If my boss never gives me any work does it mean he wants me to quit?

[Anonymous]

Im a working student and have been working at this company for over a year but I have hardly anything to do. Now I’m wondering if he wants me to quit by making me feel useless. What do you think?

[Oliverlogan263]

Ugh girl that sounds so frustrating! I can definitely see why you'd be wondering what's up with your boss. A few possibilities I can think of:

- He may see you as more of a temporary student position and not want to overload you with too much responsibility. But not giving you ANY work at all is weird.

- It's possible he's trying to get you to quit so he doesn't have to fire you himself. Some bosses are lame like that.

- There could actually just be a lack of work coming in and you're kinda the lowest on the totem pole. But still, you'd think he'd find something!

My advice would be to try talking to him directly. In a casual, non-confrontational way, you could say something like "hey I've noticed I haven't had a ton to do lately and want to make sure I'm pulling my weight - is there anything else I can help out with while I have down time?" See what he says. His response will tell you a lot about whether you should start looking elsewhere. Don't quit unless you really have to though - let HIM be the bad guy first if he wants you gone! Keep me posted on what happens girl. Fingers crossed it gets better!

[sage2021]

Sometimes there just isn't any work to do. Then some days you will be overwhelmed with work.

I used to call it "The Art of Looking Busy at Work When There's Nothing to Do".

I used to have to be really creative and get papers out and put them all over my desk like I am busy.
I would give my work area a good cleaning.
I would ask other people if they needed help with anything you could help them with.

I think he wants you to work there, and he probably feels bad because it's up to him to generate work for you.

🤷🏼‍♀️

[Anonymous]

If you're still getting paid to not have any work, I wouldn't be too upset. If you mean they don't let you work and you're not getting paid, then yes, you'll want to find something else.