not sure what to dore: sit. at work

[sweetharmony]

Hi, I started a position at a non-profit back in September of last year. It's pretty good pay, but I dislike the job. I am happy that i found one in one month, considering i quit my job in a different state and moved to new york with no job or prospects.

 

I love my boss, he's great and all. the only thing is, he barely gives me work. i sit there all day practically with 7 hours on my hand (one hour of work).

 

I've tried everything. i've talked to him countless time about giving me new opptys to grow-taking on more projects. i have boundless energy and want to work and grow.

 

he promises me and then...nothing comes through. he's so busy..and every day i go into his office asking if he needs help...to no avail. i ask everyone in the office if they need help.

 

then...when coworkers need help, he feels threatened and gives me some bs project that has nothing to do with any urgency.

 

we get along great. but i think he likes to do everything himself and have an assistant for show! i have no clue why he needs me!

half the time, i just sit at internet doing bs surfing. and he conitnually checks...but why? he doesn't give me work to do. what do i do? what is going on?

 

i was promised more oppty. but keep waiting.

[tylercdurden2004]

i was promised more oppty. but keep waiting.

 

Well dont wait for opportunity. Find your own and if it isnt with this organization then you have to think of moving on. I too work in the non-profit sector and this is one of the concerns I have with certain areas of it. There is not a lot of room to move in some of these organizations. Usually the operate on a skeleton budget and skeleton staff and they tend not to grow like the profit sector orgs do. I will most likely aways be involved in this sector however it will be in a volunteer role. Its not the career for me. If its a god job and stable then use your time to find something else.

[iamteddybearfeelmecuddle]

If you'd had years and years of lowly, crappy pay, really really hard physically, disgusting, manual labor jobs, with out benefits or any type of respect, and being treated like crap, you wouldn't be complaining, you'd find some way to fill your time and count your blessings. Sorry but I'm afraid it's true.

[BellaDonna]

If you feel unhappy in your current job, begin to look elsewhere. Use all the spare time you have to create an updated resume and see what else is out there.

 

Feeling unproductive at work is just as bad as feeling overworked. There's got to be something in-between that will put your talents and skills to good use.

 

 

BellaDonna

[sweetharmony]

yes, thanks for your replies. in response to: iamteddybearfeelmecuddle, yes, i thought that i should feel lucky having so much time on my hands, decent pay and nice boss. but not having enough work to do can make you feel really dispensible, unworthy and like nothing. it makes me feel like no one trusts me enough to give me responsibility, like i'm really only for the lower jobs. i'm sorry, but it's true. it can make you fell worse than being overworked.

 

in my last job i was OVERWORKED and WAYUNDERPAID. i loved my job however. I stayed there four years because I was able to grow and i had a great mentor to teach me the ropes, give me lots of responsibility and positive feedback. why did i leave? the pay was poor and i needed to move on and learn new things-after being there so long, there was no more room to grow..plus i wanted to move back home.

 

i guess i need to look for new job...i just thought someone might have creative ideas or suggestions for talking to my boss about creating new opptys for me. i've tried all the ideas in my box.

 

thanks!

[KweenofDenyl]

I know what you mean about not feeling needed and trusted from all this. It really can be just as difficult as a bad job, but in a different way.

Can you talk to your board of directors? I know sometimes that makes more trouble than it's worth though. If non-profit work is what you want, do a little networking in your area. Most non-profits are in dire need of people like you!

I think it's pretty clear by now that your boss isn't going to give you what you need.

[iamteddybearfeelmecuddle]

I've had both (mostly the former) and while I agree both have down points, I can safely say I much prefer being overpaid and underworked. given a choice between the two.

 

However, while you do have this job, you may as well look for something you feel will be more fulfilling for you. Just keep in mind it's (obviously) a gamble, and you might be going from a comfortable while not ideal position to something that sucks.