Anyone else bored at work?

[simple girl]

Not me. My job is pretty much non-stop and exhausting. I barely have time to run to the restroom between clients. And if the caseload runs low, you get sent home.

 

[NW-Bound]

Any $1 that one makes while twiddling thumbs is $1 too much in my view, although I understand that downtime is sometimes built-in to some jobs.

I had been reasonably paid in my megacorp job, but always had things to keep busy on. When I complained about boredom, it was caused by 1) the bureaucracy that made me do non-productive work, and 2) I was getting tired of the projects I worked on and wanted to explore something entirely different. I could never say that they had no work for me, and I had to spend the time to surf the Net. There was also no widespread Internet back then.

 

[accountingsucks]

How much do all you guys that get paid "really well", actually make?
Are we talking $100K+ but <$150K?

Sometimes I wish I could just have a "normal" job like what all you guys here are saying is really boring and easy, lol and take a pay cut from where I am now.

I"m the OP - About 120 salary and then another 10 or so in bonus and I'm 33.

 

[bbbamI]

Surfing the net at my job would have meant immediate dismissal.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

I think boredom is not a problem, but being bored and having to look busy is because most reasonably smart and resourceful people will find something productive to do if they are allowed to. For example, my big boss got into a pissing contest with his boss back in 2008, so our group was taken off a project on which we worked very, very hard. For the next 4 months, most of the group came in late, left early, and spent much time surfing the web. I couldn't see such a golden opportunity go by, so I sat at my desk and read the CFA level 2 exam whenever I could. Guess who got crap, the people who sat around and read Gizmodo or Cnet for their next cell phone purchase, or the guy who was actually studying for his job as a financial analyst?

Now my job is 80% virtual, I have every incentive to finish at a reasonable hour and use a couple of hours everyday to learn more about software engineering, finance, or project management. Am I bored, ever? Hardly. In fact, I have so many ideas and things I want to pursue, I can hardly find the time to do them all.

 

[Moscyn]

For all of us who have not enough work to do to fill our time at work, have we found the alternative to retiring - slowing down, working smarter, not harder and still being paid? We could look at this period as transitioning to retiring and just enjoy it. It may not last long.... Am sure we would remember this time fondly when we are truly retired

 

[brewer12345]

The longest I have ever lasted at an employer is 3.5 years. The main reason I have moved on is boredom. Somehow I now find myself in the midst of a giant bureaucracy where form is far more important than content. I should go through the place like a hot knife through butter. Insted I am plotting my escape.

 

[brewer12345]

For all of us who have not enough work to do to fill our time at work, have we found the alternative to retiring - slowing down, working smarter, not harder and still being paid? We could look at this period as transitioning to retiring and just enjoy it. It may not last long.... Am sure we would remember this time fondly when we are truly retired

I don't know about the rest of you, but I find it hard to do so. Guess it is A personality traits, but if you tell me to do something and pay/incent me to do so, it will be DONE. Dinging me because I used the wrong font in my write up of how it was done means I will mentally commit murder at least three times a [-]hour[/-] day.

 

[RunningBum]

I have periods where I'm really bored and unmotivated by my job. I'm at that point again right now. Something eventually snaps me out of it, like maybe a new project or just a couple of interesting customer problems to solve. Seems like it's been going on for awhile now. I just picked back up on a mini-project I last worked on in September, and while I have had some higher priority stuff take precedence, I've had a lot of open time in between where I could've knocked it out. I resolved this week to complete it just to try to get out of the rut.

 

[laurence]

My mindset at work is either, "I love this job, it's the greatest thing ever, I'm so lucky, gotta run, run, keep up, move move!" and "Oh my God! I'm so stressed! How can I get this all done!" Mostly the former, so I count myself lucky. I work in a shop full of super smart engineers where I am not one. I'm the computer security manager and I get to play with new toys and technology, and then assign one of my guys to implement. My boss is the Director of Security and understands everything about it except computers. Our agreement is I make sure the computer security side is on lock and he'll handle the rest. My Masters is in Comp. Info Systems Security so it's really something I find interesting. So most of the the time I play Dr. Watson to the engineers Sherlock Holmes, laugh at their jokes about the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle etc. Many days I'm running around feeling overwhelmed, however, and boredom sounds lovely.

I have to say, today I came home for lunch and found out I'm the sucker. DW and the nanny (who is a close friend of many years) were chatting and laughing while the four kids (her two and our two) were playing in the sunlit backyard. They were doing make your own pizza for lunch. It was one of the Nanny's girls birthday so we surprised her with cupcakes and presents and balloons. I am at peace with my career and work environment, but I claim (and DW freely admits) she got the better end of the deal! I can't wait for retirement!

 

[kumquat]

If I may, I think this was part of your first post.

I am 30 and a designated accountant up here in Canada. My goal is to retire at 45. Essentially I do not like the profession I am in or most of the people in it. 60 hour work weeks are considered "normal" and the people I work with really don't seem to have any lives outside of work and I have worked at 4 different places so I have decided that this profession attracts the kind of people I do not want to be around.

So, what happened? You've gone from 60 hour weeks to .....

Just wondering if any others are also really bored at their job. My job is in accounting and is pretty busy during the first week of the month. For weeks 2-4 there is not a tremendous amount to do. Sure, stuff comes up occasionally that is urgent but I haven't felt really stressed about anything in about a year.

Maybe not so much stress, something changed since your first post?

I'm torn because I make excellent $ at this job (although in my profession getting a high paid job is not a problem) with no stress and a 40 hour work week.

WADR, I know several people with either a CA or CMA who do not make a lot of money. Most like their jobs.

I don't know what accounting designation you have, but if it is a CA, you can probably enter many fields. A CMA is not that different. Find something you like. You are going to me working for many years (unless daddy warbucks dies and sets you up). Better to find something you like (even Walmart Greeter is not out of the question), than to spend 40 years hating your job. A CA or CMA has lots of opportunities do do things other than "counting beans". Get out there and do it. You are not the first person to enter a field they didn't like. You are not required to stay in a field you don't like. Maybe you would like something else?

If you are tied to the big $ of your accounting designation, then quit whining, take the money, and retire ASAP. After all, you are the guy who says "a high paid job is not a problem", get one and ER. Don't whine on the boards.

 

[Amethyst]

no-whine zone?

. Don't whine on the boards.

errr...no board-whining at all? Or just not while at work?

If the forum didn't allow a reasonable amount of "whining," it wouldn't be as useful IMHO. Often enough, I find myself thinking, "Yeah! Somebody else is annoyed about XYZ, too. Maybe I'm normal, after all ".....and when I get tired of the topic, I just stop reading.

For the record, I am not at work now, and have never posted from work although I sometimes get bored. Hey, they're giving me a desk, telephones, high-speed computer, free heat/cooling/toilet paper....what's to keep me from generating useful activities within the boundaries of my employer's regulations, and my performance contract? I've found there is always something to do at work - coming up with a new way to organize tasks or information, going back to a previous task to see if something needs to be updated, creating an oral presentation about my task, etc. (In fact, sometimes I get so interested in my self-generated activities, I don't want to go back to the regular work!)

Amethyst

 

[Bimmerbill]

I used a lot of my free time over the years to get my MBA and multiple IT certs. But, they are proving pointless in gov't service. None of my technical qualifications are taken into account during the job selection process. There is never a column in the decision matrix for education, certification, etc.

But, I like taking tests, so will probably start the Windows 7 IT cert track.

 

[FUEGO]

When I get bored I usually go back to doing work while at work.

 

[Onward]

When I get bored I usually go back to doing work while at work.

 

[FinanceDude]

My career is never boring..........

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I find it hard to do so. Guess it is A personality traits, but if you tell me to do something and pay/incent me to do so, it will be DONE. Dinging me because I used the wrong font in my write up of how it was done means I will mentally commit murder at least three times a [-]hour[/-] day.

At least you are in the finance industry where incentives are paid to people who get things done. In the computer industry, the high-level executives vacuum up all the of the incentives leaving pathetically little for the people who get the work done.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

At least you are in the finance industry where incentives are paid to people who get things done. In the computer industry, the high-level executives vacuum up all the of the incentives leaving pathetically little for the people who get the work done.

Which is why many "people who get work done" end up founding their own companies when they finally realize this fact. If they can get the work done, that's more than half the battle. The rest is pure sales. A couple of engineers and one really smooth sales guy can launch a great company in a garage.... (hmm, where have I seen this before?)

 

[leedawson79]

Been lurking for months.

This one stroke a cord with me. This and Google news keeps me going through the day. I am pretty sure I have one of the most boring jobs. I run a nearly fully operated plant on nights and weekends by my self. BORING.

 

[accountingsucks]

I'm the OP.

One thing I do at work to keep occupied is read financials of companies I'm interested in investing in. Typically I just email the PDF'd statements so I don't surf online to check them out.

Does anyone surf the web on their phone at work so as not to arouse suspicion by the IT department? I was even thinking I could get a Kindle reader and read it at work holding it under my desk...LOL

 

[Bimmerbill]

I just got a smartphone for that very reason Accountingsucks! IT is filtering a lot of sites, so I figured I'd get a back up browsing method. I do cycle thru several forums a couple of times a day, and read news sites. Occasional Ebay visits, etc.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

Bored at work is never a bad thing for me... means everything is running smoothly.

I work in the family excavating company, building roads, grading parking lots, installing drainage pipe etc... not particularly exciting stuff.

The excitement comes when a piece of heavy equipment punches through a major gas line, high pressure sewage line, or some fibre optic cables... so in my line of work, BORING IS GOOD.

 

[leedawson79]

Sea Kayaker. I agree with you, especially on the major gas line. I operate a LNG plant and compressor station on a major interstate pipeline. Quiet is great.

 

[brewer12345]

At least you are in the finance industry where incentives are paid to people who get things done. In the computer industry, the high-level executives vacuum up all the of the incentives leaving pathetically little for the people who get the work done.

Ah, but I am no longer working for a private company, so there are no incentives, full stop. So people either squabble over "spoils" I consider to be rounding error, or sit back, relax, and feel their asses grow.