I have worked at my current company for about 6 months.

Anonymous

February 7,2023 at 4:53PM UTC

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I have worked at my current company for about 6 months. Before this job I worked at a company for 7 months and looked for a new job because they were not training me, and really didn’t like the culture or the industry, I would sit around all day just waiting for someone to email me so I could actually feel like I was doing something. Now back to my current job. I l really enjoy my job and the people I work with and my industry but I feel like I am still not doing anything all day. Is this just a covid thing, have we forgotten how to train and fill up a new hires day? I know most people are thinking “ I would love to not have anything to do all day”, but I thrive best when I am busy, and it also helps to make the day go by faster. Whenever I meet with my boss I ask if there is anything I can help her with and if I can take on more work but she never gives me anything and tells me to be careful what I ask for. I do not plan on looking for another job in quite some time, but I really can not function at a job literally doing nothing all day. Has anyone been in this situation before? What is a nice way of saying “can I get some more work please!”.

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AnonymousFebruary 7,2023 at 10:30PM UTC
There were several inquiries recently similar to this, so try searching for those posts because there were lots of useful ideas. The main ones are to use the time to pursue additional training/school, ask to shadow co-workers so you can learn new aspects of the job, think about what you do know about the job/business/industry and see if you can come up with a project or update a process that would improve the overall workflow. Good luck!
Laura BrennanFebruary 10,2023 at 7:16PM UTC
I would also suggest that you pay attention to what skills are useful in your industry, not necessarily in your job, and spend this time building those. Especially if you can see where your industry is headed and learn some useful tech skills that will end up being in demand, this is a great time for that kind of up-skilling. And it will be useful to your company, not just to you.
But also, taking this time to build a network of colleagues across the company is very useful. The more you know Jeff in HR and Serena in Accounting and Antoine in Marketing, and if you can be the one who helps them all connect to each other (Thursday lunches together, Friday happy hours), the more resources you will have when the day comes for you to take on a big project -- or your boss leaves and you suddenly have to do the work of two. One caveat: Tell NO ONE that you have nothing to do at work. That is NOT something you share at work. It can reflect badly on your boss and will not be forgiven quickly if at all.
If you think of it as, part of your job is to develop yourself to be invaluable, then this time isn't "slack" time, it has a purpose, which is to let you dive deep into your industry, your skills, and your colleagues.
You've got this!
AnonymousFebruary 13,2023 at 7:08PM UTC
Take the down time to train yourself on tasks that others in your department/ team do, and go online and find free online training courses/tutorials and videos that will help you learn more about the job, skills you need (now or in your next job) and ideas that might help your current company.
Erin AskewMarch 6,2023 at 4:13PM UTC
In addition to self-training (or finding a mentor in the workplace), I'd set a calendar appointment to talk with her. Have an agenda and keep to it. Your base message is "I know I'm new, but I'm really enjoying X about company Y. I would really like to contribute more by (insert what tasks you may have identified that you want here). I am very interested in helping to support the company goals, so if you have additional tasks for me to take on permanently, I'd be happy to". Give her some time to think about it and meet again after two weeks. This will also allow you some time to shop around for the tasks you may want. Good luck!
Farah BajwaMarch 8,2023 at 7:46PM UTC
Can we switch jobs, lol! I dont have time to go pee 10 feet away and my fingers are screaming from typing and yet I still "failed to meet goals" :-/
I hired into a role where the manager quit 1 week later and the next one up, the president, was away in our Ireland office. No one to train me, etc. So I started to look for things to do. I copy-edited their website and sent my suggested improvements to the president, i organized the files, I sat with team members and managers outside the department to understand their roles and how everything was connected. In those discussions I discovered areas for improvement which I pitched.