Recently, u/tjrandjr asked the people of Reddit to share the biggest life lessons they've learned at work. Hundreds of responses flooded in, and they were full of really insightful learnings that I really wish someone would have told me before I started working. Here are some of the top comments:
1. "You're probably going to hate something about every single job you have. Learn to figure out what you can deal with and what your dealbreakers are. The grass isn't always greener on the other side."
2. "Some organizations are better than others. Everybody's money is green, but companies are not all the same and managers are not all the same. Don't waste your life working for one that mistreats you."
3. "If you ever want to really stick it to someone who’s treating you poorly, be calm, be courteous and polite, smile, and do everything you can to come off as the most helpful person around. Make sure people are witnessing you do it. Nothing pisses off the other party more, and nothing makes them look worse, than you not being phased by their attitude."
4. "Showing up on time is like 65% of the job. Literally just showing up on time is enough to get you a 'D' in work. If that’s all you do, yeah, you’re not going to look great, but it does mean you have fewer hurdles to clear to look pretty good. And know when to throw in the towel. Very few jobs are worth crying in the car on the way to work."
5. "It's important to be assertive. Don't assume you'll get the promotion or the raise — you won't unless you push for it and have clear, concise communication."
6. "You will be forgotten by your company, but you will never be forgotten by your spouse and children."
"This is a lesson my dad learned the hard way. He spent more than 20 years working almost six days a week at this place, barely had any time to go to events unless they were after hours, and hardly took a day off except for a vacation once every couple years. He even went to his boss’s family parties and was amicable with him.
First chance they had when everything went south, they fired him. Now, he regrets all of the field trips he could have chaperoned, all of the vacations he could have taken, and in general, all of the time he could’ve spent with his family that he never did because work was important to him. Don’t let companies take advantage of your time; it’s one of the few things you can’t get back."
7. "Enforce boundaries to keep a good work life balance otherwise you'll be chewed up."
8. "Coworkers can make or break having a good experience at work. If you work with competent people who also mesh with your personality, then GOOD times. But if you don't then it can get baaaaaadddddd!"
9. "'We're a family here,' usually means the working environment is at least as toxic as my actual biological family is."
10. "Never date coworkers. It won't end well."
11. "Use your benefits. They’re part of your total compensation package. You earn sick days and vacation days. They aren’t gifts from the employment fairies. Find out what else you are entitled to from your employer — education, discounts, legal assistance, etc. There’s more to compensation than just a paycheck."
12. "Drama is everywhere. No matter how old people get, they will still act like gossipy middle schoolers."
13. "Appearance counts, especially when it's not supposed to. Always present your best self."
14. "It doesn't matter how good you are at your job. What matters is how good your boss thinks you are at your job."
15. "Always cover your own ass and document everything. If you don't document that you did it, then you didn't do it. I find this tip is especially true in healthcare."
16. "Working at a job that eats away at your soul will change you. It's not worth it."
17. "You can love something, work hard at it, get good at it, have a noticeably positive impact on the world, and still not get paid very well for it. The market does not accurately assess the value of many services, but we expect it to."
18. "People remember insults even better than they do compliments. If you only speak positively about people at work, maybe the person you spoke positively about will appreciate it. Maybe they won’t. But if that same person hears you don’t like them, they will never forget it. Speak positively about people and it's all upside."
19. "Working for a company is a transaction: your time and expertise for money. Seems simple, but many of us tend to forget it. Your boss isn’t your friend, the company is not your ally, and they’re not entitled to more work than agreed previously (because again, you and the employer have made a transaction with set expectations). NEVER do more work for free unless absolutely necessary and temporary."
20. "Don't assume you'll always be able to work in the same way that you always have. I became very ill and have had to drastically change the way I work and the type of work that I can do. I 'didn't have time' to do things not directly related to my job before, and now I don't have the energy or good health for both working and learning the new stuff."
"This has created a pretty stressful situation that doesn't help my illness and I am just keeping my head above water while experiencing background anxiety about what I'll do if my health deteriorates. I wish I had thought more about this before, but when we're busy, fit, and healthy, I guess we don't tend to think about what we might do if we suddenly become disabled."
21. "Try different things until you find something you like, love, or can at least tolerate. You don't have to have everything figured out before you go to college (or don't go to college, your choice, of course). You can change majors, change careers, go back and retrain later in life, move laterally, whatever you fancy. Never stop learning."
22. "Be humble. Especially if you work with other people or in anything service related. Being humble will always give you the best results in every situation. You never know what someone is going through whether they are a client, customer, coworker, or whoever. When you see people who are arrogant and try to humiliate others around them, it tells you everything you need to know about them. Situations can go from 0 to 100 because egos are brought in, and you never know who is watching and listening."
"It always starts with you and being humble is the way to go. Even if you lose a situation on paper, you can still walk away with your dignity intact. And that's something employment can't put a price on."
23. And finally, "Every job — every single one — is harder, more complicated, and involves more things to do than you think it does. I learned this early when I got my first job, and it's only been reinforced since then. The guy at the ice cream stand doesn't just have to count how many scoops get put on your cone. The clerk at the mall doesn't just push some buttons and collect your money. The janitor doesn't just wipe down tables at the food court."
What are some important life lessons you've learned at work? Tell us about them in the comments.
And for more stories about work and money, like the things an expert says you should do now for a bigger tax refund next year, check out the rest of our personal finance posts.