One of life's greatest pleasures is being able to complain about a job you hate . If I wasn't able to tell my close friends and family about the annoying customers and often more annoying coworkers at my customer service jobs, then I don't know how I would be able to survive. Even when things weren't so bad at work, it's fun to share work stories. When I worked at a dog bakery, a customer told me she owned a dog funeral parlor. I was so taken aback that all I could say was, “I'm sorry" To that,…

To work in the office or work at home? That question has plagued us during the plague years, and its answer is more complex than you'd think. Many assume that everyone wants to work from home, and those who don't are part of a tiny minority, which is not necessarily the case. Before the pandemic, I could not get any work done unless I was out of the house. There was something that activated in my brain when I went into a library or office that could get me to achieve unparalleled levels of prod…

So satisfying.

I do not envy anyone who has to fire others. Letting somebody down easy is a skill I simply don't have. Every time I've broken up with someone, I have done it clunkily and a bit insensitively, which is really not ideal for delivering bad news . You need to tell the other person what's happening directly, but not too directly. You need to be empathetic first and informative second. You need to make sure they cry after you fire them instead of when they're in the room with you. It's a tricky bala…

I don't know who needs to hear this, but your boss is not your friend. When your boss inquires about your health or wellbeing, it isn't because they care about you as a person. They only care about you as an asset of the company—a tool whose labor generates value for the ones at the top. Case in point, when u/SadLilBb13 texted their boss to let them know that they'd been stranded in blizzard after getting into a car accident, their boss initially asked if they were okay. If it had ended there,…

Quitting a job is hard. I've only done it twice in my life, and it's not as simple as waltzing in and yelling, “I quit!” It's much harder to leave a toxic workplace than a well functioning one. Nobody tries to guilt you when you're leaving a well-functioning workplace because they know that one less employee is not going to make much of a difference. The hardest jobs to quit are ones that beg you to stay. Each time I quit jobs, I tried to be as professional as possible because I wanted to maint…

Do you ever see somebody in your life going to law school and get genuinely worried that they're only doing it because they were inspired by Legally Blonde ? This has happened to me a non-zero number of times. I don't have these concerns because I don't think blonde women are capable of mastering the legal profession. However, after one too many Elle Woods quotes posted on their Instagram story while studying for the LSATs, I got a little concerned. Being a lawyer is really difficult. It's not…

Agree?

Nobody likes having to work for “the man.” Looking for said work might be worse than work itself. But what if jobs and employers were honest about the kind of work you'll be doing? Roger Horton investigates.

On Christmas Day, customers usually have enough shame to not show up at a fast food place. They ask insecure questions about when the company lets the employees go home. When you deliver the sad news that you're working until closing, they retreat to their table to eat their McChicken with embarrassed expressions. Unfortunately, during Thanksgiving, customers have a lot less shame. They find it incredibly quirky to go to Popeyes for Thanksgiving instead of cooking a homemade meal. Working in fa…

Nursing is not for sissies

Doesn't it seem like some of the hardest, most labor-intensive, (and often most important) jobs in the world pay the worst while some of the most useless ones somehow pay the best? Coincidence? I'm not so sure. Lots of redditors got together on good ol' r/AskReddit to make a comprehensive list of all the most overpaid and overvalued jobs that exist today. My question is: where can I find these “ jobs ” and how do I sign up?

There's nothing worse than getting laid off . Just kidding, there is something objectively worse than that: finding out you're getting laid off from an outside source days before it happens. Being terminated without pay is possibly worse than getting let go, but getting let go always feels somewhat slimy, especially when your department is seemingly cut for no reason. Getting laid off is like saying, “we'll give you a little unemployment as a treat.” It's seemingly innocuous, but it's just anot…

I could never be a lawyer. This is partly because I do not care about the law that much. I have never wished I could spend the rest of my life engaging with legal documents. From what I've heard, law school is a terrible idea for people who are not passionate about it, so that would never work for me. As the writers of one of the only critically acclaimed CW shows, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend , one said: Don't be a lawyer! Don't do it, quickest way to ruin your life Don't be a lawyer! Not worth it, it'…

Ah, Valentine's Day, the holiday where couples with 9 to 5 jobs get to terrorize people in various industries. If you work in entertainment, service, or hospitality, I am so sorry. You do not deserve the chaos, madness, and terror that is coming to you during this Hallmark card of a holiday. For most people in the hospitality industry, January and February are chill months! Unless your hotel is hosting a convention or you worked at an Arizona Hotel last weekend, your hotels are likely pretty em…

It's hard to let the baby bird leave the nest. Many parents struggle to balance being involved in their kids' lives and being overly involved. I understand the struggle! At one point, you had to work day in and day out to ensure this young human survived. Flash forward a few years, and they seem like they don't need you anymore. This transition can be challenging for parents, but it's of the utmost importance that parents give kids, especially their adult kids, space to function without them. T…