ’ thank you for doing such an awesome job!’ , I’ll no longer take those after hours calls, and when that causes huge fucking issues and millions in losses, I’ll explain that since the terms of my employment seemed to have changed and so it’s time to renegotiate. They WILL NOT like the price of having me be officially on call 24/7
I’ve had in-person jobs where I was on the clock for 12 hours and did probably 30-40 minutes worth of actual tasks over that time. I guess what I’m saying is that it isn’t only wfh jobs that can feel almost too “easy.” Only advice I have is enjoy it while you can, because if and when it ends, getting thrown back into a “normal” job can feel overwhelming for a bit.
You remember that other mammals our size “work” less than a few hrs a day.
Our entire system of labor overexerts us as the standard.
We could all easily work less than 16hrs per week and supply every person with food and housing.
Reminder that you are doing at least 10x more than what an average corporate CEO does. Enjoy it
The problem is our CEO is an awesome respectable person. Haha! No im glad they are. Its not the norm
Are they monitoring you? What’s the problem?
Most importantly, IS YOUR COMPANY HIRING WEB DEVELOPERS?
Nothing beyond normal monitoring. I can be away for hours with no one caring.
Sorry, its not really that type of company. Engineering based
Bummer. Well my suggestion is to stop feeling bad and stop worrying. I don’t understand where your moral quandary is coming from. I can’t get a company to look at my resume. Count your blessings because your life is better than MisterNeon’s.
I need someone to help me before I become homeless.
I feel bad because I always get hired just because im likeable. Never had a problem with it.
Then I see literal Harvard grads and engineers that can’t get jobs and its crazy to me. If I was boss, I’d hire on skill not likability (to a point).
All I can give for advice is, move to the Midwest. EVERYWHERE is hiring. But then you live near a lot of far right wingnuts is a downside.
I don’t want to move the Midwest. I want to have a remote job again.
I started wfh in 2020. from 2020-2024 I worked my ass off. 12-16 hour days.
midway through 2024 I burned out.
now I’m “on the clock” for 6 hours m-f and take 2-3 hours worth of breaks.
I still answer chat and email. I still respond to incidents. I’m still on-call. but I work at my own pace now.
You need to compartmentalize. Create an office space if you can. When you start work, walk around the block, come home, go into the office, and start work. At the end of work, walk around the block come home and start your normal life.
Don’t use your personal PC or gaming pc for work. Make it and the whole setup look, sound, and feel different.
If only these two realities could be somehow… I dunno, severed from each other. Wouldn’t that be nice, with no foreseeable consequences?
Sounds like you just need to find some ways to stay busy. My go-to is to either develop yourself or research your industry.
The first option involves getting more education that relates to your field. Classes, courses, webinars, etc. Build your skills on the company dime. What you learn of yours to keep, so learn all you can.
The second option is better suited to forums, magazines, publications, and news articles. What is going on with your industry and peers? Being on the cutting edge can involve a lot of just sitting and reading. Just write up a quick summary and save it for future reference or to justify the time spent.
My work is measurable whether or not my physical body is being observed.
I’ve come close to the threat of homelessness and hold myself accountable to do a good job so that I can keep my job.
I find that having a task list that you use religiously helps a lot because then you can visually see what you have to do.
At some point though, if you’re getting all your work done and don’t have more to do, work on bettering yourself in some way you care about and enjoy it while it lasts.
I hear you friendo, as someone who wfh more than I go into the office.
as long as I do what I am asked to do promptly and I take care of anything that comes up, I dont stress like i did when I started this position.
my previous job had me working in the office all days, where I had to make decisions in seconds… not fun. this one is the complete opposite, where I have a list of duties to complete before the end of the sprint. as long as I hit my mark and take care of anything that comes up, my team and boss are both happy.
its really hard in the beginning, but maybe talk to your boss about it? I was feeling the same way as you, and the conversation with my boss did wonders for how I view my work. good luck!
I’m commissioned. I get paid more the more I sell and my team gets paid more the more we sell. If we are lazy we make less.
