this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2024
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Problem with that approach is that they will argue that if you didn't have enough work to do, you should have asked for more. OP knowingly slipped through the cracks to, so the argument of 'I don't have a line manager to give me any' probably isn't going to cut it as their work will argue that OP should've gone to HR to sort their responsibilities as soon as they were aware.
They might get fired but no one has to "seek" extra work, there's no legal obligation. If they do their simple existing task, they are meeting known expectations.
If you get fired, you can sue for wrongful termination and file for unemployment. But then you still need to find a new job.
Instead, take on extra work that's incredibly easy but also has a paper trail that you can point to. You might even get a raise. :)
I mean it doesn't sound like they're seeking 'extra' work, because Anon is not doing any work at all. I'd argue there's a difference between 'extra work' and 'any work'.
They're not meeting expectations either because the expectation for their role is unlikely to be 'doing fuck all', the expectation is doing whatever job is outlined in their JD, which they're demonstrably not.
Again, I don't really care either way. Do what you can get away with, but be cognisant of the risks, and how that might affect your future employability otherwise you may find yourself doing nothing because you don't have a job at all.
I agree that anon shouldn't have given away their existing tasks. And that being fired is the likely end of this road.
Just clarifying that if you are doing your stated tasks, you aren't in some sort of legal violation by not seeking more work. You.might get passed over for a later promotion, or deemed as dead weight in a layoff round, but you aren't doing anything criminal
I don't know what kind of fucked up country you live in, but in my the employer- employee relationship means that the employer dictates what work you do and when, so if they don't give you anything to do that's on them.
Going further even better if you are self employed and on a cintreact thats fix rather than hours based, they have even less of a case, contract says you will charge x amount every month, if they don't contact you with any issue that's on them.
I'm from the UK. In most working environments there is an expectation of maturity and responsibility. If you don't have enough work to do there is an expectation that you, as an employee, are responsible and mature enough to ask your manager for more as ultimately that is what you're being paid to do - work, whether you like that or not. If you have nothing to do, and deliberately do nothing about that then your employer has reasonable grounds to at least raise this as an issue. If you're not seen as a someone who takes their job seriously, then you may find yourself looking for a new one if your department needs to downsize, for example.
Also, regardless of whether your manager should've known or not, that doesn't mean your not also at fault for not telling them. If you tell them, and nothing changes, then that's a different story entirely.
Let me put it this way: if your manager turned around and asked what you've been doing for the last X months and your response was 'nothing' and then tried to pass that off as their fault, I wouldn't imagine many employers would be too sympathetic to your arguments.
Duh, they're butthurt they fucked up, but also who cares if they're sympathetic?
If your employee can go months doing nothing then you're a shite boss who's even worse than that employee, frankly
If you want to keep the job, you should.
Look, if this works for OP and others, great. More power to them. But the reality is that, in most situations this isn't going to end up with the whole office applauding you for gaming the system and 'sticking it to the man' all whilst your manager looks on dispondantly from the background. It's going to result in a lot of uncomfortable discussions with HR and you potentially losing your job, or at the very least be given a written warning. If that's not a problem then great.
Sure, but that doesn't mean that the employee is not culpable as well. They have a responsibility to inform their line manager that they have no work to do. If the manager still does nothing, then great, enjoy the free time. But they should at least try. Your company expects you to be working in exchange for payment. I've seen situations where someone taking money for work they were knowingly not doing was accused of fraud. Maybe that sticks in court, maybe it doesn't, but is it worth the hassle to find out?
Do things that are never finished. Optimize the everloving bejeezus out of some code. Endlessly fiddle with webpage layouts. Explore and review all the ways not to reticulate a spline.