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“It’s About Not Going Mental”: 30 People Share How Much Work They Actually Do At Their Office Job
There’s something deeply wrong with office work culture, and it’s not the low-quality free coffee in the kitchen. There is a disconnect between how much employees work and how long the workday lasts. Though a lot depends on the industry, many honest office workers will tell you that unless there’s a super important deadline looming, they’ll have tons of time every single day when they’re left doing nothing.
For one, there’s a limit to how much deep, focused work people can do until they’re mentally drained. Not only that, if someone’s diligent, they’ll get their tasks done very quickly and end up warming their seats. Redditor u/dogvillager, who is fairly new to office life, asked the internet whether it’s normal to have “absolutely nothing” to do after just a couple of hours of real work. The Reddit community was happy to share their thoughts on this. Check out their thoughts below.
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#1
Remember this: the movie "Office Space" is a documentary and should be required viewing for anyone entering the office workforce.
#2
As an IT guy, this is so painful to read. I'm literally busy from the moment I sit at my desk till the minute I leave, with a queue of jobs fighting for my attention, and a line of people following me up because they have nothing better to do.
#3
I have never done less at a job and got paid as much. I do actually use the downtime to study for more certs so I can get more money for even less work! That's actually not a joke.
BenyA. 1 year ago
This is awesome. I have about 4 hours of downtime out of 8 hr day work on average, not out of laziness because once or twice a week I'm swamped with urgent stuff due to clients' request popping out of nowhere. However, i have a hierarchy of supervisors, bosses and THEIR bosses whose sole task is keeping a nonsense bureaucracy in cycle to give a semblence of being busy. Which is infuriating lol because I wish i could use atleast 2hr per day taking online classes without replying into a dosen project groupchats on whatsapp and wechat, half of which is me saying "yes", "ok". Holy cow I hadn't anticipated this turning into a rant😂😂 I do love my coworkers though, they're cool dudes
Research shows that, on average, employees tend to do only around three to four hours of real work every single day. The rest of their time is spent reading the news, talking to their colleagues, surfing social media, looking for a new job, taking breaks, and doing other things.
Ideally, the more transparency there is in an office, the better it would be for everyone. Practically, however, talking about how you’re able to get your daily tasks done in just a few hours is a wonderful way to be resented by some of your coworkers. It’s also a direct path toward getting more work dumped on you by your boss.
If everyone were honest about how much they actually work, society as a whole could move toward shorter workdays and a more grounded understanding of efficiency. Instead, what you have is folks who feel like they have to pretend that they’re incredibly busy or drag out their tasks as much as possible. This leads to inefficiency, complacency, and a lack of trust between the staff and their superiors.
#4
Do NOT BRING IT UP to anyone unless you want more work. Just do what is on your task list and chill.
#5
Yes.
Typically I only have about three hours of actual work on any given day. The rest of the time is spent, well, on here with you fine AntiWorkers.
#6
10% calm work, 80% sheer boredom, 10% of absolute panic
After all, if the only reward for efficient and smart work is… even more (unpaid) work, what’s the point of being honest with management? Unless your company has set out a clear career path for everyone who’s joined and genuinely rewards speed and skill in very tangible ways, each employee needs to be honest with themselves about their priorities in life.
For some, it might mean combining those free hours with remote work to spend more quality time with their loved ones. For others, it might offer the opportunity to save time and exercise, do chores, and work on their hobbies that they’d otherwise neglect because they’re exhausted after their long commutes.
Others still might use this time to sharpen their work-related skills or learn new ones, network with other professionals, and take on new projects for new challenges.
#7
I work for Geico (claims) and they literally time our bathroom breaks. We are given more work than can be done in 8-9 hours a day and constantly being given more. It just snowballs. If you happen to look like you are caught up or not drowning, they will not stand for that. They will assign you someone else's work. They'd rather die than know someone wasn't productive for a full minute.
So yea, your gig sounds pretty rad haha. Are they hiring? 😬
ETA: check out r/Geico. Tell everyone. F**k that company
#8
I’m going to tell you something I wish someone would have told me when I was 25, playing Minesweeper for hours at a time at work—spend the down time to learn a new skill or to become a specialist at something that will improve your career prospects.
#9
Yes. It's called winning capitalism. The ultimate victory is working from home with one of those jobs. You're paid for your skills to do a specific type of work and you have the rest of the day for yourself
Saint Tim the Godless 1 year ago
Has anyone else noticed that you get mediocre reviews on years when you work yourself ragged, and rave reviews in years when you drag your a*s?
How employee flexibility is treated will, of course, depend on your particular job and the company’s philosophy. Some businesses only care about the results and understand that their staff have lives outside of the office. Others, however, practically demand that you’re stuck to your seat, even if you’re ahead of the pack.
If you’re doing extra work to impress the higher-ups for some nebulous reward in the far-off future, you may want to talk to your manager about setting out some specific details. Preferably on paper. Similarly, if you’re exhausted, demotivated, and burned out from all the additional work that’s been dumped on you, you may want to enforce some healthy boundaries to restore some semblance to your work-life balance. You could start off by refusing to check your work email after hours and going home instead of doing (unpaid) overtime.
#10
It's also normal to have people with literally nothing to do while other people (sometimes in the same team) are stressed and overworked beyond redemption
René Sauer 1 year ago
And? do you help these overwhelmed coworkers when you have nothing to do?
#11
I was going to come on here and ask this EXACT question.
I am just......so confused? I went from 5 years of jobs that required umpteen million metrics, bosses over my shoulder all the time, constantly being nitpicked. To.....relative silence? No one does work unless it's needed. Most of the time everyone is on their phones or staring at a wall or chatting.
I did like a weeks worth of work in one day, was like wtf. Only to be told to "Slow down" and it wasn't hard. Transfered data sheet info. Easy as pie. Point click copy paste function count if countra sum....
I'm being paid double what I was paid 5 years ago and I'm doing a small SMALL fraction of the work.
Like, the f**k is going on. I have such an ingrained insane work ethic that I feel like I'm stagnating. But I'm constantly being told I'm doing an amazing job???
#12
Sometimes it can be super busy. But most of the time all my tasks can be done in just a few hours. I also work an “office job” and I spend a lot of my time finding things to do and making my spreadsheets look pretty.
#13
The hardest—and most necessary / common—part of any office job is looking busy.
God bless those cubicles with high walls.
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago (edited)
Even better, your own office with a door. I curse the person who devised the open plan office philosophy
#14
It can happen. Last year, I finished a project right before thanksgiving. Obviously, nothing new started before the Thanksgiving holiday, but then nothing new started afterward because of end of year and Christmas coming up. I didn’t start a new project until sometime in the middle of January, so I had almost 2 months where I barely did anything. use that time to your advantage. I finished editing my book. Take an online class. Work on a certificate or something. Or just watch YouTube videos. As long as you do what they are requiring, you’re good. Don’t overthink it.
#15
B******t jobs suck if they force you to sit onsite all day, warming a chair and trying to look busy. But if you get one where you can work from home most of the time, you have it made. Clean your house, do your chores, and then you truly have your evenings and weekends free.
#16
Every office job I have had is feast or famine . So some days there ISN'T much to do. But they can't eliminate the position because other days, it is absolutely insane and someone is needed.
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
I once worked for an enlightened manager who said "You are budgetted for 2,000 hours a year. Work longer when there is a need to meet a deadline, take time off during quiet periods". Nowadays I work for a rigid minded organisation that says "Thou shalt work no more than 40 hours a week". So I "work" for 40 hours each and every week; serves them right
#17
This is why WFH was so amazing. We actually got to live our lives instead of boring the s**t out of ourselves with office nonsense and stupid interactions.
#18
Well depends really. In my last job I only work 1 hour a day. In my current job I don't do anything that's why I'm on reddit. My day consist of drinking coffee and checking on my social media.
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
I had this until someone ruined it by sorting out my network access issue
#19
This is a great opportunity you have. Remember the good old days when we were paid for on the job training? Me neither.
Use it to do self-directed learning. Many public libraries offer LinkedIn Learning (used to be called Lynda) for free to up your skills in a variety of topics.
I used my downtime to learn new MS Excel skills, workplace safety training. You can also learn about labour regulations. And based on the industry you are in, any industry specific topics.
You can also ask your manager for shadowing opportunities but that's risky because a*****e managers will red flag this with a "what? You don't have enough work?"
#20
"I'd say in a given week, I probably only do about 15 minutes of real, actual work."
#21
Research suggests that in an eight-hour day, the average worker is only productive for two hours and 53 minutes.
https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/in-an-8-hour-day-the-average-worker-is-productive-for-this-many-hours.html
#22
I work at what is ostensibly an office job. The cycle of work ends up being:
* Dead Stop, boring AF
* Waiting on approvals, same as above but way more stressful
* Meeting-town, you're in back to back meetings all day which means you look busy but aren't actually getting any work done.
* Email-athon, Why am I on so many email threads? What is even going on and where are they coming from?
* Zombie project, didn't this thing get killed last month? Why are we still working on this? Why is this a priority?
* Red Ball, someone in charge wants something immediately all hands to battle stations!
* Everything is on fire and due yesterday (why am I managing 36 separate projects that have nothing to do with my job title again?)
#23
Absolutely. I realistically put in 3 hours of work a day, and then I’m finished all my tasks. I just wait around for an emergency and spend the rest of my day playing Yakuza 0 lmao
Digimona Ewa 1 year ago
Plot twist, her company is secretly run by the real Yakuza and they are grooming her to be a hitperson.
#24
Hey people, what are you required to do in these jobs? I wouldn't mind learning the skills to have these types of job
#25
Yes. Here’s why: during the Industrial Revolution shift work was common place. Usually 3 shifts over a 24 hour period resulting in 8 hour shifts for an individual (yes I know some if not most worked longer hours. Don’t @ me)
As we come into the digital revolution we are still holding on to the 250 year old tradition of “shift work”. So your boss wants you to sit in that chair for 8 hours. Even though you may only have like 2 hours worth of work that day. But what they are truly paying for is 8 hours of availability.
Corporate business as a whole may move away from this eventually. But probably not any time soon.
Tee Rat 1 year ago
Corporations are always trying to upgrade technologically so machines will do more work, but they also know without creating new jobs there will be nobody out there who can afford their services. The wealthiest would be more than happy to never have to pay anybody but, they know it's not a viable option.
#26
Office jobs is about not going mental. Most people don't know what they do, nobody wants to fix anything and you activly try to avoid the "social" nuts, who try to backstab you.
#28
This is more normal than having an office job WITH enough work.
Most office positions are a joke, but you are expected to look and act busy. Doesn't matter if you're efficient, in fact, efficiency just hurts you more often than not.
#29
Many days in the office i just fell asleep at my desk as subtly as possible, now WFH i can just take a nap and usually actually waste less time. Some days are a bit too busy for such shenanigans. Enjoy it.
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
Make sure you turn up the volume on your PC (maybe attach some amplified speakers) to wake you up when you an IM or email (you gotta always appear to be on the ball)
#30
Yes, sometimes you just sit on your a*s and watch youtube all day and sometimes days are uber busy.
I had an option from wfh and office and my office work was super easy after a year ort so and so what i started doing in my job is coming into the office and staying there for 2 hours and finishing all the office work and then went home for the rest of the day and do whatever was necessary.
Relax you are getting paid, i'm 100% certain yours is like any office job. This is the way
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago (edited)
If you have to work in an office, avoid jobs that prohibit having personal devices at work (e.g. ones involving access to highly sensitive government data). You will need those devices for accessing Youtube, BP etc. For Aussies that means nothing above baseline clearance, steer clear of any job that requires NV1, NV2 or (God forbid) PV (positive vetting)
What do you think ?
Alexander 1 year ago
At my job I sit in an office reading wikipedia and watching youtube for 7 out of 8 hours - for 150€ a day. In my freetime I jump out of my bed at 2 am, sprint through the city and spend hours with heavy equipment in a burning building (voluntary firefighter) - for 0€ a day ....I often thought that the money you receive at your job is not salary but more of damage-compensation for the time stolen from you
Inclusion2020 1 year ago (edited)
I work in a field that I absolutely love. I am a Special Education teacher. And I think often of how grateful I am that I am not going to work for 8 hours a day doing something that I hate. I get bit, scratched, cussed at etc. But it’s so fun watching those kids do a 180 and watching their parents be so happy.
Lady Vader 1 year ago
I'm an exec who is only remote and I moved abroad during the pandemic. I do about 3-4 hours of actual work most days so I spend most of my time exploring my new home and working from my phone as needed. After more than 2 decades of working myself to the bone, I have zero guilt about delegating and d**king around. I'm only in my 40s so by all accounts, I still have another 20 years of this nonsense and I plan on doing the bare minimum. No one at my company works more than 45 hours per week because we are resourced properly and yet somehow still profitable. Companies rent your time, they do not own you and corporate greed is disgusting. I am a huge r/antiwork advocate and very much support raising the minimum wage (even $15 is a joke. I made that in the '90s), sufficient paid time off, and medical benefits not tied to your employment. The eff you, I got mine or pulling the ladder up behind you school of thought is WILD.
Darth Kittius 1 year ago
I used to work at Melaleuca's customer service call center (for those unaware, it's an MLM) and I only was allowed 9 minutes of break time a day. That included eating, bathroom breaks, brain breaks, etc. I quit that job after working there for 5 months because my mental health was deteriorating from constantly being yelled at by middle-aged mlm huns on the phone
bbfa 1 year ago
I kept telling a coworker who had a strong midwest work ethic to not cover her entire desk with every little bogus task printed out and lined up in stacks just to make herself look busy and important. We only averaged about 3 solid hours of real work a day, but needed to be available. I tried to tell her it just made her look like she couldn't handle her job. She was on the short list when the layoffs came and couldn't get why. Meanwhile, I rarely had a scrap on my desk and worked off the computer. I always looked caught up, and no one knew or cared if I was on Excel or Bored Panda when I was caught up.
kath morgan 1 year ago
My job is pretty intensive for most of the shift, checking out, answering phone, helping people, managing volunteers, fetching and carrying, sorting stuff. I might take the last hour or half hour to sit at the desk and do something easy if it is quiet enough.
Ace 1 year ago
The number of these that must have purely transactional roles, i.e. they only deal with things as and when (or if) they arise, is quite surprising. I can't begin to imagine doing a job where there wasn't always a backlog of work to be doing. so any downtime had to be at your own volition rather than just not having anything to do.
Jackie Lulu 1 year ago
I had to stop reading these posts when I realized that I didn't want to read about jobs and working
Mindghost 1 year ago (edited)
Reading this posts making it seem like AI will take a lot of these jobs. But i can't relate to them, because in my first job i worked faaar too much. I would have sinned for such an easy job back then and thought people who complain about not enough work but full payment are crazy :)
Alexander 1 year ago
At my job I sit in an office reading wikipedia and watching youtube for 7 out of 8 hours - for 150€ a day. In my freetime I jump out of my bed at 2 am, sprint through the city and spend hours with heavy equipment in a burning building (voluntary firefighter) - for 0€ a day ....I often thought that the money you receive at your job is not salary but more of damage-compensation for the time stolen from you
Inclusion2020 1 year ago (edited)
I work in a field that I absolutely love. I am a Special Education teacher. And I think often of how grateful I am that I am not going to work for 8 hours a day doing something that I hate. I get bit, scratched, cussed at etc. But it’s so fun watching those kids do a 180 and watching their parents be so happy.
Lady Vader 1 year ago
I'm an exec who is only remote and I moved abroad during the pandemic. I do about 3-4 hours of actual work most days so I spend most of my time exploring my new home and working from my phone as needed. After more than 2 decades of working myself to the bone, I have zero guilt about delegating and d**king around. I'm only in my 40s so by all accounts, I still have another 20 years of this nonsense and I plan on doing the bare minimum. No one at my company works more than 45 hours per week because we are resourced properly and yet somehow still profitable. Companies rent your time, they do not own you and corporate greed is disgusting. I am a huge r/antiwork advocate and very much support raising the minimum wage (even $15 is a joke. I made that in the '90s), sufficient paid time off, and medical benefits not tied to your employment. The eff you, I got mine or pulling the ladder up behind you school of thought is WILD.
Darth Kittius 1 year ago
I used to work at Melaleuca's customer service call center (for those unaware, it's an MLM) and I only was allowed 9 minutes of break time a day. That included eating, bathroom breaks, brain breaks, etc. I quit that job after working there for 5 months because my mental health was deteriorating from constantly being yelled at by middle-aged mlm huns on the phone
bbfa 1 year ago
I kept telling a coworker who had a strong midwest work ethic to not cover her entire desk with every little bogus task printed out and lined up in stacks just to make herself look busy and important. We only averaged about 3 solid hours of real work a day, but needed to be available. I tried to tell her it just made her look like she couldn't handle her job. She was on the short list when the layoffs came and couldn't get why. Meanwhile, I rarely had a scrap on my desk and worked off the computer. I always looked caught up, and no one knew or cared if I was on Excel or Bored Panda when I was caught up.
kath morgan 1 year ago
My job is pretty intensive for most of the shift, checking out, answering phone, helping people, managing volunteers, fetching and carrying, sorting stuff. I might take the last hour or half hour to sit at the desk and do something easy if it is quiet enough.
Ace 1 year ago
The number of these that must have purely transactional roles, i.e. they only deal with things as and when (or if) they arise, is quite surprising. I can't begin to imagine doing a job where there wasn't always a backlog of work to be doing. so any downtime had to be at your own volition rather than just not having anything to do.
Jackie Lulu 1 year ago
I had to stop reading these posts when I realized that I didn't want to read about jobs and working
Mindghost 1 year ago (edited)
Reading this posts making it seem like AI will take a lot of these jobs. But i can't relate to them, because in my first job i worked faaar too much. I would have sinned for such an easy job back then and thought people who complain about not enough work but full payment are crazy :)
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