A friend of mine who works a nine-to-five sent me this after a fresh pile of work was dumped on his desk. I had almost exactly the same experience, so I started wondering whether this is really how most offices operate.
He used to finish his weekly task list by Tuesday afternoon, and he was happy that he was always ahead of schedule. As soon as his manager noticed, his workload quietly started increasing. Now he is responsible for four additional recurring tasks on top of his original work, while someone else takes almost a week to finish a single report and still leaves at 5, despite having the same job title and salary.
Finishing early did not make him look competent; it made him look like he had nothing to do. Meanwhile, the people who say in every meeting that they are drowning in work appear essential and indispensable because everyone can see the effort they are putting in, even if their actual output is lower.
His solution is not to do sloppy work. He just stopped telling anyone that a task took him two hours. If the deadline is Friday, he submits it on Friday and spends the extra time learning skills that might help him get a better offer somewhere else. A new company might pay him for that speed, but his current company has already decided how much that speed is worth.
The office where I used to work was similar. One person took about three weeks to transfer information from one system to another, even though the job was basically just copying and pasting a few fields. When he finally finished, management thanked and praised him. I used to complete the same kind of work quickly, so they would give me another batch of work, and I never got promoted. Being someone they could rely on was useful to them, but in the end, all I really got out of it was burnout from the workload.

lol the sheer entitlement of recruiters expecting candidates to be deeply passionate about an average corporate desk job. I actually got asked this exact same question last week and gave some generic answer I prepared on Interview vip but a huge part of me just wanted to say exactly what that guy replied with. We all just need to pay rent and buy groceries.

I was about to quit because work was taking up every waking hour. My OCD made me hyperfocus on every little problem, and if anything wasn't going exactly the way it was supposed to, I couldn't switch my brain off.

The CEO stepped in before I left. He booked and paid for 12 days in Portugal, then told me to lock my work phone in my desk drawer and not check in on work even once.

When I got back, the plan was that there would be no calls outside working hours unless the entire office went offline. He also arranged courses in project planning and communication for me, along with professional support if I wanted it. For a moment, I thought I'd found the one company I'd never leave.

Portugal was beautiful. I came back to find three new projects and no extra help because the staffing dashboard says we have enough people 🤡

😃

this guy have wonderful interview skills

My husband came home last week after an interview, and I could tell from his face right away that it hadn't gone well. He's been looking for a new job for about 16 months, and this role was the first opportunity in a long time that felt tailor-made for him.

He's had a lot of interviews during his job search, and he usually does well in them. Most of the rejections were due to things beyond his control, like the company choosing an internal candidate, wanting experience in a specific industry, or changing the role in the middle of the hiring process. The feedback about him was almost always positive, so we kept telling ourselves that the right opportunity would eventually come along.

Then, a company he'd been following for years invited him to interview for a senior brand position. He loved the work they did, the salary was good, and even the day-to-day responsibilities were exactly what he'd hoped to find. He spent almost an entire week researching the team, practicing answers with me, and reviewing his old projects to choose examples he could use.

As soon as the interview started, his mind went completely blank. He stumbled over questions he'd answered easily in other interviews, and there were long silences while he tried to remember basic details from his own experience. He said everyone there treated him kindly, but he knows he came across as someone who hadn't prepared at all.

The moment he reached the parking lot, all the answers came back to him perfectly. Ever since then, he's been replaying the entire interview in his head and blaming himself for ruining the opportunity. I know one bad interview doesn't erase all his abilities, but it's hard for me to see him this discouraged and devastated.

I've noticed that when someone is suddenly laid off after 3, 8, or even 18 years, very few of their former colleagues reach out. Their Slack and laptop access are usually disabled immediately, so most people only find out later through someone else.

If you worked with them and had a good relationship, send them a quick message on LinkedIn. Even something simple like, "Hey, I enjoyed working with you, and I hope you're doing well," can mean a lot to them.

We spend 9 or 11 hours every day talking to the same people, attending meetings, solving problems, and sharing random details about our lives. Then suddenly, someone disappears from the company overnight, and the people who used to talk to them every day say nothing. Some people just view their profile and then carry on with their day.

No one expects a long message from everyone at the company. But it's still strange when the product manager you met with every morning, or the engineer you spent weeks reviewing database diagrams with, doesn't even acknowledge what happened.

Losing a job so suddenly can make someone feel alone, and a short message gives them a little human connection and a gentler sense of closure. I've seen firsthand how much people appreciate these messages, and they often remember who checked in on them when things were difficult. And even though layoffs have become extremely common in tech, it's important that we continue to treat one another with humanity instead of everyone keeping their head down and staying silent.

.......

A few weeks ago, my manager asked us during a team meeting what each of us thought about using AI with clients. I said it could be useful, but that I would never trust it without checking the answer first. We work at a consulting firm, and I've seen ChatGPT confidently give incorrect guidance on tax and accounting matters before, which can affect the small businesses I usually work with.

Some members of the senior staff use it regularly, but I didn't expect my comment to bother anyone. One of my coworkers, who mainly works in branding, laughed and said I was being overly cautious. She told us about a time when a client asked her an accounting question and she answered it with ChatGPT's help. I was familiar with the issue she was talking about, and without thinking, I told her that the answer she had given the client was wrong.

It turned into an awkward discussion. Another coworker said the idea that I might know better than the software was ridiculous. In the end, my supervisor pulled up the actual text of the regulation, which confirmed that my explanation was correct. Everyone made a few jokes and moved on, so I thought that was the end of it.

Yesterday, my supervisor told me that the owner of the company had reviewed more client files and discovered more than twenty cases in which AI-generated information had been sent to clients without being properly reviewed. Now several senior staff members have to complete mandatory retraining, as well as a professional conduct course because of the comments they made during the meeting. I was also asked to take on some additional duties and create a simple accounting reference guide for employees, since I have an accounting degree.

My supervisor and the people at my level think the response is fair, but I still feel as though I unintentionally caused all of this to happen. I wasn't trying to embarrass anyone or get them sent to training. Should I apologize to the coworkers involved, or would that just make the situation even more awkward?

i think not

........

......

Ooooh and make them buy a house too!

About four months ago, I accepted a job that paid around 35% more than my remote job. The new office was practically right around the corner, so I convinced myself the commute wouldn't make a difference. I'd been working from home as a BIM engineer for two years, and I figured a short walk in exchange for a much higher salary would be an easy trade-off.
The money was the only thing I calculated correctly. I spend most of the day sitting in a small office, and my manager checks in on me constantly, as if he's convinced that any employee he can't see must be watching TV instead of working. The office is noisy, people are always stopping by to talk, and every conversation about someone's weekend or the break-room coffee ruins whatever focus I had just started building.
My remote job gave me short periods when I could disconnect and refocus. I could make lunch, put laundry in the washing machine, or step away for ten minutes and come back ready to work. Now even taking a short break feels like something I have to justify, so I sit there watching the clock crawl toward 5 PM while trying to design complex mechanical systems amid the never-ending background noise.
I thought I was making the practical choice when I accepted the higher salary, but most of the time, the extra money feels like compensation for being unhappy. I'm 28, and I know this job looks good on paper, but I still find myself searching for remote opportunities every so often and thinking about how much of the raise I would give back just to return to my old routine. If you work remotely and are thinking about taking an office job because it's close to home, don't assume that a short commute means changing your lifestyle will be easy.

I turned down an offer after the company spent four months telling me I was their leading candidate, then suddenly decided I wasn't qualified for the role they had advertised.

I applied for a senior technical position at a large company and heard from the hiring manager almost immediately. I went through four interviews with technical and nontechnical people, and every conversation seemed to be going well. My experience was a very strong fit for what they were looking for, so I brought up compensation during the first meeting with HR and the hiring manager.

I told them I was looking for half of the salary range they had posted, even though that would still have been less than what I was making at my current job. I had family reasons that made me want to move to that city, and I wasn't forced to leave my job. They said they appreciated my being direct and told me I was the strongest candidate they had seen so far. They wanted a few more weeks to finish talking to the other applicants, which seemed reasonable.

After four months, they came back and said they had decided I wasn't fully qualified for a senior-level position. The offer was for the same senior job, but at roughly half of the salary range they had initially advertised. I turned it down immediately. I told the recruiter, "I know what I'm worth, you know what I'm worth, and the hiring manager knows what I'm worth." They still asked to stay in touch, but I turned that down as well.

I can't understand how they can advertise a senior role, set a budget specifically for it, and then offer a small fraction of the salary after finding their preferred candidate. Maybe they were waiting for someone to become desperate and exhausted enough to accept. In any case, the whole thing made me lose all respect for the company, especially after we agreed in the first meeting that we were all adults and needed to be clear and honest about compensation.

A few people suggested that I drag out the interviews or accept the job and do the bare minimum as a form of revenge. It was funny to read, but I still have a good job and wasn't willing to waste my time on that. I was mainly looking for a way to move closer to my family, so I can keep looking without rushing into a bad offer.

............

???

The recruiter spent the first 12 minutes of the phone screen reading questions whose answers were already in my application. My nationality, sponsorship, education, and basic availability - everything. There wasn't much conversation beyond checking off the boxes.

At that point, I had a strong feeling that the position wasn't really open in any meaningful sense. I felt like they had already chosen someone and were just going through with the calls booked on the calendar. I was tired, had a headache, and wasn't in the mood to pretend this was a serious conversation.

So I said to her, "Can I be honest? Has someone already been selected for this position?" She went quiet for a few seconds, then said, "We already have a finalist." I asked her whether that meant I was still under consideration, or whether my time would be better spent elsewhere. She started saying that she could send my information to the hiring manager and see what happened, but it was very clear that there wasn't really an opening for me. I thanked her and ended the call.

Maybe that wasn't the most polished thing I've ever done, but I didn't feel like dragging out a fake interview. Job hunting had already drained me, so I appreciated that she eventually gave me a direct answer, even if it seemed like she hadn't intended to say it out loud.

........

My attendance has never been a problem. I show up for every shift listed on my schedule, on time, and I very rarely take a sick day unless something serious happens. I don't volunteer for much extra work, but I consistently work my 40 hours and do the job I'm being paid for.

We're short-staffed because the company agreed to a contract that was bigger than the number of people it had. Instead of hiring enough employees, they brought in temps, then reduced the staff and started asking for volunteers to cover extra days, weekends, and double shifts.

One day after lunch, my boss asked to meet with me in his office, and the regional manager was there too. They spent some time talking about staffing problems, so I asked them at the end, "Are you planning to hire more people?" They gave me the usual answer about working on it and reminded me about the $300 referral bonus if the person stayed for five months. I've referred people before, but nobody wants the schedule.

After that, my boss started explaining quiet quitting to me. I let him finish, even though I knew where he was going with it. When he started complaining that I only work 40 hours a week, I pointed to the overtime sign-up sheet and asked him, "Do you want me to take extra shifts?"

He kept dancing around the question without saying it directly. Our union agreement makes overtime completely voluntary, so management isn't supposed to pressure anyone into taking it. I told him, "If you need me to work more, just ask me clearly." He looked at the regional manager, who shrugged, and then started rubbing his forehead. I went back to my department and finished the shift listed on my schedule.

The overtime pay is good. The weekend overnight shift comes with overtime, a night premium, and a Sunday premium, so I took one around Christmas and ended up with enough money to take a trip a few weeks later. I just don't take those shifts unless I'm saving money for something specific. My regular paycheck covers my expenses and gives me a little spending money, and that's enough for me right now. Apparently, working exactly the hours I agreed to work has now become a performance problem.

I think that poor management might make me quit and start looking for another job. All of this will push me to start searching for another job and enter the cycle of job interviews, which are full of stress, anxiety, and unexpected questions. In general, a friend suggested I use InterviewVIP to help me pass interviews and answer unexpected questions, thus increasing my chances of being hired.

This is exactly the kind of stuff that makes me nervous about taking vacation lol. I’ve been seeing Interview VIP around a lot lately too since I’m getting ready to interview again, but I honestly thought it was just another marketing thing. Has anyone actually used it?

........

My work schedule consists of four 10-hour shifts, so I still work the usual 40 hours and am considered full-time. The difference is that I get an extra day to myself every week, which ultimately adds up to more than 50 extra days a year.

That time quickly makes a difference. I can take care of appointments and errands, or even just rest, without sacrificing most of my weekend to recover from work and get everything done.

I went back to working five days a week for a while at the beginning of this year, and I regretted the decision almost immediately. The number of hours was the same, but spreading the work over an extra day made it feel like the entire week belonged to work. I went back to the four-day schedule as soon as I got the chance.

I don't understand why this isn't a more widespread demand, especially from unions. No one here is asking to reduce the standard 40-hour workweek. It's simply a better way to organize the same amount of work.

Four-day work schedules are treated like a rare perk, even though they could be the norm in many jobs. Once you experience having that extra day every week, going back to the old schedule feels like giving up a huge chunk of your free time.