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I was in an underworked situation not too long ago. The team was fun I was coasting through but it was also frustrating as I saw no career progression. It did provide me an opportunity to develop some softskillls though. For me over worked is good as long as I am making that decision and I’m not being told to do it lol
I’ll take former every time. Jan/Feb I worked 40 days straight 12-16 hour days. Still recovering from it mentally and physically. I told myself this is my last busy season. Now I work smarter not harder, and if that means stopping after 10 hours when the rest of the group works 12+ then so be it
Underworked assuming you a motivated enough to use your spare time for self improvement
I was underworked and I took the opportunity to get involved in more internal things and get certifications for the area I'd like to go into.
Definitely overutilized is better for me. I love my job and really struggle to stay motivated when I'm not allocated at 120%.
As always, moderation is key. You need both scenarios in balance
Underworked. I work from home a few days a week and workout 5x a week, eat healthy/meal prep, read, practice meditation, learned about investing, keep in touch with friends/family, see my SO during the workday, write, watch tv, take naps, all during the workday. In the beginning, when I was learning how to perform in my role, I was drowning and being on this side is definitely better.
What time of internal work do you do?
OP, great question. Think I never heard it before.
First, that depends a lot on your preferences. What you value most; what your short and long term goals are; what’s your endgame; etc.
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Being overworked can be an incredible lever for your career: you learn more, become more resilient, have interesting stories to tell (work experience) and (usually) form deeper bonds within your team. But it comes at the cost of your health, both physical and mental (they are equally important!), family, and your free time (entertainment + self improvement).
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For me: I’d take overworked if it’s not all the time.
If I can have a normal life at the office for 80% of the time, and 20% being overworked, that’s a good balance (this ratio can also change through your career and life moment).
I hit the hospital twice in the past (I’m only 2 years out of college!) and don’t wanna be any close to that anymore. But that’s me.
Op, in that case I would stay in the easier project.
You’re gonna have a ton of chances of being overworked in the future (I think).
Also, I take in consideration that most of us will left consulting in ~5 years. I mean, if the recognition is the same, you don’t need to rush to learn, agree?
Hope that helps.
Good for everyone else wanting to improve themselves lol if utilization was not a factor I’d 100% rather be underutilized. Being “bored” is a luxury
Personally I’ve been in fifth gear for the past four years. I’m ready to slow down for a couple of months and find some balance before hitting it hard again
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A lot of people here are trying to pull a consultant on me here. “It’s all about balance.”
So let me specify: the question does not leave room for balance. You choose one or the other. Obviously everyone prefers some balance. Some overworked days and some underworked days.
If you need further assistance in understanding, imagine you can choose between two projects with similar levels of recognition for a job well done: 40-50 hours of week (for more like 10 hours/week of actual work), or 60-80
hours a week (for 60-80 hours of actual work).
The choice between skills/career and sanity is obvious (or is it? can boredom can drive you insane?) I didn’t come here for that obvious insight. I came here to ask a question that draws on your personal experience for specific insight.
Thank you to the people who answered correctly. Those who may have given it thought, but really just pointed out the obvious, pls fix.
How do ppl ask tho questions smh underworked any day
I was severely underworked at my first project out of undergrad. I’d walk into the client site each day with maybe 2 hours worth of actual work to do. It made me feel like I wasn’t capable of much, despite graduating with what, in my opinion, is a pretty impressive degree a few months earlier. I hated it and was pretty depressed.
After two or three months of this, I finally wedged myself into a position where I owned a small project at the client site. It grew and grew and I remained the POC for the work. I was working 12 - 16 hr days, usually with no weekends. This lasted about 3.5 months until the project was over. It was hard me — both mentally and physically — but I learned so much from the experience. Despite my complaining to friends that work a traditional 9-5 and would actually have fun on the weekends, I loved feeling useful to my team. I’d take being overworked any day.
I am, however, still at the beginning of my career. I know this will change once I shift gears and start a family. At that point, I feel like I’ll definitely prioritize my family and will prefer to be underworked if it means I get to spend more time with them
Well, it’s hard to use the downtime for “self-improvement.” You have to look busy while you’re onsite, right?
Fair point, but you can be creative. Copy and paste information into a word doc and study it. Are there any topics even tangentially related to your project? Work on whatever those things are. IMO if you truly have nothing to do then you should bite the bullet and ask to be reassigned because, though no fault of your own, you being a resource on that project is not in your client’s best interest.
In my case, I first looked for additional opportunities to add value to my project. It became a big boon for me as the additional value I was able to bring to the project allowed me to develop a strong client relationship and a great reputation on the project. After that, I was able to take a couple hours here and there to take meetings for internal work or complete trainings for internal certifications on my laptop, without drawing any judgement from the client or my team.
Age and goals are important. I’m almost 48 and at my terminal level. I make good money so if I can get by without having to kill myself with 12-16 hour days, then I’m fine with that. I did PLENTY of those in my 20’s and 30’s. I’m not going to promote any higher so I’m okay coasting when I can. Unfortunately, those “coast” periods don’t come often. But when they do, I don’t feel guilty enjoying them like I used to.
The problem is I’m 20 years younger and feel like I’m at my terminal level. Not sure if I’m just impatient and trying to ruin a good thing out of boredom or not.
I’d err on underworked for two reasons:
1) It leaves room for creativity and innovation. We’re all so obsessed with getting things done that don’t add value.
2) Adding voluntary work is probably easier than taking work away in the overworked scenario.
Experience both. I'm sure you will anyway. When you're underworked you may be nervous you'll be released and feel guilty about not being productive enough. Then be careful what you wish for. When overworked you'll be jealous of friends who go out and meet people, work out and explore. And you'll wonder why you aren't paid by the hour when billing 70+ hours.
Then you'll learn to set boundaries in an effective way, you'll choose better companies and roles and the ebb and flow of over and under is accepted for what it is as temporary or if not then you take action to fix it in a calm directed way aligned with your values.
Underworked and overpaid
that’s me, it’s hard to turn down free money
Overworked better for career... underworked better for life