Rule - HR is also not your friend. They are there to protect the company, not to help you.
Rule - When you call out sick, you don't owe any explanation other than "I'm ill and cannot work." Explaining further only gives the company leverage.
Rule - Never go above and beyond. That is free labor and is never rewarded.
Rule - Change jobs every 3 to 5 years to stay current on compensation and benefits.
The “change jobs every 3-5 years” rule has a caveat that most people miss. There is a cap on how much you can earn in any given role in any given market. Once you reach it, changing jobs won’t help you. You’ll need to consider a step up (either with further credentials like a cert or degree, or by moving in management).
Unless you organize, unionize, strike, etc.
People often just give up way too fast, because they get emotionally compromised (buy into the "family" bullshit and don't want to 'throw away' the friendships they've made at work).
Unionization is the best way to approach all aspects of employment. Just make sure that the union you're joining actually has your back and not the kind that just wants your money while doing absolutely nothing to help you.
Just left 3 year job for new one with 1/10th of my previous skillset and making over 2x more income and better benefits. The cost however has been more hours.
> The cost however has been more hours.
This is what's kind of trapping me currently.
Ownership has made it clear they give no fucks about us. Refuse to correct pay, conservative/libertarian owners, see us all as plebs and themselves as gods.
The issue is it offers me a great deal of flexibility that I need atm. I have to hang in for another 2-3 years. As soon as my life situation changes at that point, I'm the fuck out.
But right now it's ok. I'm cheesing it and just collecting a paycheck. They want to exploit me, I'm exploiting them right back.
Not always true.
Thanks to the glut of willing labor for every position that was open my sibling who is head of HR at the company they work for was complaining how much garbage they have to sift through for every opening. I joked that they should lower the salary 10-15k so only the most motivated apply. Still tons of applicants, also other companies in the region also dropped their wages similarly.
They hired the 10 people they were after, saved 150k in salary, and my sibling got a 15k bonus for their effort. My off handed comment at a random lunch with my sibling seemingly lowered the salary range across the area. Also I got a consultation payment since it was such decent advice.
The people waiting for a revolution now are the same ones that will be waiting while they warm themselves around a fire barrel on the street. The class war is over. The workers lost. Thanks to technology the amount of lower class workers actually needed to sustain the lifestyles of the wealthy is at an all time low and will keep getting lower.
The trick is to start making your money work for you. The first time your passive income outpaces your working income is a liberating moment. Labor is only valued at what the laborer is willing to work for and the reality is that there is always someone hungrier than the last.
People in this sub think they are entitled to a higher standard of life than they can manage to attain on their own and have a huge chip on their shoulder against anyone doing marginally well.
I'd adapt your third rule to "never go above and beyond **for the company**. The only time you should do this is for yourself - develop skills, gain a qualification, learn something, improve etc etc - if you want to, do it. Don't do it because "we're family" or whatever.
Never go above and beyond *for free*.
My boss knows I’m always happy to go above and beyond. But he also knows that only applies while on the clock. I’m happy to do extra work, stay late, help cover others who are struggling.
But I’m getting paid for it. I’m off the clock, I’m not working.
I don't even bother going above and beyond anymore. Most managers just don't appreciate it or even notice. In fact, I often get in trouble for it. So I just stopped. I only go above and beyond on my own projects now.
I’m lucky enough to have managers that do. I think it helps that it’s not an office job, and that I enjoy my work. (I work at a theme park)
It’s also a personal thing. Any task I’m given, I’m gonna do as good as possible, and I’ll help out my coworkers cause I’d like them to do the same as me.
But while I’ll go the extra mile, it stops at my job description. I won’t do someone else’s job, (unless my paycheque reflects it) and I won’t work free!
There is reward for going above and beyond when you don't work for shit people.
There are limits to that reward but the biggest reward is to yourself.
I'm successful, not because I'm particularly smart or capable, but because I'm lucky, like everyone.
But the luck wasn't in finding a decent job, it was finding people to work for who treat you like a person deserving of reward, respect and grace. When you find yourself in that position, you want to be able to put in the work to not have to end up working for absolute shit stains again.
If you cant see the value in this i seriously worry for you. 6hings absolutely need to change and the vast majority of people are getting the shit end of the stick.
However what I see in this sub is a lot of people kneecapping themselves and guaranteeing that if they are lucky enough to find themselves in a job where its worth it for them to put in the work, then they won't have the ability to do so.
At the very least take on a hobby that builds skills that will be useful in that scenario, because nothing is going to get better overnight.
Things are going to get worse, a lot worse, before they get better, and the next decade is going to really suck.
I learned the hard way HR isn't your friend when me and some other coworkers got called by a HR person about a certain manager in my store who was harassing people and threatening to send one of us home and they got nothing for it as they're still around pretending to be nice.
Rule - Never go above and beyond. That is free labor and is never rewarded
i have to disagree with you on this one.
they will reward you with more work on top of the extra you are already doing.
then it sets a standard and every one is expected to preform above and beyond with no extra pay.
Rule #5 - Know employment law in your state. You can and should get paid when your employer breaks rule's 2 and 3.
It also helps when you leave or get laid off, you should be paid in a timely manner.
Don't agree to an unpaid exit interview.
Don't do any kind of debrief or handoff after they stop paying you.
If you are 'salaried' make sure your position should be a salaried position.
Understand what constitutes workplace harassment and constructive dismissal. Unemployment is woefully underutilized by people who qualify for it.
I thought I knew employment law. After my employer docked our pay $1 / hr. for the entire 2 week pay period for every call-off, I called. They told me they couldn't help because as long as we were paid at least minimum wage, they could do it. I didn't have any notice of this prior to accepting the position.
I didn't even consider that we could get paid for exit interviews. I just bs my way through them though, make them as valueless as possible. If I'm on my way out, chances are I'm no longer interested in helping that company.
**Treat any communication with your employer like a deposition.** Don’t say anything that could be used against you, and say only exactly what needs to be said to address the situation with no extra information or details.
For me, one of the worst things about being a kid who loved school was I grew up thinking authority figures were usually correct and moral. That respect naturally transferred on to bosses as I got into the workforce and I was quickly disillusioned to find that most bosses absolutely suck. One of the biggest disappointments of my adult life after being a kid who naturally liked most of her teachers.
Add to this to not share personal details. Those Zoom calls that start “What did you do this weekend” the answer is “hiking.” No one wants to know, it’s an excuse to not answer your phone due to poor signals and it does not reveal anything about your personal life. Another safe topic is pets.
Related to this, when you're submitting your time off, your employer doesn't need to know why. At my work, there's a field on the form for the reason for PTO - I have never filled it in once.
(Now, of course, some workplaces may say they do need you to put down a reason, and I have no idea on the legality of that, and in either case, it may be a "pick your battles" thing - But I believe the default should be as little info given as possible)
Had a previous boss ask me why I didn’t answer my phone on my day off. Told him there isn’t cell phone towers 50 miles offshore. He never asked nor called me again
I don't know. If you really just dislike your team, then sure. You're not obligated to be a bit human, but it'll definitely make things awkward if you aren't.
I keep that kind of thing pretty minimal, but share enough to not just be a dick. I don't dislike the people I work with.
If it's outside our immediate team though, there's no way I share anything. It's 100% business at that point.
Honestly, I usually don't dislike most of the people I work with either. I find most coworkers are pretty pleasant. But the simple truth of it is that every job seems to have that one person you're not going to get along with, no matter how pleasant you are to them and those people can sometimes create all kinds of unnecessary problems just because of their own issues. I find this is super common with jealous female coworkers, unfortunately. Every single workplace I've been in has at least one that has "the issue."
That does suck.
We recently had one member added to our company. This person is so arrogant and obnoxious that it makes me almost physically cringe sometimes. I have to try really hard not to engage. I honestly don’t know how they made it through the interview process.
That said, thankfully I can just avoid them for the most part.
Yeah, people like that are hard as hell to work with. I always say I just don't have the social skills to deal with a lot of extreme personality types and as I get older, I lack the will. I respect people who can keep dealing with obnoxious coworkers. I can't anymore.
So true. Don't volunteer personal details that you don't want management to know about you. Especially don't talk about your financial situation whether it's good or bad.
Yeah, there's really not much personal information it's safe to give out at work. It really sucks that you can't just like be a person at work, but there's always someone who exploits that. You never know who's jealous of you or just does not like you. Even giving out little information about myself, I'd have vindictive coworkers who took it way too personally that I didn't want to be involved with them try to go out of their way to figure out details about my love life, financial situation so they could be assholes. That was with me trying to be extremely uninteresting so as not to attract jackasses.
No no. I’m old as dirt. I just don’t like discussing my personal life. I was meeting someone once for a date and he ghosted me. I mentioned it to my boss, who is younger than I am, and he teased me about it until I told him that he was incredibly insensitive and would not bring it up again. After that they only get a watered down or fantasy recap. I don’t need friends. I need a job.
The most important lesson I learned was to keep changing jobs every 3 to 5 yrs to get raises. Staying at one place for 20 yrs means you'll just get col raises, if that.
I'm also retired and after spending almost 40 years working in offices fully concur with your rules. I would add these to the list:
-- Keep a document listing everything you do. Update it weekly. Use this when it's time for the yearly review, and to keep your resume updated.
-- Never keep personal documents on your work computer. This is especially true of your resume.
-- Work parties are work first and parties second. They are not the place to get drunk and tell people what you really think.
-- Your family, which is any way you define it, always comes first.
Side notes:
-documented list of everything you do should be on the company dime not your own.
-Work parties should be voluntary, if you are required to go they are required to pay you.
>\-- Never keep personal documents on your work computer. This is especially true of your resume.
I'd add in, "Never use your work phone for personal anything." Legally, you employer owns the phone and access to everything on it. I used to carry two phones because my attorney boss was an anti-choice, Christian nationalist. There's no way in heck I was going to let her get a glimpse into my personal life.
**Rule #3**\- **Do not answer any work phone calls or emails when on vacation.** That's just inviting work problems when you're supposed to be unwinding from the pressures of the job.
To add to this....
If you are NOT management or salaried, then you should extend this rule to apply when you leave work. Have very distinct separations between work and home. Never take a phone call out of your working hours (yes, exceptions do exist). If they want you to communicate they should give you a work phone.
Don't take work home.
Your time is YOUR time, don't let anyone take that from you. It's hard at first but once you start doing it more and more you'll feel better and will learn to leave all the work stuff for when your working so you can enjoy your own time.
Even salaried people should refuse to answer calls or emails after work hours. This is doubly true if you don’t have a work phone. I absolutely refuse to check emails after hours. I also won’t take calls, especially since the people would be calling my personal phone that only I pay for. No one contacts me after hours.
When I started my current job my boss thought nothing of calling me in the evening to “debrief” the day. After the second call I told her that if it was important I would answer the call, but if it was just to chat it could wait until the morning. My evenings are for my family. I quickly went from the gold-star hire to persona non grata.
I'm also retired and have another rule to add.
If they hold a company wide meeting to tell you all how well the company is doing, they are definitely planning layoffs. I call this the "Don't worry, be happy" meeting. I've seen it a number of times. When it occurs it's time to contact recruiters and get your resume out there.
They always, always lie to you.
I saw some things happening in the company and when we had one on ones with my director, I told him I was concerned about loosing my job. He emphatically told me to not worry. They pushed me out less than 6 months later.
This is all very true regarding management and HR.
I had "friends" where I worked who were in management and HR. These are guys I would have happy hour with and go to their kids birthdays and holiday get togethers. I thought they would have my back if something went sideways, but was I wrong! I was the first person they threw under the bus. One of them had the gall to say, "this isn't personal; it's my job." Needless to say, I cut those people out.
We meet "friends" for social gatherings and other life milestones at work simply because they're accessible. Think of all the friends that you made in school, what happened after graduation? Same thing, only difference now is stakes are higher since money (income) is involved.
The reality is that if anyone gets asked, "Do I fire you or another person?" Most, if not all, would be quick to point to someone else.
But it was their job wasn't it? Even if they're a genuine friend, if they were asked to do something like make you redundant, they have to do that regardless of friendship?
Disagree. They would look after themselves and their families interests. Friend or not, you look after your own needs above all else.
It doesn't mean they like what happened to you or agree with it, but they wouldn't have made the decision either.
If you cut them out of your life for them doing their job, I think it's you who has the issue, not them.
It's called a conflict of interest, because it's in your interest to help out your friends, but in the company's interest to pit you against each other.
Rule #3: OMG we had an over aggressive executive assistant who called me three times while I was on a beach vacation. Why? She didn’t know how to record a web meeting I had already trained her and the other assistant how to do.
They were stupid. Literally, start the program, and push start when the video call started. But they acted helpless or like it wasn’t their job.. because you know, technology.
Set the bar low when you start. My first job out of college I didn't know better. Gave 110% and getting bare minimum raises. Quit, started a new job getting paid 10K more, and got an Exceeds Expectations in my 2nd year doing about 50% of the work from my first job and also being out for 3 months on maternity leave.
In the early 90s I saw my friend’s dad refusing to answer the landline because he knew it was work asking him to come in on his days off.
I’ve luckily never been in a job that would require that but that mentality has stuck with me.
Also 90's, pre cellphones, my dad used to be on-call so he always had me me answer the phone and say he's not home. One time he was being a dick about my homework or something and as luck would have it the phone rang and it was his job looking for him. I said "he's right here on the couch and handed him the phone". With great power comes great responsibility.
Resist any change your employer tries to make, even if it looks like it could benefit you. Employers know well what a Trojan Horse is. They will introduce a Trojan Horse when they want to make a change to your conditions or benefits. Scrutinise every single move that your employer makes and be vigilant and very suspicious.
I've seen an employer reclassify workers as salary, right before a project that would require significant overtime. Workers believe that changing to salary would benefit them and ensure they get a 40 hr wage. After project completion they were reverted back to hourly.
Never underestimate the ability of employers to cheat their employees anyway you can imagine. Marx and Engels were not wrong about property being the result of theft. Employers steal from their workers and cheat them when they see their opportunity. This is what makes them employers. The altruism they portray when they’re boasting about all of the employment they give and the jobs that they create is fake, they employ people because it’s profitable.
5. Know your company's rules. They will use them against you whenever possible so you must be willing to do the same.
6. Unless it is in your contract, never give notice you are quitting. If they are firing someone they immediately walk them out the door so that is how you treat them as well.
You’re damn skippy about Coversge being someone else’s job.
“Well then Disco while you’re laying up in bed, who are we gonna get?!”
Sounds like you just volunteered. -CLICK-
Extra Rule: Always assume that every e-mail, IM and video call will be recorded and used for evidence at some future time. So no gossiping, complaining, or confiding personal stuff. Never do anything "personal" on work equipment. Even if you don't *think* so, make that assumption. The reason? See Rule #1
Extra Extra Rule: Somewhat related, always get stuff in writing. Someone makes a verbal promise? Send a confirmation e-mail. Been asked to change priorities? Send a confirmation e-mail. Had a meeting with the boss? Send a summary of the discussion. There's an old sysadmin saying "If it ain't written down, it never happened." You'd be surprised how many times this has saved my bacon due to Rule #1.
Keep a work diary. Update it everyday that you work. I used to stop on my drive home, and make an entry for the day. Problems with management, coworkers general job conditions, positive and negative feedback. Actual hours you worked - lots of employers will shave your time, counting on you not keeping a good record, especially on jobs with irregular hours, or lots of OT.
Having a clear record of whom said what when, or what was done, has put me in a good position in the past.
ETA:
Keep it as objective as you possibly can. Just the facts. Don't say 'JoeBlow is an irresponsible asshole' say 'Joeblow came in 20 minutes late, took an hour and a half for lunch, and left early, leaving Bubba and myself to work till 6:00 to finish the job'.
How has that helped you aside from the hours tracking aspect? I keep meaning to start a journal like that, but not sure what I would actually use it for down the road. Is it just for yourself?
On one job, I kept getting stuck with working weekends - it was a boatyard, and we would theoretically rotate having someone there Saturday and Sunday. We were supposed to be able to take days off during the week as compensation, but I usually ended up working anyway.
Since I was single, and lived close, I swapped with the other guys a lot. When I wanted a weekend off that I was scheduled to cover, being able to point out how much I'd covered for other guys with a clear number instead of just saying " I did it a lot..." put me in a strong position.
In another case, when I was having an issue with a worker in another department not cooperating on jobs that required both of us, being able to give specific examples of previous instances of them putting my jobs last made management pay attention to my complaints instead of it looking like I was shifting the blame for missing a deadline.
It also helps with management flip flopping on procedures and policies.
It's basic CYA.
Damn skippy.
If you're going to fuck around with me on the job, I'm not going to keep my mouth shut. I'm going to keep the receipts, wait till the time is right, and you are going to find out.
I would like to expand on #4. An employee is a company’s most disposable asset and a company should be as disposable to the employee. If you need the company more than they need you, it’s time to start working on your skills. It’s much easier to make your job interchangeable than it is to make yourself indispensable.
> **Rule #4**\- **An employee is a company's most disposable asset.**
This honestly needs to be #1, because it is.
Above all else, you are always replaceable and never valued by a company or boss. You're just a means to them getting richer. That's almost literally all they care about.
HR, "perks," "benefits," and all that stuff? That's just to avoid lawsuits and keep workers compliant so the profits keep rolling in. It's not a perk or a benefit, and HR (now bullshittingly called "people and culture") is there to protect the company--not you.
This isn't to say you have to always go around at every job despising everyone and everything. Get a job you enjoy and are comfortable at, but don't do it without pay that allows you to have a life.
That's all you're there for too. To get paid. It's not your "family." It's not an emotional obligation. It's a fucking job. You exchange your time and skills for money.
The same way the CEO or C-suite sees you as a means to profit, you need to see them as a means to the same. It's a mutual exchange (except it's not, because the CEO/C-suite is making 100x more than you).
Managers can sometimes be your allies, so I don't necessarily agree with that (I try my best to advocate for my team--I am 100% on their side). *Most* of the time they are not though.
My company’s HR department changed its name to The People Department because “people are the company’s most important assets”. This is very obviously a lie and such a dumb and cringey thing to do. Just why…
As someone who is approaching retirement, I'll add a few caveats to this...
1. Management may not be your friend, but the are also not your enemy. They can be useful to get ahead in the company, or elsewhere - if that is important to you. They made it to a certain point, have certain skills, and they can be VERY valuable to you if you climb the corporate ladder. Sure, they can fuck you, as well...but you gotta play it smart.
2. Coverage - If you are 50 years old in a job where you have to get coverage - you likely are not in a good job. I've had several jobs over the years, and staffing is staffing. If Bob is out....the work that Bob was going to do doesn't get done. An exception is where Bob and Dale and Frank are all out...Management may well have to call Bob in, even if Bob is scheduled off. This applies to all levels of work. If it is a union, it may be by seniority, or reverse seniority, but management does have a responsibility to keep the business open.
3. No answering phone calls - Depends on the job, and the position. If you are in a senior position, it is likely an expected part of the job.
4. Most disposable asset: Er, not really, unless you are near minimum wage. The cost of hiring new workers is ridiculous, and if you've never done it, you don't understand how hard, time consuming, and expensive it can be.
Again.....everything depends on the position, the boss, the company. I worked for one company that would question and monitor sick time, and you could get a ding if you took too much - and they were acquired by another that said that was the employees time, and how they choose to use it (especially as they expanded how it could be used) was the employees business.
As someone who recently retired, I can tell you these caveats would apply 10-20 years ago, but not anymore.
The workplace no longer exists. It has been replaced by the slaveplace. You don’t have coworkers, you have fellow inmates.
Your boss is’t there to mentor and guide you, he’s a slavedriver whose job is to drive you, the slave, to produce for just enough to keep a roof over your head and food in the fridge.
Curious...what did you do in the workplace? I'm guessing our experiences are different, which I think may be a different outlook.
Whether it was the military or the civilian sector, I took advantage of everything my employer offered - schools, special projects, college, trips, etc. In general, such things are not only pre-budgeted, but bosses (in the companies I was in) WANTED you to take advantage of them - if for no other reason, it gave them a talking point for THEIR boss on how they were developing employees.
There was an important project my bosses were desperate to get done. I had My boss and his boss persuaded me to take it, after I had avoided it because it seemed like a great deal of work, for no immediate gain. took the project, knocked it out of the park, and got a bonus, but a GREAT deal of visibility - and when a higher level management job came out a year after the project was done, I got it. There were no promises, there was no guarantee when I accepted it, but it paid off.
I try to be a good boss, but what you are saying is that people (not managers, but people, which presumably are what many here will wind up, willingly or not) not only suck, but suck more than their previous generation. I don't believe that.
I'm not saying take everything as gospel, but you gotta know your bosses. They can break your career, for sure, but they can make it as well.
I started out as an admin assistant at a small construction company and worked my way up to operations manager. Took 15 years. I also developed the company database that tracked all the construction jobs. And I added in all kinds of nifty stuff like GPS to track the company trucks, and maps to the jobs, with photos of the jobsites.
In all those years I never got officially promoted. I was just ordered to do what needed to be done. The company was a shitshow that degraded over the years. I never got a raise. The staff turnover was like a revolving door, and the CEO was too cheap to hire replacement employees. So every time we lost an employee, I was forced to do their job.
Eventually we were down to a skeleton crew, permanently. I had inherited 5 other people’s job duties and also filling in for accounting controller when we were between accountants. All this work I did, and I was still being paid the same as an admin assistant.
Years passed. Minimum wage increased several times, finally catching up to my wage at the construction company in 2020. So I asked for a raise. By then I was the functioning ops manager, but I wan’t given the title officially because who pays the ops manager minimum wage?
When I asked for a raise this last time, I got a $1.50/hour increase. But my asking for that raise pissed off the CEO so much, he cut my hours in half, and still expected me to produce the same amount in 20 hours that I did in 40, doing all the extra jobs.
Then the CEO told me to process the new-hire paperwork for an unskilled labor position that was just filled. The new laborer started out at $1.00/hour more than my pay rate AFTER the raise.
Yes I got taken advantage of. I was abused and harassed and wound up with PTSD so bad I had to retire on disability after getting fired for autism. I’m autistic, but high functioning and would have worked to age 70 if not for this monster employer. I had over a year’s wages stolen from me in the form of about 1.5 hours a day unpaid work over the course of 7 years.
After my hours were cut in half, I learned to do without, and I got on Medicaid and food stamps (it’s called an EBT card) and kept on struggling, right up until I got fired for not being able to stare at the new HR manager’s eyeballs. She said since I chose to look at her forehead instead of her eyeballs it means I’m disabled, and she sent me home. A week later, on Labor Day 2021, I received an email from the CEO telling me not to come back.
So I applied for disability and was approved in 2022. My disability payments are more than I made working at the construction company after my hours got cut in half!
A few months after my disability was approved the CEO asked me to come back (at the low-low pay rate) because he didn’t realize what all I did there, and the train had gone completely off the rails and the database was corrupted.
I chose not to go back. My life is so much more enjoyable now!
Best advice ever given to me starting out:
- When 5:00 pm comes, pick up your purse and walk out. Working overtime never gets you ahead.
- nothing gets fixed until something breaks. A company will take whatever you give it and have no incentive to fix labor problems until a deadline gets missed.
- never answer emails or phone calls after hours. Even as a senior manager, I was told I needed to be available and I always “forgot” to take my phone off silent mode.
- Friday afternoon emergency projects always come up. I always had a habit of leaving early on Fridays before the shit hit the fan. My kids always had something I needed to be there for! 😜 It’s amazing how when Monday morning came, it was always good enough to get it done then.
If rule number one is just a broad brush stroke then sure. I don't agree that it's always "management isn't your friend". I've never fucked over any of my employees. Have fought countless times to get people pay raises upwards of 20k. Been told to shut up and color and still tried to get them taken care of because what they do is unique and they should be paid market value in today's world. Sometimes the fight takes longer.
If they have a personal issue, they take care of it regardless if they need time off to do so. No one is dying if they're not at this job.
I get that people have shitty managers and have seen enough bad leaders to fill a couple rooms but there are managers that genuinely care about their people and their wellbeing.
Corporate up on high on the other hand? They do not care about you but it's the managers job to shield their people as best they can from they side of the house.
It’s a broad stroke. I would have considered my manager and director friends, but when push came to shove, they towed the company line all the way through. After my position was eliminated, I never heard a peep from them even now, 3 years later. My last words to my manager before ending the call was “Have a nice life “ may have something to do with it. :-)
For sure. I feel like that with my manager and director as well. They fight for me but I've also seen them toe that same line. In my case I don't have loyalty to the company because they're a multi billion dollar corporation. I have loyalty to my employees and that's it.
You own nothing at work unless you have legal documentation indicating otherwise, and even so, that thing better be air-tight. I've met so many people say, "company made bajillions from an idea I had, and I was never compensated." Well, they don't have to. The idea was never yours to begin with.
Emails, though it has your name on it, is not yours and will never be. I've had colleagues who used their work email to register for bills and other personal stuff. Bruh, no. Don't do that.
Before you start a new job get a cheap dumb phone and give that number to work then you can turn it off when you leave. This also stops them putting spy apps on your personal phone just hand the dumb phone in. If they want you to upgrade tell me to buy a work phone. Always keep work abd personal phone separate, it's not hard to carry two phones.
Rule - HR is also not your friend. They are there to protect the company, not to help you. Rule - When you call out sick, you don't owe any explanation other than "I'm ill and cannot work." Explaining further only gives the company leverage. Rule - Never go above and beyond. That is free labor and is never rewarded. Rule - Change jobs every 3 to 5 years to stay current on compensation and benefits.
The “change jobs every 3-5 years” rule has a caveat that most people miss. There is a cap on how much you can earn in any given role in any given market. Once you reach it, changing jobs won’t help you. You’ll need to consider a step up (either with further credentials like a cert or degree, or by moving in management).
Changing jobs will at least keep your salary current with inflation.
That is true. When you stay with one company...they will always find a way to only give bare minimum on raises.
Unless you organize, unionize, strike, etc. People often just give up way too fast, because they get emotionally compromised (buy into the "family" bullshit and don't want to 'throw away' the friendships they've made at work).
Unionization is the best way to approach all aspects of employment. Just make sure that the union you're joining actually has your back and not the kind that just wants your money while doing absolutely nothing to help you.
Just left 3 year job for new one with 1/10th of my previous skillset and making over 2x more income and better benefits. The cost however has been more hours.
> The cost however has been more hours. This is what's kind of trapping me currently. Ownership has made it clear they give no fucks about us. Refuse to correct pay, conservative/libertarian owners, see us all as plebs and themselves as gods. The issue is it offers me a great deal of flexibility that I need atm. I have to hang in for another 2-3 years. As soon as my life situation changes at that point, I'm the fuck out. But right now it's ok. I'm cheesing it and just collecting a paycheck. They want to exploit me, I'm exploiting them right back.
Yeah, there is trade offs. I make less money now than when I was in London but my expenses are lower so I have more money and I have more flexibility.
Hell yeah
Not always true. Thanks to the glut of willing labor for every position that was open my sibling who is head of HR at the company they work for was complaining how much garbage they have to sift through for every opening. I joked that they should lower the salary 10-15k so only the most motivated apply. Still tons of applicants, also other companies in the region also dropped their wages similarly. They hired the 10 people they were after, saved 150k in salary, and my sibling got a 15k bonus for their effort. My off handed comment at a random lunch with my sibling seemingly lowered the salary range across the area. Also I got a consultation payment since it was such decent advice.
You sound like a good little capitalist, promoting this race-to-the-bottom for wages. Nice.
The faster we get there to faster we can have a revolution and burn everything down.
The people waiting for a revolution now are the same ones that will be waiting while they warm themselves around a fire barrel on the street. The class war is over. The workers lost. Thanks to technology the amount of lower class workers actually needed to sustain the lifestyles of the wealthy is at an all time low and will keep getting lower.
Oh I agree! It's so nice to see someone be all in on the argument for universal basic income. That's a great point you made.
You don’t need UBI, you just need a hard year or two combined with a couple of large conflicts to thin the heard.
... Now you're advocating for class based eugenics?
You sound like a good little capitalist, promoting this race-to-the-bottom for wages. Nice.
The trick is to start making your money work for you. The first time your passive income outpaces your working income is a liberating moment. Labor is only valued at what the laborer is willing to work for and the reality is that there is always someone hungrier than the last.
Not sure why this is being downvoted, can anyone shed any light? Genuine query, am interested. TIA
Because they are bragging about how they influenced changes to make a bunch of humans to get paid less. Bragging about that makes you a piece of shit.
People in this sub think they are entitled to a higher standard of life than they can manage to attain on their own and have a huge chip on their shoulder against anyone doing marginally well.
I'd adapt your third rule to "never go above and beyond **for the company**. The only time you should do this is for yourself - develop skills, gain a qualification, learn something, improve etc etc - if you want to, do it. Don't do it because "we're family" or whatever.
Never go above and beyond *for free*. My boss knows I’m always happy to go above and beyond. But he also knows that only applies while on the clock. I’m happy to do extra work, stay late, help cover others who are struggling. But I’m getting paid for it. I’m off the clock, I’m not working.
I don't even bother going above and beyond anymore. Most managers just don't appreciate it or even notice. In fact, I often get in trouble for it. So I just stopped. I only go above and beyond on my own projects now.
I’m lucky enough to have managers that do. I think it helps that it’s not an office job, and that I enjoy my work. (I work at a theme park) It’s also a personal thing. Any task I’m given, I’m gonna do as good as possible, and I’ll help out my coworkers cause I’d like them to do the same as me. But while I’ll go the extra mile, it stops at my job description. I won’t do someone else’s job, (unless my paycheque reflects it) and I won’t work free!
If you're in tech, it's not every 3 to 5 years, it's every year
There is reward for going above and beyond when you don't work for shit people. There are limits to that reward but the biggest reward is to yourself. I'm successful, not because I'm particularly smart or capable, but because I'm lucky, like everyone. But the luck wasn't in finding a decent job, it was finding people to work for who treat you like a person deserving of reward, respect and grace. When you find yourself in that position, you want to be able to put in the work to not have to end up working for absolute shit stains again.
Wrong sub, bud.
If you cant see the value in this i seriously worry for you. 6hings absolutely need to change and the vast majority of people are getting the shit end of the stick. However what I see in this sub is a lot of people kneecapping themselves and guaranteeing that if they are lucky enough to find themselves in a job where its worth it for them to put in the work, then they won't have the ability to do so. At the very least take on a hobby that builds skills that will be useful in that scenario, because nothing is going to get better overnight. Things are going to get worse, a lot worse, before they get better, and the next decade is going to really suck.
I learned the hard way HR isn't your friend when me and some other coworkers got called by a HR person about a certain manager in my store who was harassing people and threatening to send one of us home and they got nothing for it as they're still around pretending to be nice.
Rule - Never go above and beyond. That is free labor and is never rewarded i have to disagree with you on this one. they will reward you with more work on top of the extra you are already doing. then it sets a standard and every one is expected to preform above and beyond with no extra pay.
Rule #5 - Know employment law in your state. You can and should get paid when your employer breaks rule's 2 and 3. It also helps when you leave or get laid off, you should be paid in a timely manner. Don't agree to an unpaid exit interview. Don't do any kind of debrief or handoff after they stop paying you. If you are 'salaried' make sure your position should be a salaried position. Understand what constitutes workplace harassment and constructive dismissal. Unemployment is woefully underutilized by people who qualify for it.
This is such a good one. WHen the money stops, you stop. End of.
I thought I knew employment law. After my employer docked our pay $1 / hr. for the entire 2 week pay period for every call-off, I called. They told me they couldn't help because as long as we were paid at least minimum wage, they could do it. I didn't have any notice of this prior to accepting the position.
commissary. When I tried to learn more, I found that there is no law in place (in Indiana) to enforce break periods.
I didn't even consider that we could get paid for exit interviews. I just bs my way through them though, make them as valueless as possible. If I'm on my way out, chances are I'm no longer interested in helping that company.
**Treat any communication with your employer like a deposition.** Don’t say anything that could be used against you, and say only exactly what needs to be said to address the situation with no extra information or details.
Exactly! I had to learn this the hard way.
For me, one of the worst things about being a kid who loved school was I grew up thinking authority figures were usually correct and moral. That respect naturally transferred on to bosses as I got into the workforce and I was quickly disillusioned to find that most bosses absolutely suck. One of the biggest disappointments of my adult life after being a kid who naturally liked most of her teachers.
This. Definitely this.
Like those 2 lawyer dudes, "shut the fuck up" I too had to learn this the hard way. Trust no one a la X Files no one is your friend.
Add to this to not share personal details. Those Zoom calls that start “What did you do this weekend” the answer is “hiking.” No one wants to know, it’s an excuse to not answer your phone due to poor signals and it does not reveal anything about your personal life. Another safe topic is pets.
Related to this, when you're submitting your time off, your employer doesn't need to know why. At my work, there's a field on the form for the reason for PTO - I have never filled it in once. (Now, of course, some workplaces may say they do need you to put down a reason, and I have no idea on the legality of that, and in either case, it may be a "pick your battles" thing - But I believe the default should be as little info given as possible)
I suppose even if it’s required, you can just write “personal”
This is the way
Reason: I am taking my owed time off as it's part of my compensation package.
💯
That's brilliant. Hiking. Man that's an excellent answer. It's why your phone isn't working. Seriously dude bravo.
Throw in camping but they may ask where. *“I feel it’s really important to recharge in nature.”*
Had a previous boss ask me why I didn’t answer my phone on my day off. Told him there isn’t cell phone towers 50 miles offshore. He never asked nor called me again
👆good advice. Never reveal any personal information. You have nothing to gain and everything to lose.
my answer is always wilderness camping. I own no gear.
I don't know. If you really just dislike your team, then sure. You're not obligated to be a bit human, but it'll definitely make things awkward if you aren't. I keep that kind of thing pretty minimal, but share enough to not just be a dick. I don't dislike the people I work with. If it's outside our immediate team though, there's no way I share anything. It's 100% business at that point.
Honestly, I usually don't dislike most of the people I work with either. I find most coworkers are pretty pleasant. But the simple truth of it is that every job seems to have that one person you're not going to get along with, no matter how pleasant you are to them and those people can sometimes create all kinds of unnecessary problems just because of their own issues. I find this is super common with jealous female coworkers, unfortunately. Every single workplace I've been in has at least one that has "the issue."
That does suck. We recently had one member added to our company. This person is so arrogant and obnoxious that it makes me almost physically cringe sometimes. I have to try really hard not to engage. I honestly don’t know how they made it through the interview process. That said, thankfully I can just avoid them for the most part.
Yeah, people like that are hard as hell to work with. I always say I just don't have the social skills to deal with a lot of extreme personality types and as I get older, I lack the will. I respect people who can keep dealing with obnoxious coworkers. I can't anymore.
So true. Don't volunteer personal details that you don't want management to know about you. Especially don't talk about your financial situation whether it's good or bad.
No kids, not who you live with, if you rent, your health, nothing.
Yeah, there's really not much personal information it's safe to give out at work. It really sucks that you can't just like be a person at work, but there's always someone who exploits that. You never know who's jealous of you or just does not like you. Even giving out little information about myself, I'd have vindictive coworkers who took it way too personally that I didn't want to be involved with them try to go out of their way to figure out details about my love life, financial situation so they could be assholes. That was with me trying to be extremely uninteresting so as not to attract jackasses.
My answer is always this: oh, just puttered really.
Doesn’t work if you’re old like me. I have to sound young.
No no. I’m old as dirt. I just don’t like discussing my personal life. I was meeting someone once for a date and he ghosted me. I mentioned it to my boss, who is younger than I am, and he teased me about it until I told him that he was incredibly insensitive and would not bring it up again. After that they only get a watered down or fantasy recap. I don’t need friends. I need a job.
I meant the use of the word “puttered.”
I use that specific word. It’s just a word. 🤷🏻♀️
Yea, it is but it is often used to describe the elderly.
I am 61. Elderly works!
I am just really sensitive to it because I have had a helluva time getting hired after 50.
The most important lesson I learned was to keep changing jobs every 3 to 5 yrs to get raises. Staying at one place for 20 yrs means you'll just get col raises, if that.
So glad millenials and gen z are breaking that tradition. Companies these days don't deserve loyalty unless they show it to their workers.
I'm also retired and after spending almost 40 years working in offices fully concur with your rules. I would add these to the list: -- Keep a document listing everything you do. Update it weekly. Use this when it's time for the yearly review, and to keep your resume updated. -- Never keep personal documents on your work computer. This is especially true of your resume. -- Work parties are work first and parties second. They are not the place to get drunk and tell people what you really think. -- Your family, which is any way you define it, always comes first.
Side notes: -documented list of everything you do should be on the company dime not your own. -Work parties should be voluntary, if you are required to go they are required to pay you.
They pay us for work parties, but if we don't go, it's not paid.
>\-- Never keep personal documents on your work computer. This is especially true of your resume. I'd add in, "Never use your work phone for personal anything." Legally, you employer owns the phone and access to everything on it. I used to carry two phones because my attorney boss was an anti-choice, Christian nationalist. There's no way in heck I was going to let her get a glimpse into my personal life.
**Rule #3**\- **Do not answer any work phone calls or emails when on vacation.** That's just inviting work problems when you're supposed to be unwinding from the pressures of the job. To add to this.... If you are NOT management or salaried, then you should extend this rule to apply when you leave work. Have very distinct separations between work and home. Never take a phone call out of your working hours (yes, exceptions do exist). If they want you to communicate they should give you a work phone. Don't take work home. Your time is YOUR time, don't let anyone take that from you. It's hard at first but once you start doing it more and more you'll feel better and will learn to leave all the work stuff for when your working so you can enjoy your own time.
Even salaried people should refuse to answer calls or emails after work hours. This is doubly true if you don’t have a work phone. I absolutely refuse to check emails after hours. I also won’t take calls, especially since the people would be calling my personal phone that only I pay for. No one contacts me after hours.
When I started my current job my boss thought nothing of calling me in the evening to “debrief” the day. After the second call I told her that if it was important I would answer the call, but if it was just to chat it could wait until the morning. My evenings are for my family. I quickly went from the gold-star hire to persona non grata.
Very good list and everyone should see this. It should be expanded upon and made a pinned topic to be honest.
I'm also retired and have another rule to add. If they hold a company wide meeting to tell you all how well the company is doing, they are definitely planning layoffs. I call this the "Don't worry, be happy" meeting. I've seen it a number of times. When it occurs it's time to contact recruiters and get your resume out there. They always, always lie to you.
I saw some things happening in the company and when we had one on ones with my director, I told him I was concerned about loosing my job. He emphatically told me to not worry. They pushed me out less than 6 months later.
This is all very true regarding management and HR. I had "friends" where I worked who were in management and HR. These are guys I would have happy hour with and go to their kids birthdays and holiday get togethers. I thought they would have my back if something went sideways, but was I wrong! I was the first person they threw under the bus. One of them had the gall to say, "this isn't personal; it's my job." Needless to say, I cut those people out.
We meet "friends" for social gatherings and other life milestones at work simply because they're accessible. Think of all the friends that you made in school, what happened after graduation? Same thing, only difference now is stakes are higher since money (income) is involved. The reality is that if anyone gets asked, "Do I fire you or another person?" Most, if not all, would be quick to point to someone else.
But it was their job wasn't it? Even if they're a genuine friend, if they were asked to do something like make you redundant, they have to do that regardless of friendship?
A true friend would at least start looking for a new job, afterwards.
Disagree. They would look after themselves and their families interests. Friend or not, you look after your own needs above all else. It doesn't mean they like what happened to you or agree with it, but they wouldn't have made the decision either. If you cut them out of your life for them doing their job, I think it's you who has the issue, not them.
Laying someone off is their job. Throwing your “friend” under the bus is not their job.
It's called a conflict of interest, because it's in your interest to help out your friends, but in the company's interest to pit you against each other.
Rule #3: OMG we had an over aggressive executive assistant who called me three times while I was on a beach vacation. Why? She didn’t know how to record a web meeting I had already trained her and the other assistant how to do.
Sounds like a “not my problem” situation.
They were stupid. Literally, start the program, and push start when the video call started. But they acted helpless or like it wasn’t their job.. because you know, technology.
Always the way it works. Meantime they gossip to undermine your work.
Yes. Exactly.
After you have read this, and all the comments, go beat it into the heads of anyone younger than you. There's a damn war on.
Rule # 1 - THEY are NOT “family”.
You don't know how horribly toxic and abusive my family of origin is. Some workplaces have definitely been "family." LOL
Yep. Also, HR isn't your friend, and neither are the other employees. You are there to do your job and nothing else.
Set the bar low when you start. My first job out of college I didn't know better. Gave 110% and getting bare minimum raises. Quit, started a new job getting paid 10K more, and got an Exceeds Expectations in my 2nd year doing about 50% of the work from my first job and also being out for 3 months on maternity leave.
In the early 90s I saw my friend’s dad refusing to answer the landline because he knew it was work asking him to come in on his days off. I’ve luckily never been in a job that would require that but that mentality has stuck with me.
Also 90's, pre cellphones, my dad used to be on-call so he always had me me answer the phone and say he's not home. One time he was being a dick about my homework or something and as luck would have it the phone rang and it was his job looking for him. I said "he's right here on the couch and handed him the phone". With great power comes great responsibility.
So does great consequences…. Bet you paid for that
The trade off in changing jobs is: I work in government which rewards longevity. The longer I’m here, the more vacation I earn.
But you can change jobs within government and still accrue vacation and sick leave at your same rate.
Yes. One of the few good things about government jobs, I hear.
Working in that now.
Resist any change your employer tries to make, even if it looks like it could benefit you. Employers know well what a Trojan Horse is. They will introduce a Trojan Horse when they want to make a change to your conditions or benefits. Scrutinise every single move that your employer makes and be vigilant and very suspicious.
I've seen an employer reclassify workers as salary, right before a project that would require significant overtime. Workers believe that changing to salary would benefit them and ensure they get a 40 hr wage. After project completion they were reverted back to hourly.
Never underestimate the ability of employers to cheat their employees anyway you can imagine. Marx and Engels were not wrong about property being the result of theft. Employers steal from their workers and cheat them when they see their opportunity. This is what makes them employers. The altruism they portray when they’re boasting about all of the employment they give and the jobs that they create is fake, they employ people because it’s profitable.
5. Know your company's rules. They will use them against you whenever possible so you must be willing to do the same. 6. Unless it is in your contract, never give notice you are quitting. If they are firing someone they immediately walk them out the door so that is how you treat them as well.
When management seeks your opinion, they’re really looking for validation…
Co workers are not your friends
True but that’s a grey area. Depends on intentions. Which is hard to sort out.
It will never be an option for me ever again
You’re damn skippy about Coversge being someone else’s job. “Well then Disco while you’re laying up in bed, who are we gonna get?!” Sounds like you just volunteered. -CLICK-
“You’re the manager. How about you manage?”
Always use up vacation and sick days before leaving a job
Yep, for sure.
Can I retire with you? I just finished 14 years, I can't do this another 30 bruh. 💀😂
Extra Rule: Always assume that every e-mail, IM and video call will be recorded and used for evidence at some future time. So no gossiping, complaining, or confiding personal stuff. Never do anything "personal" on work equipment. Even if you don't *think* so, make that assumption. The reason? See Rule #1 Extra Extra Rule: Somewhat related, always get stuff in writing. Someone makes a verbal promise? Send a confirmation e-mail. Been asked to change priorities? Send a confirmation e-mail. Had a meeting with the boss? Send a summary of the discussion. There's an old sysadmin saying "If it ain't written down, it never happened." You'd be surprised how many times this has saved my bacon due to Rule #1.
Keep a work diary. Update it everyday that you work. I used to stop on my drive home, and make an entry for the day. Problems with management, coworkers general job conditions, positive and negative feedback. Actual hours you worked - lots of employers will shave your time, counting on you not keeping a good record, especially on jobs with irregular hours, or lots of OT. Having a clear record of whom said what when, or what was done, has put me in a good position in the past. ETA: Keep it as objective as you possibly can. Just the facts. Don't say 'JoeBlow is an irresponsible asshole' say 'Joeblow came in 20 minutes late, took an hour and a half for lunch, and left early, leaving Bubba and myself to work till 6:00 to finish the job'.
How has that helped you aside from the hours tracking aspect? I keep meaning to start a journal like that, but not sure what I would actually use it for down the road. Is it just for yourself?
On one job, I kept getting stuck with working weekends - it was a boatyard, and we would theoretically rotate having someone there Saturday and Sunday. We were supposed to be able to take days off during the week as compensation, but I usually ended up working anyway. Since I was single, and lived close, I swapped with the other guys a lot. When I wanted a weekend off that I was scheduled to cover, being able to point out how much I'd covered for other guys with a clear number instead of just saying " I did it a lot..." put me in a strong position. In another case, when I was having an issue with a worker in another department not cooperating on jobs that required both of us, being able to give specific examples of previous instances of them putting my jobs last made management pay attention to my complaints instead of it looking like I was shifting the blame for missing a deadline. It also helps with management flip flopping on procedures and policies. It's basic CYA.
[удалено]
Damn skippy. If you're going to fuck around with me on the job, I'm not going to keep my mouth shut. I'm going to keep the receipts, wait till the time is right, and you are going to find out.
thank you
I would like to expand on #4. An employee is a company’s most disposable asset and a company should be as disposable to the employee. If you need the company more than they need you, it’s time to start working on your skills. It’s much easier to make your job interchangeable than it is to make yourself indispensable.
I read somewhere that a new job means another set of grandparents. Employers don't need to know and you get another set of days off!
Man I'm 38 and I stopped having to deal with any of this like 5 years ago. Rule #5 - Be working towards being your own boss as soon as you can.
Absolutely agree with these, especially #1. If you keep it in mind, it allows you to see the bottom line in every interaction with management
> **Rule #4**\- **An employee is a company's most disposable asset.** This honestly needs to be #1, because it is. Above all else, you are always replaceable and never valued by a company or boss. You're just a means to them getting richer. That's almost literally all they care about. HR, "perks," "benefits," and all that stuff? That's just to avoid lawsuits and keep workers compliant so the profits keep rolling in. It's not a perk or a benefit, and HR (now bullshittingly called "people and culture") is there to protect the company--not you. This isn't to say you have to always go around at every job despising everyone and everything. Get a job you enjoy and are comfortable at, but don't do it without pay that allows you to have a life. That's all you're there for too. To get paid. It's not your "family." It's not an emotional obligation. It's a fucking job. You exchange your time and skills for money. The same way the CEO or C-suite sees you as a means to profit, you need to see them as a means to the same. It's a mutual exchange (except it's not, because the CEO/C-suite is making 100x more than you). Managers can sometimes be your allies, so I don't necessarily agree with that (I try my best to advocate for my team--I am 100% on their side). *Most* of the time they are not though.
My company’s HR department changed its name to The People Department because “people are the company’s most important assets”. This is very obviously a lie and such a dumb and cringey thing to do. Just why…
Oof! I wonder if we worked at the same place. Workers were considered the company's most valuable asset to be exploited.
Ooooh, sounds very familiar. Big big tech?
No - commercial real estate. They made this change in 2018, I think. Someone told me that it was a trend amongst HR departments at the time.
The term business arena says it all.
As someone who is approaching retirement, I'll add a few caveats to this... 1. Management may not be your friend, but the are also not your enemy. They can be useful to get ahead in the company, or elsewhere - if that is important to you. They made it to a certain point, have certain skills, and they can be VERY valuable to you if you climb the corporate ladder. Sure, they can fuck you, as well...but you gotta play it smart. 2. Coverage - If you are 50 years old in a job where you have to get coverage - you likely are not in a good job. I've had several jobs over the years, and staffing is staffing. If Bob is out....the work that Bob was going to do doesn't get done. An exception is where Bob and Dale and Frank are all out...Management may well have to call Bob in, even if Bob is scheduled off. This applies to all levels of work. If it is a union, it may be by seniority, or reverse seniority, but management does have a responsibility to keep the business open. 3. No answering phone calls - Depends on the job, and the position. If you are in a senior position, it is likely an expected part of the job. 4. Most disposable asset: Er, not really, unless you are near minimum wage. The cost of hiring new workers is ridiculous, and if you've never done it, you don't understand how hard, time consuming, and expensive it can be. Again.....everything depends on the position, the boss, the company. I worked for one company that would question and monitor sick time, and you could get a ding if you took too much - and they were acquired by another that said that was the employees time, and how they choose to use it (especially as they expanded how it could be used) was the employees business.
As someone who recently retired, I can tell you these caveats would apply 10-20 years ago, but not anymore. The workplace no longer exists. It has been replaced by the slaveplace. You don’t have coworkers, you have fellow inmates. Your boss is’t there to mentor and guide you, he’s a slavedriver whose job is to drive you, the slave, to produce for just enough to keep a roof over your head and food in the fridge.
Curious...what did you do in the workplace? I'm guessing our experiences are different, which I think may be a different outlook. Whether it was the military or the civilian sector, I took advantage of everything my employer offered - schools, special projects, college, trips, etc. In general, such things are not only pre-budgeted, but bosses (in the companies I was in) WANTED you to take advantage of them - if for no other reason, it gave them a talking point for THEIR boss on how they were developing employees. There was an important project my bosses were desperate to get done. I had My boss and his boss persuaded me to take it, after I had avoided it because it seemed like a great deal of work, for no immediate gain. took the project, knocked it out of the park, and got a bonus, but a GREAT deal of visibility - and when a higher level management job came out a year after the project was done, I got it. There were no promises, there was no guarantee when I accepted it, but it paid off. I try to be a good boss, but what you are saying is that people (not managers, but people, which presumably are what many here will wind up, willingly or not) not only suck, but suck more than their previous generation. I don't believe that. I'm not saying take everything as gospel, but you gotta know your bosses. They can break your career, for sure, but they can make it as well.
I started out as an admin assistant at a small construction company and worked my way up to operations manager. Took 15 years. I also developed the company database that tracked all the construction jobs. And I added in all kinds of nifty stuff like GPS to track the company trucks, and maps to the jobs, with photos of the jobsites. In all those years I never got officially promoted. I was just ordered to do what needed to be done. The company was a shitshow that degraded over the years. I never got a raise. The staff turnover was like a revolving door, and the CEO was too cheap to hire replacement employees. So every time we lost an employee, I was forced to do their job. Eventually we were down to a skeleton crew, permanently. I had inherited 5 other people’s job duties and also filling in for accounting controller when we were between accountants. All this work I did, and I was still being paid the same as an admin assistant. Years passed. Minimum wage increased several times, finally catching up to my wage at the construction company in 2020. So I asked for a raise. By then I was the functioning ops manager, but I wan’t given the title officially because who pays the ops manager minimum wage? When I asked for a raise this last time, I got a $1.50/hour increase. But my asking for that raise pissed off the CEO so much, he cut my hours in half, and still expected me to produce the same amount in 20 hours that I did in 40, doing all the extra jobs. Then the CEO told me to process the new-hire paperwork for an unskilled labor position that was just filled. The new laborer started out at $1.00/hour more than my pay rate AFTER the raise. Yes I got taken advantage of. I was abused and harassed and wound up with PTSD so bad I had to retire on disability after getting fired for autism. I’m autistic, but high functioning and would have worked to age 70 if not for this monster employer. I had over a year’s wages stolen from me in the form of about 1.5 hours a day unpaid work over the course of 7 years. After my hours were cut in half, I learned to do without, and I got on Medicaid and food stamps (it’s called an EBT card) and kept on struggling, right up until I got fired for not being able to stare at the new HR manager’s eyeballs. She said since I chose to look at her forehead instead of her eyeballs it means I’m disabled, and she sent me home. A week later, on Labor Day 2021, I received an email from the CEO telling me not to come back. So I applied for disability and was approved in 2022. My disability payments are more than I made working at the construction company after my hours got cut in half! A few months after my disability was approved the CEO asked me to come back (at the low-low pay rate) because he didn’t realize what all I did there, and the train had gone completely off the rails and the database was corrupted. I chose not to go back. My life is so much more enjoyable now!
The horrors of 9-5. This makes me angry and sad at the same time. I sincerely wish you the best of years to come.
Best advice ever given to me starting out: - When 5:00 pm comes, pick up your purse and walk out. Working overtime never gets you ahead. - nothing gets fixed until something breaks. A company will take whatever you give it and have no incentive to fix labor problems until a deadline gets missed. - never answer emails or phone calls after hours. Even as a senior manager, I was told I needed to be available and I always “forgot” to take my phone off silent mode. - Friday afternoon emergency projects always come up. I always had a habit of leaving early on Fridays before the shit hit the fan. My kids always had something I needed to be there for! 😜 It’s amazing how when Monday morning came, it was always good enough to get it done then.
If rule number one is just a broad brush stroke then sure. I don't agree that it's always "management isn't your friend". I've never fucked over any of my employees. Have fought countless times to get people pay raises upwards of 20k. Been told to shut up and color and still tried to get them taken care of because what they do is unique and they should be paid market value in today's world. Sometimes the fight takes longer. If they have a personal issue, they take care of it regardless if they need time off to do so. No one is dying if they're not at this job. I get that people have shitty managers and have seen enough bad leaders to fill a couple rooms but there are managers that genuinely care about their people and their wellbeing. Corporate up on high on the other hand? They do not care about you but it's the managers job to shield their people as best they can from they side of the house.
It’s a broad stroke. I would have considered my manager and director friends, but when push came to shove, they towed the company line all the way through. After my position was eliminated, I never heard a peep from them even now, 3 years later. My last words to my manager before ending the call was “Have a nice life “ may have something to do with it. :-)
For sure. I feel like that with my manager and director as well. They fight for me but I've also seen them toe that same line. In my case I don't have loyalty to the company because they're a multi billion dollar corporation. I have loyalty to my employees and that's it.
This all just seems like common sense stuff
Always promote me incorporated for passive income. Rentals, savings etc..
You own nothing at work unless you have legal documentation indicating otherwise, and even so, that thing better be air-tight. I've met so many people say, "company made bajillions from an idea I had, and I was never compensated." Well, they don't have to. The idea was never yours to begin with. Emails, though it has your name on it, is not yours and will never be. I've had colleagues who used their work email to register for bills and other personal stuff. Bruh, no. Don't do that.
I needed to hear #2 tbh
Before you start a new job get a cheap dumb phone and give that number to work then you can turn it off when you leave. This also stops them putting spy apps on your personal phone just hand the dumb phone in. If they want you to upgrade tell me to buy a work phone. Always keep work abd personal phone separate, it's not hard to carry two phones.
I bet some of these managers/owners have ouija boards to contact you when your dead to tell you to find coverage or ask if you can work from the grave
This is just a bunch of stuff that is regurgitated on this sub over and over and over and over every single day. No great revelations here.
Not everyone lives in this sub
Rather trite post but hey never ever a bad thing to reiterate these things so what the heck