I’ve lost 80 pounds in the last 18-ish months! I still have a long way to go, but 80 is further than I ever thought I’d get.
Unrelated, but if you want a little bit of positivity each week, I highly recommend the We’re Here newsletter. It’s a nice Friday pick-me-up from Hank and John Green (they’re the Crash Course guys, if you’ve ever seen a Crash Vourse video) that focuses on positive news that often gets overlooked for one reason or another.
What you consider to be “above and beyond” is what others consider to be a standard part of any role. Other comments on other posts you’ve made have said the same thing: a general “additional duties as assigned” clause is very normal, and nothing you’ve said has given the impression that what you’re being asked to do is atypical.
Your manager considers helping out your coworkers to be part of your base responsibilities. This is a normal expectation. If it’s one that you have no desire to meet, then your best bet is to find a new job. The problem there - as both I and others have pointed out - is that any other job you find will likely have this same expectation.
I was in your shoes about five years ago. I felt it was completely unfair, I tried other roles in an attempt to find a job where it wasn’t expected, I asked coworkers how it was possible that such a thing was normal… I get it. It’s not fun. But living at this time and in this place under these conditions - it’s normal. I personally chose to suck it up and deal with it, and ultimately I came around to understanding that it wasn’t as bad as I was making it out to be. It’s not perfect - I’m not saying that - but part of having a job is working with other people, and that includes the give-and-take of what you’re experiencing right now.
If you honestly, truly can’t bring yourself to work under these circumstances, you might want to change careers. Contract and gig work could potentially give you the strict adherence to tasks that you’re looking for, but it may come at the cost of pay, benefits, or difficulty in finding work. Starting your own business will at least mean all the work you do directly benefits you, but that again comes with its own set of risks.
Final thought:
Going extra miles don’t mean more money for me, so what’s my motivation?
Being employed so you don’t end up homeless. Nothing grander or more meaningful than that. You need a job, so you’re doing what it takes to keep your job. Same as the rest of us.
I see you’ve chosen to go with Option 3, at least for now. (Previous comment for reference.)
To be perfectly frank, it sounds like you’re already half-assing your job and maliciously complying. Think about it: you do only the exact amount and type of work as specified in your job description, you actively resist being given additional work even when you aren’t currently doing anything, you don’t offer help to coworkers when you have the ability and they have a need, and you openly flaunt these facts by using your downtime (even when not officially on a pause) to write poetry or otherwise not do work in locations where your coworkers and manager can see you doing it.
If malicious compliance and the bare minimum are your goal, then congratulations! You’ve accomplished your objective.
I’d be careful looking for jobs while at work, especially on a work computer. That’s a great way to get let go if they notice you doing it.
As far as the search itself, you currently have more leeway because you’ve got a job - you don’t need something tomorrow, so you can take more time. Start by talking to any friends or friendly acquaintances you have in the same field you’re looking to work in. Ask about their current workplaces, their former workplaces, etc. to see if any stand out as places you’d also like to work.
Once you’ve spoken to any people you know, consider companies you’ve heard good things about. Check sites that share employee reviews like Glassdoor, look them up on LinkedIn, etc. Your goal should be to get a sense of average employee tenure as well as potential pain points. Two big things to keep in mind as you do this:
Once you’ve found companies that you think might be a good fit, try reaching out to employees at those companies via LinkedIn (or some other site where they congregate) and asking for a brief chat. You don’t want to take up a lot of their time, but a quick “I’m thinking of applying to X and would like to hear what working there is like before I do” should hopefully get you some firsthand information. It may also get you a referral, which is a big bonus when applying.
Even after all of this, it’s important to remember that you still probably won’t have all of the information you’d like to be able to make a confident decision. That’s unfortunately just not how it works most of the time, which is why so many people choose the devil they know and stay instead of risking going elsewhere.
I’ve done remote call center work in the past and have friends who’ve worked for a few others, and they were all technical support rather than sales work. Granted, some may want you to try to upsell services as you’re troubleshooting, but it’s not a true sales role.
As for the insurance places - yeah, those are basically all sales from what I understand. I’ve never worked for one myself, though, so I can’t confirm what the experience is like.
If neither of those options appeal and you don’t like the variability of the others I listed, I’d recommend searching for “remote entry-level work” and seeing the types of things that pop up. I personally prefer sites like Hiring Cafe over places like LinkedIn or Indeed for searching because there aren’t as may scams, but make sure to check the company out thoroughly before you apply regardless of the platform you’re using.
If your disability is such that you’re able to work so long as you can work from home, there are entry-level roles for several industries that can be done remotely. I have no idea of your background, but call centers and places that sell insurance over the phone are pretty much always hiring (the work’s no fun, imo, but it’s work).
If you’re completely unable to work and are on disability, I’m unsure what the rules are around making money while receiving benefits. I’d recommend looking into that if you haven’t already so you don’t accidentally cross a line somewhere and end up losing benefits.
If you’re truly looking to just make some spare cash (and it won’t cause any issues like I mentioned before), you’ve got a few options depending on your skills and what you consider “decent pocket change.” Off the top of my head:
Regardless of the answer, I’d follow this up with “Are you unhappy?” If you’re happy-ish or at least not unhappy, then the peace of mind that comes with job security is a big motivator.
You can always seek happier happiness outside of work so long as the work itself doesn’t promptly steal it all when you go in the next day.