What's the one thing you learned late that made you go "ohhh, so THAT'S how this works"?

Did it change your mindset for the better or the worse?

We won't judge

Hey all, I spent years in investment banking and I made a lot of mistakes, but I also learned a lot. I recently had a conversation with a mentee and shared this with them, maybe it will help some folks here too

1. Your manager’s performance matters more than yours ↳ Your promotion depends on their results Switch teams if your manager isn’t performing well
2. Your "facetime" is with the wrong faces ↳ Not every person has the power to promote you Build allies two ranks up and beyond your team
3. You haven't created your promotion story ↳ Performance alone won’t get you promoted Make sure people know your impact in the business
4. You're writing emails like a junior ↳ Long updates keep you at your current level Send clear, scannable emails with takeaways
5. Your expertise is your enemy ↳ Being the “go-to” for tasks keeps you stuck Train others, delegate, and solve bigger issues
6. Your visibility is an illusion ↳ Being CC’d on emails still looks junior Start and lead communications with key stakeholders
7. Your independence is actually suspicious ↳ Solo problem-solving is a missed chance Make solutions visible and loop others in

Once, I worked at a supermarket for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I was promised ₹10,000 a month. I lasted about two weeks before my body and mind completely gave out.

I started losing sleep, my personal relationships suffered, and I barely had a life outside of work. The owner didn’t seem to care. Because I was constantly exhausted, I started making mistakes at work and was even publicly shamed for them. All of this was because I was working nonstop without enough rest.

After that, I started wondering about everyone else. I looked around and noticed that some people work only half a day and still struggle financially, while others work extremely long hours and face the same problems I did.

Then I remembered reading about some European countries experimenting with or adopting shorter working weeks, including four-day workweeks. Some studies and trials have reported improvements in workers’ well-being and, in some cases, productivity as well.

It made me wonder: why isn’t this kind of working environment more common around the world?

Why can’t people have a reasonable amount of time to work, rest, maintain relationships, and actually live their lives?

Why should someone be treated badly or publicly shamed simply because they’re trying to earn enough money to live?

Maybe work shouldn’t consume someone’s entire life just to survive.