
‘What have you learned from your job that most people don’t know?’ – 23 lessons you will definitely want to know
Whether you’re a data entry clerk or a nuclear physicist, you’ll probably find your job a bit boring after you’ve been doing it a while, and prefer not to talk about it very much.
But there will be things you’ve discovered from doing it that are yawn-inducing for you but absolutely fascinating for others.
They’ve been discussing this on the AskUK subreddit after Opening-Worker-3075 asked: ‘What have you learned from your job that most people don’t know?’ and followed it up with an example of their own, which is a cautionary tale in itself:
‘From eleven years working in a major trauma centre, I would say the two worst things you can do to your body and survive seem to be:
‘Come off your bicycle.
‘Fall down the stairs
‘Also, a bonus 3rd option:
‘Be diabetic and not take your medication’
And plenty of other people were keen to chip in with lessons from their own workplace.
1.
‘If you insist a retail worker goes to check ‘out the back’ for something you’ve already been told they don’t have then the retail worker will walk off to ‘check’. They’re not checking, they’re just taking five minutes to get away from you.’
–CigarsofthePharoahs
2.
‘Accountants aren’t necessarily good with mental maths. We just know the rules and regulations of accounting. Calculators and excel can do the sum for us.
‘Always bothers me when someone goes ‘and you’re supposed to be an accountant’ if I do a sum quickly in my head and get it wrong.’
–RestaurantAntique497
3.
‘It goes without saying, but the more you know the more you’ll be expected to do. Don’t bring an idea to a meeting because it then becomes your responsibility. Also, only work as hard as your salary reflects.’
–YouserName007
4.
‘Most of the world is run off of a mismatch of spreadsheets that only one person knows how to update and they guard said knowledge with their life.’
–FitSolution2882
5.
‘Academics are just people with a very specialised education. They’re often deeply and defensively stupid.’
–Jayatthemoment
6.
‘Not me but partner, and probably common knowledge: 99% of supermarket own brands are made in the same factory as brands. If it’s in the same packaging, it’s 100% made in the same factory. Do you think the UK has enough space for five different Marmite factories?!
‘The recipes are different, though. Completely made up examples: Tesco might insist their jam used a higher grade of fruit than Aldi would use. Waitrose might insist their chicken nuggets use proper breast meat etc. Made in the same factory, not the same product.’
–Fallenangel152
7.
‘I work in child care, primary aged children. When I tell you your child swore, or he did start the fight or she did take the other child’s property it doesn’t matter that you think he/she didn’t or they’ve never done it before or it must have been the other child’s fault. Your child was just a little shit that day. Every child has one of those days it’s not a reflection on you.’
–summerdog-
8.
‘The £400 they’re charging you for scratching the hire car will not be used to fix the hire car.’
–No-Body-4446
9.
‘Therapist: we all shape our lives in such s way to protect from trauma, like a pearl forming around the grit. Everyone is afraid of something and defends against anxiety in one way or another even those we venerate and look up to.’
–Sea-Business-348
10.
‘Fedex are expensive because they are the best in the business, it’s as simple as that – they will deliver your consignment to a hut known only by its GPS coordinates in trackless Congolese jungle if they say they can.’
–Shoddy_Reality8985
11.
‘I think a lot of people getting excited by AI would be surprised just by how many SMEs and local companies there are that use internal processes that would feel backwards 15 years ago.’
–ddbbaarrtt