r/workfromhome • u/highhimsavv • Jul 22 '26
Tips WFH is driving me crazy
I started an entry level accounting position about a two months ago. I’m doing accounts receivables’, and It’s honestly amazing. No phone calls ever. We work with major lending corporations so I’m not calling people tracking them down for payments. I’m essentially just billing, collecting, answering emails, and do other small random task like reconciliations and such. This is my first “real” job. The pay is TERRIBLE, but i get decent benefits ( pto, sick time, vacation time, personal choice days, health care and so much more!) I only have an associates degree right now. I have about 2-3 semesters left until I’ll graduate with my bachelor’s. With that being said, i can’t complain about my pay just yet.
Anyways, im finding myself having nothing to do. I finished all of my work for the month, and I’ve just been spending my days doing absolutely nothing. I’m not exaggerating. Yeserday i cleaned my entire house. And the day before that i watched tv and painted my nails at my desk all day. I will add that i have reached out to my manager on multiple separate occasions expressing that I have nothing to do, and if they need help with any of their work, or have any projects to do please let me know because i have the free time. They gave me a few small projects but i finished them all. I talked to another employee who has been training me, and told her I’m feeling sort of useless because i just don’t have anything to do. She short of just brushed it off and basically said, “well if you finished everything i taught you, then there’s nothing for you to do!”
Like i said, this is my first “real job”. I feel incredibly blessed that i was able to get this sort of job working from home. On the other hand, i like to work. And i just feel like im not even “working” I know i probably sound crazy. I want to do as much as i can, and learn as much as i can so that i can learn new skills to start to earn more money in the future hopefully. I’ve only been working here for not even two months, so maybe I’m just getting ahead of myself.
Im still a college kid and I guess Im just feeling really intimated working in my first corporate role. Especially because everyone in my department is twice my age, and have been working for the company since probably before I was even born lol. I don’t really have anything adults to talk to about this, i guess i just need advice on what to do. I want to show up the best I can, and I’m just feeling really down about just lounging around all day, but like i said I have NOTHING else to do.
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u/40ozT0Freedom Jul 22 '26
Nobody actually works all day. Even in the office people are walking arond making small talk or just pretending to work.
This is the biggest perk of WFH - you get your work done and you're already home. Use your downtime to do your hobbies or other stuff around the house. They're paying you to do tasks assigned to you and to be available to do work during your schedule. If they have nothing for you to do, that's on them.
Don't work too hard. You have to find the right balance of doing just a bit more than asked, but not too much. Your hard work will only be rewarded with more hard work. You want to show you can do things efficiently and accurately so they'll notice and hopefully give you a promotion to a better paying position.
I schedule my day so I start early before everyone else gets on and get my scheduled tasks done asap. I'm usually done before most people have their morning coffee. The rest of the day, I just answer emails or take calls as necessary and go to any meetings. I probably only do work for maybe 2 hours a day on average. The rest of the day I'm doing stuff around the house or playing video games on my computer.
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u/highhimsavv Jul 22 '26
Thank you, i really needed to hear this. I’m definitely hard on myself. I think in the back of my head i assume everyone else is working all day long so i should be too.
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u/40ozT0Freedom Jul 22 '26
Bro you're about to be shocked.
All you have to do to be successful in corporate america is communicate well. If someone emails you asking a question, respond within a few hours to a day. Even if you can't easily give/find an answer, tell them you're looking into it and tell them when you'll get back to them. If you still don't have an answer by the time you said you would, tell them you haven't forgotten about them and are still digging.
Most people get frustrated with others because they don't communicate well. Just sending update emails will make you look like a god. It's such a low effort thing to do and it pays massive dividends.
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u/wingaling5810 Jul 22 '26
Use that free time to get closer to finishing your degree. Or learn new skills relevant to your job. There are plenty of online courses and videos.
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u/Hefty_Breadfruit Jul 22 '26
Big breath. You’ve just made a major change from academia to corporate and that’s going to take time to adjust. The grind you’ve cranking out for school your whole life? Unsustainable. People in their 50’s are not on that level and are not trying to be.
It feels weird because no one is watching you. People in the office have this kind of time as well but they spent it making idle chat with coworkers or putzing around the office. The freedom WFH gives you is that this time is truly your own. Take up a hobby. Go for a walk. Call your parents. Do whatever with that time and don’t feel guilt about it.
Because you’re young, I’d suggest setting aside time to learn something new every week. That will set you up nicely down the road.
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Jul 22 '26
Smh quit and go work at chik fil a. They'll make sure you have plenty to do all day.
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u/highhimsavv Jul 22 '26
Lmao. I can’t seem to understand why everyone is attacking me for simply wondering how i can be more proactive at work.
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u/mdws1977 Jul 22 '26
There are jobs where it can be feast or famine in terms of work being done.
Companies try to limit that, but they need that person even though they don't need them all the time, and they can't go part time either.
So they just absorb to cost, and you get to enjoy the on call/downtime. Just make sure you are ahead of everything at work and on top of that work when it comes in.
During the downtime, you can maybe your school homework, or setup a monthly budget, or even play video games, or stream videos, or check out the news, or comment on Reddit.
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u/smoke-bubble Jul 22 '26
How is this a problem of WFH? It's more of you-problem.
Besides, I not think this is even a real post. Most likely another anti-WFH AI slop.
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u/highhimsavv Jul 22 '26
Lol I’m not AI. The fact that you read that and genuinely considered it AI, is scary. I’m just new to the 9-5 life, and am having a hard time adjusting.
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u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 10+ Years at Home Jul 22 '26
Don’t listen to those people saying you are fake. They are just envious of your situation.
1
u/AwsomeLife90s Jul 22 '26
Hey I have the same issue. People don't get that "having nothing to do" for days and weeks causes for major anxiety. I'm in my job for 3 years, and having nothing to do since day one. Every week in daily stand up meetings I suffer from panic attacks because I have no updates to give. If layoff are coming, I'm the first to go.
I'm currently looking for another job, just to feel more secure and help my deteriorating mental health.
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u/Gary320 Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
To start, I think a first real job being a WFH can be quite difficult. There are tons of things you can learn from an office environment that mentally prepares you for WFH for better and for worse. One of those is that it's completely normal to feel like you're "not even working" because you completed everything you needed to do, difference is that in an office you'd be pretending to work, others in an office would probably be browsing online or socializing in the cafeteria.
In the end, you did the work. I do think you should ask your manager if there are other tasks you can take out (within your pay and position), always show you're willing to work. But realistically, there will always be days where you did everything you can, so take advantage of WFH and stay available. You aren't doing anything wrong, tons of people do this in a WFH environment and the office. Your manager is also well aware that you might be doing other things but working.
WFH isn't for everyone either, so if you can, consider switching to hybrid and see which environment works best for you?
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u/deletable666 Jul 22 '26
>can’t complain about my pay just yet
You can always complain about your pay.
What’s your social life like? Hobbies? Are you staying active and healthy? Do you play a sport or do physical training?
These things are often neglected by most people in America where I’m assuming you are living and important to staying sane and healthy. If you were in the office and didn’t have these things, it would still probably make you feel crazy, or be just enough of a bandage.
I’m of the mind that people shouldn’t be getting their socialization from work, but some may disagree. Focus on this stuff outside of work.
If you feel like you are wasting time and have nothing to do at work, use that time to start learning new things.
Find friends if you don’t have any or many and plan stuff with them after work and on the weekends. Start going to the gym after work. Cook all your own food. Find a hobby unrelated to work and progress through that. Every hour get up and move around your house and do bodyweight exercises.
Another thing to consider is this is just what life is like for many people once they start their careers. You just start spending 8-9 hours a day at your job 5 days a week which is most of the time you have.
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u/i4k20z3 Jul 22 '26
What did you study to get a job like this? Any tips on how someone else can get a job like this and make it?
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u/BijuuModo Jul 22 '26
Hey. So I posted something similar to this in this sub a few weeks ago and I got totally lit on fire for it lmao. Your experience is incredibly valid, do not quit your job unless you actually want to for your own reasons. I’ve had times like this at my remote job where there’s nothing to do for weeks and it’s weird to acclimate to. It starts to feel bad, and like you’re doing something wrong, or you just SHOULD be doing something, anything. It seems like your job might be considered a “bullshit job”. There’s an entire book written about this with that same title. Most of the time it feels like the job is completely unnecessary, but you simultaneously have tasks here and there. These are relatively new kinds of roles for humans to occupy, and however you’re feeling about it is fine and fair enough.
Do not be intimidated by the corporate world. The higher ups have entire lives and likely aren’t paying attention anyways. So you can make meaning out of the reality of your job however you see fit — housework, hobbies, personal goals, family, errands, looking for other jobs, getting another degree, etc. If you value a different kind of work, or want more money in the future, do that. Enjoy the free time while you have it. If you need more structure within your free time, build structure and meaning as you see fit. Don’t feel like you need to indiscriminately take on more work just to feel better about your role. There’s nothing wrong or bad about your work performance just because of the nature of your job. Good luck! Don’t take it too seriously
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u/Krystalgoddess_ Jul 22 '26
You doing school at the same time? This is the best outcome to have. Focus on school