Temp job isn't going anywhere. Should I leave?

In January I joined a new company as a temp. The first month was okay; I adjusted quickly to the department and got a healthy amount of work done, including being assigned as a project lead. Unfortunately the workload has massively decreased and I'm being ignored by senior staff which can make my job a real pain in the butt.

They hired a couple of other temps recently who've expressed similar concerns about feeling undervalued. I think we're being taken advantage of in a way as I don't see them offering us full-time positions anytime soon (they said so themselves). It's a real problem because while the money is good, I don't feel I'm learning/developing useful skills for my career.

They haven't said what they're going to do with my contract yet either. I was due to finish last week but was put on a two week 'emergency' extension - through the agency they use. I'm waiting to hear back and even if I do accept, I'm thinking about telling them that I don't think the structure of the role is good enough

Advice on the matter? TiA.

-Duck

P.S. I should point out that I'm not new to the employment market. I took this job following my master's degree which I did after a few years of working. I thought it would offer good career prospects being a big organisation, well known, etc.

Does it serve any purpose i.e the money?

Start looking for something better and when you find it plus have a job offer, then you can quit imo. Easier to find a job if you are already working.

Sure the money has served a purpose, which is to give me a bit of cash so I'm not totally poor, but it's not hugely important as I'm not under any no financial obligations. I'm living at my dad's so it's in thinking that if my job isn't giving me an ability to move out then it's a problem whatever I'm earning. At best two more months in the role could give me enough money to move somewhere else in the country.

I definitely agree it's easier to find a job when you have one. However, I went to an interview for a position last month - same job title at a similar company - and they asked me to explain what I'd been doing in my role. They seemed surprised how little I was doing and I didn't get the position owing to 'experience'. I've been on a total negative about my job since then.

Then you have to dress the experience up or seek tasks specifically so you can mention them on your CV. IF you feel you can do that better outside employment, then do that. Maybe do some vol work as well.

Sure the money has served a purpose, which is to give me a bit of cash so I'm not totally poor, but it's not hugely important as I'm not under any no financial obligations. I'm living at my dad's so it's in thinking that if my job isn't giving me an ability to move out then it's a problem whatever I'm earning. At best two more months in the role could give me enough money to move somewhere else in the country.

I definitely agree it's easier to find a job when you have one. However, I went to an interview for a position last month - same job title at a similar company - and they asked me to explain what I'd been doing in my role. They seemed surprised how little I was doing and I didn't get the position owing to 'experience'. I've been on a total negative about my job since then.

Strong post but a job is not merely the exchange if time/labor for money and I think you should reassess that point because it's wildly off.

Successful companies would never be successful if they decided their employees were nothing more than assets to take advantage of. Any number of business management books for instance talk about the value of emotional intelligence for instance. More simply, a toxic environment where people hate their jobs won't be efficient, effective or ensure future sustainability.

Strong post but a job is not merely the exchange if time/labor for money and I think you should reassess that point because it's wildly off.

Successful companies would never be successful if they decided their employees were nothing more than assets to take advantage of. Any number of business management books for instance talk about the value of emotional intelligence for instance. More simply, a toxic environment where people hate their jobs won't be efficient, effective or ensure future sustainability.

But paying someone for their work isn't taking advantage. It's not exploitation (unless you're paying someone significantly less than their work is worth). It's the basis of capitalism.

The fact that you've taken this to mean someone will be automatically miserable suggests it's your expectations that are out of whack with the rest of the world. A lot of people are quite happy with a job where they go in, do their work, get some standard benefits (holiday/sick/maternity) and then go home again. It's not automatically a toxic environment, and the fact that you've assumed it would be I think says a lot about your views/expectations.

It sounds like you want a job that will give you opportunities to progress and develop- which is great, and a lot of companies will like that. Unfortunately, the job you have right now is a temporary one, so it's never going to offer you that. This means you need to look for other opportunities elsewhere.

I also think you have to let things go and take things less personally. It sounds like you took the newsletter thing as a personal slight. It probably wasn't intended that way, but they decided that they wanted to change how things worked and perhaps decided a temp wasn't the right person to be doing that anymore. That's nothing against you, these things happen. The fact that management make decisions without discussing them with staff is also normal- that's how large organisations work. Nothing about what you've said so far screams "toxic" to me- although I do accept this obviously isn't the right role for you right now.

I wonder if you'd be happier working for a smaller business where there would perhaps be more opportunities to get involved with a lot of different projects and perhaps be closer to the decision making?

I mostly mentioned the feeling of being taken advantage of because many people are miserable where I work. There's been loads of lay-offs in recent years and now they basically hire temps when they need things done. I think it's bred a culture of apathy in the company. Another repercussion is that people seem quite worried about their jobs and I think that impacts how willing they are to work as a 'team'.

Generally though I appreciate the advice. We shan't get into a debate about capitalism and all the other -isms.

I get where you're coming from, in that you have thought about what motivates people. An exchange of time/labour for money is a misguided view, because it doesn't take into account the power dynamic and it doesn't take into account the complexities of people (circumstances, personalities, disabilities, mental health conditions) or complexities of groups.

I think you shouldn't be hard on yourself. 3 months in the same place, however you're getting on is not being super negative. It's when people have been somewhere 18 months to 2 years that they should really be thinking like you are. That's not an endorsement for staying on btw.

It sounds like you work in a university environment. University environments at particular times of year are chaos/very slow.

I agree, that's not going to be good for morale- but ultimately, despite what businesses may say, they tend to go with the model that works best for them financially. There have been a lot of times in my career when it's really benefited me to view work as a purely financial transaction, and not something to get emotionally invested in.

This really helps me put things into perspective. Thank you.

Yes I'm actually quite the student of motivation - it's what I wrote my masters degree dissertation on

It is a university so I'll take that on board.

Then if you leave that job, you will have even less experience, and find it equally as if not more hard to secure the next job.

In January I joined a new company as a temp. The first month was okay; I adjusted quickly to the department and got a healthy amount of work done, including being assigned as a project lead. Unfortunately the workload has massively decreased and I'm being ignored by senior staff which can make my job a real pain in the butt.

They hired a couple of other temps recently who've expressed similar concerns about feeling undervalued. I think we're being taken advantage of in a way as I don't see them offering us full-time positions anytime soon (they said so themselves). It's a real problem because while the money is good, I don't feel I'm learning/developing useful skills for my career.

They haven't said what they're going to do with my contract yet either. I was due to finish last week but was put on a two week 'emergency' extension - through the agency they use. I'm waiting to hear back and even if I do accept, I'm thinking about telling them that I don't think the structure of the role is good enough

Advice on the matter? TiA.

-Duck

P.S. I should point out that I'm not new to the employment market. I took this job following my master's degree which I did after a few years of working. I thought it would offer good career prospects being a big organisation, well known, etc.

The clue is win the title Temp Job... They are not going to keep you. If they would, someone would already spoke to you to make sure that you wont walk away on your own.
Are you their temp or agency? Are you on zero hours contract? The thing is that if you tell temps that they have to go next month, they wont work hard anymore or may try to nick something.

Yeah this is how companies I've worked for in the past deal with it but it's different here and that's sorta the problem.

I'd go back to the agency to ask for a more appropriate position but that's not how it works (Unitemps). There's a good number of temps working here at all levels who are being kept in the dark about future roles at all levels. I know that the last two temps they actually did get hired full-time were temps for a year before given a full-time contract.

I guess that's what happens when a company is on a hiring freeze.