The problem with being sidelined like this is that it can drag on and on until it's a resume liability. I'm at a company that's a bad fit right now - I hate it, my boss doesn't know what to do with me, but I was strung along for months without any discussion of my performance. I make a great salary but I feel like I need to stay long enough to make it not look suspicious, and every day I log on and do nothing for 8 hours I feel more burnt out and unprepared for a new role.
I don't know much about your current situation, but if you've got a short stint at a company it's not going to matter too much. "I joined expecting X but when I got there it was Y. I gave it a chance for Z months but it didn't work out" is one of the best answers to "why are you looking for a new role?"
If you've got 3-4 of these in the other hand, that's when you might just need to bring and bear it
I have gotten into discussions about this with colleagues and managers. The managers don't really care and just told me to chill and hang out (below my previous ambition level) and others have pointed out that they keep me around for insurance. Basically sand bag me until needed to fix a catastrophy or oversee other teams, departments, or initiatives that are at risk.
I don't really like it. I have (or used to have) a voracious work ethic that demanded I be busy on high-impact projects 24/7. However, these projects are rare.
Part of it is due to the constant adrenaline rush of being in a startup and having to save the company or a part of it on a regular basis. Sort of how soldiers have trouble adapting to ho-hum civilian life where the problems are mundane and they miss the trench-level comraderie.
Going from a startup where everything matters and you are surrounded by friends to a big company where nothing seems to matter and relationships are tempered by bureaucracy can be depressing as hell.
i get paid a monthly retainer to wait and respond to calls for help. often times i have nothing to do. but that's the definition of my work. i could go and find more things to do, but i don't have to.
maybe it helps if you reframe your current situation in that way. apart from that, if you can, i'd look at side projects that relate to your work
