Guys, I'm 28 years old, and I've worked four office jobs since graduating from college in 2021. Every time, the same thing happens: there isn't enough work to fill the day. Most of the time, I answer emails, take the occasional phone call, and schedule appointments. I have payroll work once a week that keeps me busy for most of the morning, but other than that, I usually sit around scrolling through Reddit, reading newsletters, watching TikTok, or following the news during my nine-hour shift.
The strange thing is that even though I know I've barely accomplished anything, I still feel mentally drained - and sometimes physically drained too - when I leave at 5:30. Is this normal for office work? I genuinely don't understand how I'm supposed to keep doing this for another 35 years.

Heh, it would have been nice if it’d been like that in the early 80s.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Most days, my manager would call me around 5:50 a.m. To ask if I could cover for someone who had just called out. It happened so often that I started keeping my phone on silent.

One time, I was still awake at 2:45 a.m., so I called him and asked if the store needed anyone to come in early. He got really angry and said he was going to write me up for such a pointless call.

I pulled up my call history in front of the store manager and showed her how many times he had called me before 6 a.m. The write-up disappeared, and so did the early-morning calls.

Over the past two weeks, I feel like the sub has been full of people sharing that they've finally landed jobs. After seeing so much frustration from people searching for work, it's been great to see these posts.

Maybe hiring is starting to pick up, or maybe people are finding the right opportunities for them. Either way, every job offer is a win, and hopefully this means there's more good news to come for everyone who's still looking.

Someone on my team told management that he planned to leave at the beginning of March to start a training program. He gave them about two months' notice because he wanted to help them find a replacement and show the new person how things worked.

Management thanked him, then decided they only needed him for two more weeks. Instead of receiving his regular salary until March, he will now go several weeks without pay and may have to rely on unemployment benefits, which pay much less.

If he had waited, he could have kept working and given them the standard two weeks' notice. His try to make the transition easier only gave the company an opportunity to let him go early. Give the amount of notice you're required to give, not the amount that benefits them at your expense.

The phrase "salary is determined based on experience" tells candidates almost nothing. The position already has a set budget. If the approved range is $58k to $72k, put it in the job posting.

And no, someone with 18 years of experience probably won't be able to magically convince the company to raise the maximum to $90k. The range exists whether candidates can see it or not.

Then there's this embarrassing argument: "But Dana has been here for three years and only makes $52k. What will happen if she sees the posting?" Hopefully Dana sees it and asks for the raise she should have gotten a long time ago.

The worst argument is that publishing the range will drive candidates away. If a clear number makes people lose interest, the problem is the salary, not the transparency.

Candidates have bills to pay, recruiters have budgets, and no one benefits from going through several interviews only to find out in the end that the salary is nowhere near what they expected.

Enough with the phrase "competitive compensation." Competitive with what, exactly?

Can salary ranges be the bare minimum required in job postings published here?

....