Companies have the uncanny ability to approach an issue with solemn interest and earnest, particularly when safety is concerned, carefully documenting that concern and intention to avoid that issue—giving themselves plenty of paperwork to cover themselves with should the need ever arise. Yet, as soon as the proper solution is presented and the proper safety equipment identified you can bet your bottom dollar that they'll balk and silently go for whatever cheaper model the supplier they're alrea…

Honestly, has upper or regional management ever volunteered to fill in for a weekend shift? This wouldn't be the first time that an upper manager pulled something like this, going with the old “you have to make sacrifices to go along with your rank” and ignoring the fact that they're not actually paying their “manager” the industry standard for their role, let alone enough to match the gravitas that they're placing on it. Further, they're conveniently forgetting the fact that they're a manager,…

Just do your job and do it right, and you'll be fine… A common train of thought many workers have thought about and shared, thinking that there's no way their job would be in jeopardy just as long as they keep up and don't draw excessive attention to themselves. Well, what about when your boss wants you to take on someone else's job, too? Plus, someone else's job on top of that? Well, you might be ready to tell them to go and shove it, but before you do, you'd better weigh the situation careful…

If you want someone to be accommodating, it's usually best to accommodate them too. This sounds like some sort of golden rule “treat others how you want to be treated” but really in a professional setting it's just common sense. Still, time and time again, budding new managers make the same mistake, trying to command respect and efficiency

It's a fact of life that if you go around going above and beyond for people, people are just going to start to take if for granted. That won't be the worst of it either, because sooner or later, someone's going to take advantage of your willingness to give more than you get and start using it as an excuse to walk all over. As an anecdote, say you have one friend in a group who goes out of her way to make unique cakes for all her friends on their birthdays; everyone just comes to expect this whe…

Consistent, persistent, and especially unnecessary noise is an absolute menace when it comes to life in a neighborhood community. Sure, everyone's going to have a need to make noise, and that's just part of life, too. Mowing lawns and other home and garden maintenance are by no means quiet, nor are playing children and outdoor social gatherings. Still, something that happens occasionally can be understood and is thus tolerable, even if it is a slight annoyance. But incessant noise over a sustai…

“if you ever need to refuse to do something in [the] corporate world, don't say you won't do it—accept it and make sure it slows to an excruciating crawl.” Words written by this worker have never been more true, and those who successfully navigate the corporate world find themselves consistently using this tactic to shake off unwanted work without bringing needless attention to themselves. This worker was an employee of a large corporate entity tasked with training employees and managers alike.…

You might think that handling a truckload of cash every day would be an exciting gig, invoking images in your mind of the opening scene of “The Dark Knight” with clowns wearing clown masks and school buses and such being a part of the everyday experience. Well, hate to break it to you, but nothing about working in a bank makes for an exciting gig.

When making demands from someone who you're paying to provide you with a service, you'd do well to be certain that you know what those terms are. See, industries that work for clients on a contract basis have a habit of not notifying you that your additional requests will be incurring additional charges once the original terms of the agreement have already been agreed to. And why would they? You've already agreed to them, so it's fair to assume you already know the cost of what you're requestin…

Teachers are underappreciated… by administrative staff, parents, and even the students they teach. To many, this comes as no surprise and is a well-known fact. When coupled with the fact that teaching also requires a lot of additional after-hours work to create lesson plans and grade assignments, it becomes exhausting work. And that's before we even address the shocking political kerfuffles that often plague schools and entire school districts. Still, there are those silent heroes, those fantas…

Working overtime stinks. The one upside of trading your free time—when you'd normally be at home with your pants off instead of at work—is getting that sweet, sweet time and a half… That is, if you live somewhere in the world where getting increased pay is a legal requirement. If you're unlucky enough to live somewhere where they never bothered to make it a law, you're probably just getting your normal rate… if you're getting paid at all. See, there's a secret third option that some more unscru…

When the worst happens, you might hope that those with authority in your life would have your back, meeting the needs of the situation rather than taking it as a chance to exert their authority and kick you while you're down, attempting to hold you to uncertain terms of an agreement that shouldn't be in the forefront of anyone's mind. Unfortunately, the world is not quite so forgiving, and you'll often find that when it comes to professional arrangements, your personal needs and the situation p…

You're going to get things wrong, and that's just a simple truth. There's no way you're going to get through this life without making a simple mistake. Owning that mistake, however, is a skill and one not a lot of people seem to possess—especially when it's your boss. This database admin worked on a team that had a requirement for an on-call rotation. If you've ever been on call, you probably know where this is going… Everything about the on-call system worked well, and the team even had its ow…

With so much information accessible at the tips of our fingers, it's easy for anyone to think that they're an expert. Without realizing it, they're missing the context, experience, and knowledge of the framework that's used to properly define the information they think they're an authority in—all things that an actual expert would know and possess. Of course, when you're delivering a service to clients, they're going to want to do things their way. But, as the customer, it's important to know w…

During the course of your career, it's generally thought that going above and beyond is often associated with greater reward… at least eventually. However, it's also possible that you'll end up working for people who will just take advantage of your willingness to do extra work and provide extra value to their company without extra pay. This workshop laborer helped in the production and manufacture of sheds for use on clients' farms and other similar business uses. They helped with cleaning, ma…

This worker worked in a draining middle management position in a care facility that was overseen by a “micromanaging dinosaur” of a boss who demanded strict adherence to rules—even the nonsensical and arbitrary ones they made up—and relishing in the chance at catching workers out for not following them. If you're getting an image of Nurse Ratchet from One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest in your mind, you're probably on the right track… At one point, the worker was forbidden from interacting with clie…