Anyone else feel like they’re being paid to just… exist at work?
This has been bothering me lately and honestly, it pisses me off.
To be fair, my company isn’t terrible. Management can be generous, I get paid on time, and overall, it’s not a toxic workplace. I know a lot of people would probably say, “Bro, what are you complaining about? Sounds like an easy job.” And honestly, sometimes I think that too.
I have responsibilities and my own accounts to handle, but everything feels so limited. The workload is manageable, sometimes even too manageable. There are days where I genuinely feel like I’m just showing up and collecting my salary at the end of the month.
And yes, I know that sounds like a dream job to some people. Less stress, less responsibility, go home on time. But at the same time, I feel like I’m missing opportunities to actually grow.
There have been trainings and opportunities outside the Maldives related to accounts or products I handle, and somehow I’m not really involved. I’m not saying I should be included in everything, but sometimes I feel like I’m just assigned to maintain things rather than actually develop professionally. cant blame them, why would give me a free travel? LOL but just felt left behind, well anyway this thing make me more lazy about this job, its quite quitting. I just stops going above and beyond.
The funny part is, I even joke with some colleagues that I’m basically just sitting around waiting for my salary every month. They joke about it too. But like… I didn’t choose for my role to be this limited. 😭
And sometimes I overthink too. I wonder if my bosses think the social media posts I make are pointless because they’re busy handling bigger things while I’m just sitting there designing a post or figuring out what to upload next. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just in my own head.
But honestly, if they gave me a clearer and better role, with more involvement and actual responsibilities, I genuinely think I could do so much more. I want to contribute. I just need to actually be given the space and opportunity to do it.
Of course, if we're talking about adding significantly more responsibilities, then hopefully the pay grows with it too. The USD rate right now is already crazy, so let's be realistic here.
So to maximize my role, I started handling our social media as well. Marketing, designing, editing photos and videos, creating posts none of that was really part of my original job, but I actually enjoy doing it.
The problem is, it can get so confusing and draining.
We have the main company and several sub-companies, and sometimes I genuinely don’t know which product belongs to which account or which company is supposed to post what. One product can’t be posted on a certain account, but another similar product can. Sometimes nobody tells me beforehand, so I have to keep asking.
And I hate having to ask for approval for every single thing.
“Can I post this?”
“Which account should this go to?”
“Is this product under this company?”
“Can I use this photo?”
“Is this okay to post?”
Then I have to wait for replies and approvals, and by the time everything is clarified, the momentum is gone. It starts feeling like I can’t really take initiative because every move needs confirmation.
Then there’s also the expectation to help make sales for the products I handle. But how am I supposed to be proactive when every potential sale can turn into:
“How many are they buying?”
“Who are you selling to?”
“Why do they need it?”
“The quantity is too small.”
“We should focus on bigger accounts.”
Like okay 😭 so do you want me to sell or do you want me to submit a thesis before selling one box?
I feel like I want to do more, but at the same time, the way things are handled has slowly pushed me into doing the bare minimum. Because every time I try to take initiative, there are restrictions, approvals, questions, or complications.
So yeah, maybe my boss or colleagues think I’m lazy because I leave exactly at 5 PM. But honestly… why would I stay longer when I’ve finished everything I can do for the day?
I didn’t choose to have such limited involvement. I actually want more responsibility, more exposure, and more opportunities to grow. I just don’t want to constantly fight through unnecessary layers of approval to do something productive.
Anyway, at the end of the day, I’m an expat. I’m here to survive, gain experience, and make a living. And despite all my rants and frustrations, I’m still grateful. The company has been good to me in many ways, and they pay me on time.
But yeah… maybe I just want to feel like I’m actually part of the company, not just someone waiting for the end of the month to get paid. 😂
