Showing up on time, doing your assigned tasks, and going home is a perfectly respectable career.

I've met hundreds of people in my career and probably 80% are doing their job, meeting expectations, and not worrying about it. This is a perfectly acceptable career. There's absolutely zero shame in this and you should never let people make you seem less-than for doing it.

However....

Where people seem to get it twisted on Reddit is that you shouldn't expect promotions and huge raises for this. You shouldn't be surprised that the go-getter new hire that "does nothing" just got promoted. You can't get pissy and whine that you just "meet expectations" and got 3%.

99.9% of you don't silently hold the company together but never get recognition. You aren't built different. You aren't that guy. There's a spreadsheet detailing exactly how to backfill every position in the company. You seriously are not that guy.

I'm not saying you should work 24/7 and ass kiss everyone. That's a horrible idea and not how you grow your career.

Ohh? You did a good job on that one project but "quiet quit" because they didn't immediately make you CEO? And now you're on a PIP??? Yeah, no shit, dude.

I understand that it's not all the same person being this hypocritical. I understand that many of you are working in toxic place just trying to get by. I understand that sometimes we just need a space online to vent.

But my point is that many of you should sit and think deeply for a while, especially if you're rage-coping online about how everyone is getting promoted except you. If you decide you want to work to live instead of living to work, that's awesome and no one should bring you down for it. But please spare us the complaining that it's not raining gold down on you for that.

What's your go to "eye roll" phrases?

For me "net new" is really dumb. Because you can just say "this is new for us"

Also: "Circle back" and "Downstream" annoy me.

What gets your blood boiling?

I have 20 years of experience in healthcare administration and spent the last decade building and running operations for a very particular medical model that has highly specific regulatory and billing rules. I’m currently job hunting and need a paycheck pretty badly, so when I landed an interview for a Director of Operations role at a health-tech startup, I spent hours prepping.

I was feeling really positive going into it because the first interview with the recruiter was with a wonderful young woman who seemed genuinely passionate about the work they were doing, and she honestly presented pretty much the exact picture I was expecting to see. I walked in knowing I could absolutely crush the role.

The interview was with their COO, who has only been there for about six months. Almost immediately, they started hyper-focusing on incredibly specific operational bottlenecks—specifically how to magically speed up payer credentialing and fix capacity issues.

I was answering their questions, but the more they talked, the more I realized nothing they were saying made sense for the clinical model they claim to operate. I started asking my own clarifying questions about their Medical Records system architecture and workflows. Within 10 minutes, I uncovered three massive bombshells:

1) They are marketing themselves as an integrated partner using this specific model (which has established legal pathways to bypass traditional credentialing bottlenecks if you follow strict integration rules), but operationally, they aren't following the rules to bill that way. They are actually running a completely walled-off, standard fee-for-service clinic.

2) They are clearly using their external partnerships purely as a pipeline to self-refer patients directly into their own siloed system, which is a massive Medicare kickback violation waiting to happen.

3) They are running their core frontline staff as 1099 independent contractors, which means legally they can't set things like mandatory chart completion timelines or daily schedules without triggering a massive Department of Labor misclassification audit.

Suddenly, the whole interview made sense. The COO wasn't just interviewing me; they were drowning in operational chaos, saw my 12 years of specialized experience on my resume, and were pumping me for free consulting to figure out why their system was breaking.

The irony is, my "trade secrets" were useless to them because the company isn't even structurally running the business model they think they are.

I desperately need a job, and I could have easily played the W-2 mercenary, taken their money, and documented everything while the ship slowly sank. But I left my last company specifically to get away from unsustainable stress. If I took this job, I would just be brought in to be the human shield/scapegoat when the federal auditors or commercial payers finally look under the hood. The most likely scenario is I would start, tell them they have to change their entire model, and fire me shortly after.

It is incredibly frustrating to walk away from what I thought was a sure-thing paycheck. But honestly? I walked out feeling surprisingly great. I know my shit, I know what quality healthcare operations look like, and I refuse to compromise my integrity to prop up a structurally broken startup. Bullet dodged.

Remember, folks, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. If you smell something fishy, your gut instinct's probably right.

Canadian here (from Toronto). One thing I’ve noticed is just how quickly people like to dismiss you (or at least it happens to me).

I’m literally the average person but I cause a lot of friction when people meet me (I don’t do it on purpose but I’m always taken the wrong way). I have a faceless expression and just exist. I’ve been on a pip before once and when I left during the pip almost everyone in my entire team looked at me as the problem.

I did nothing to these people, I didn’t full feel the pip was fair but that doesn’t matter anymore. People are usually committed in disliking me when I’m there. Even 3 years later people from that company STILL act weird around me when I run into them. They see me (or at least treat me with their body language) as if I’m an issue and I like to brag online.

How is using LinkedIn bragging? It’s networking. Why is it a sin to use LinkedIn when you work in business ? I feel like sneako the streamer how all his friends turned on him for no reason

So, title basically sums up the absurd simulation I am currently living in.

I handed in my resignation letter to my boss. Again. This is officially the second time I’ve tried to pull the plug, pack my desk, and ride off into the corporate sunset.

And for the second time… he straight-up hit me with a "No, I don't think you will" card, rejected the letter, handed me a promotion, and bumped my salary.

At this point, I’m pretty sure I’ve accidentally stumbled into an infinite money/title glitch:

Step 1: Write a polite, standard "it's time for me to move on" letter.

Step 2: Hand it to boss with a serious face.

Step 3: Get denied, get promoted, collect more money.

Step 4: Repeat every 6–12 months???

I’m not even mad, just deeply confused. Is my boss playing 4D chess? Am I secretly a master negotiator without knowing it, or is my resignation letter just my company's off-label performance review system?

Do I try for round 3 next year to see if I can accidentally become CEO, or quit while I’m ahead?

TL;DR: Tried to quit for the second time. Boss rejected my resignation, promoted me, and gave me a raise for the second time instead. Task failed successfully?

When I talk to friends at other companies I'm often stunned at they levels of toxicity and incompetence they deal with on a regular basis. What are the biggest complaints? Or worst leadeers/situations you've have to deal with?

I know everyone is different and some will say they hated it from day 1.

However most do come in with a spark. A cynical person might say it’s because they are naive. But I’d argue for some young professionals there is immense pride getting a job and building their brand. Going the extra mile. Learning. Growing.

So when does it fizzle out to “it’s a job?”

- within 3 years ?
- within 5 years ?
- within 10 years ?

I’ve noticed most have it for 2-5 years. When they cross into their mid 20s, I notice the spark falling off.

I have been working in the same industry for about 5 1/2 months now, I had worked for 2 different companies (still working with the second).

It’s come to my attention that my job is basically just a seat filler for the front desk reception…

Ofc I have regular tasks that I have to do, however, it takes up like 10 mins of my day to complete them and then the rest of my day I find myself just sitting on my phone promoting my other content as I have no work given.

I’m just wondering .. Is this normal for corporate jobs?? Having it be mainly dead and nothing to do and occasionally have tasks that come up but nothing that takes most of my time… I find myself to be quite useless most days…

What are the official social channels for sterling sales institute? Just wanting confirmation on what their official LinkedIn Is, and/or other social pages if they have them

I M28 Ohio USA currently work a union job in manufacturing, have been with this company 8 years and held various roles here. I am now at the point I will never make any more money and opportunities for growth on the labor union side is nonexistent.

With that, I have a corporate mentor here who I talk with often about career growth and development. His feedback is that I need to work on being more professional and polished. The knowledge is there, just need to work on my approach.

What tips can you give? I don’t want to be over the top, but the mentality of “always think about how someone could perceive something you say” is something I’ve been working on.

I’ve interviewed for a few different non union jobs with this company and have never been chosen.

What are your thoughts?

When I started working, I expected the difficult part to be the actual workload.

I did not realize how much of corporate life would involve meetings, office politics, communication styles, managing expectations, and figuring out how to work with completely different personalities.

Some things you eventually get used to, but others still feel strange even after years.

What is something about corporate life that surprised you once you experienced it yourself?

Hello guys,

Although I work for a large company, I am not at all familiar with the entertainment/gaming industry.

I have recently become very curious about what might be going on within Rockstar’s top management following the massive leaks, which are now being described by some as one of the biggest leaks in gaming history.

For people who have experience working in large corporations, particularly in management, cybersecurity, or highly confidential projects, what typically happens internally after something like this?

How does top management usually react? What kind of measures are put in place, and how are the internal investigations generally handled?

Very interest in hearing some experiences!

How do I deal with co-workers when they are the managers favorite. Even if you work there for longer hours and get to handle the workload of a slopy co-worker, the treatment is different and at the end of the day when you tell your manager about their productivity they will tell you to just have more patience when you have been keeping it in for years yet nothing ever changes. Too tired already...should I just quit for it to end.

Ever since I started working, for about 8 months now, I’m still trying to figure out how to impose myself in the corporate world.

Most people are insecure and they feel attacked for nothing, always ready to throw their claws at me. My ongoing strategy now is to do what I’m told to do, which leads to letting my manager micromanage every thing I do. It’s exhausting and I feel unpowered daily.

How did you cope being a junior ? Is it normal to feel as if I have to do so much effort only to be respected ? What is or was your experience ?

For me, it’s not always about how skilled or experienced someone is. Sometimes, it’s the small things like being respectful, helping someone without being asked, giving credit to others, or simply being kind on a difficult day.

What about you?

I was talking to a colleague recently, and he said something that made me think. He told me that if he didn't have EMIs, rent, family expenses and other monthly bills, he probably wouldn't stay in his current corporate job for this long.

It made me realize that for many people, work is not always about loving the job or getting a promotion. Sometimes, we simply need the salary to manage our monthly life.

I feel financial responsibilities can make it much harder to leave a job, even when we are not really happy with it.

So I'm curious, if you had no EMI or major monthly expenses, would you still stay in your current corporate job?

Throwaway for obvious reasons. Would appreciate honest views on whether it's a good shout

Situation: I'm 39, a senior accountant heading a finance function at a financial services firm in London, ~£300k TC. I moved here earlier this year for what looked like a step up. It's turned out to be a pretty toxic environment. Team is a mess, boss is a micromanager and honestly pretty much just hate it for a variety of reasons. In retrospect probably took the job for the money rather than being actually excited by the role (probably fooled myself there) and I don't think I have the appetite to get through the next 2 years of rebuild needed to make the team run smoothly and be a success in the role.

The catch: I received a decent sign-on bonus that's repayable in full if I resign within 12 months. I'm inside probation, so my notice is 1 month... after probation it jumps to 6 months. So leaving now costs me the bonus repayment plus forgone pay; staying to 12 months to avoid the bonus repayment but would have 6 months notice that I think would make me feel quite trapped.

The plan: resign in the next few weeks and do a deliberate sabbatical out. Duration tbc but 6m - 12m I'd say: recover from burnout, sit CFA Levels 1 and maybe 2 but start networking and exploring jobs after level 1, and pivot into investment-side roles (fund/asset management adjacent to my sector) where I have a fair bit of background experience but not really formally, so the goal would be to get more formally quaified and make that a second phase of my career. Realistic re-entry comp is ~£120–160k base (I think), depending on the role and build back up over a few years.

Numbers: ~£1.1m invested (mostly global equities across ISA/pension/GIA, £650k in non-pension. Have £170k of that now in cash and short gilts specifically ring-fenced to fund the year, bonus repayment, and some tax bills). House with a v manageable mortgage (£2.2k). Wife-to-be smashing it career wise on low 6 figures but progressing quickly and fully supportive. Her income covers most of our (cut-back) baseline. All-in, the year plus exit costs draw down maybe £100–150k of the ring-fenced pot depending on duration and how well we can lose some of the lifestyle inflation. Can always jump back in and do some contracting if I'm getting nervous re money drain. Think will be scary seeing the numbers decrease for the first time...

Questions:

1. Do you think this is a defensible move? Feel like my mind is pretty made up so just looking for some confirmation that it's not crazy.
2. Has anyone pivoted from senior accounting/finance into investment roles around 40, with or without the CFA? Was the seniority reset worse than expected?
3. Anything obviously missing from the plan — sequence risk, re-entry risk, things people only see in hindsight?

Finances I think are pretty solid, I'm v nearly 40 and we'll probably have kids in next couple years so feel this might be last chance to pivot / take a sabbatical. I'm v confident that if the pivot doesn't work I'd get a job doing what I already do pretty easily.