People have been sharing the unspoken rules of corporate survival – 17 sneaky ways to get ahead in the office

‘Look busy even if you’re bored out of your mind.

‘If you start a new job/task and finish what they expected to take you all day in two hours, say nothing and find another way to look busy.
Being honest that you got all of your workload done much faster than they expected only results in more and more work being piled on until the job goes from boringly simple to constant stress, and doing this to yourself does not get you higher pay.

‘Yes, they may pat you on the head and tell you you’ve done good. That isn’t worth it.’
-BigBullshitta

‘When in doubt, get it in writing.

‘Don’t write down anything you wouldn’t want read out loud in a court of law.’
-boblabon

‘Don’t immediately respond to a request from a superior with a reason it can’t be done. Instead, say, “I’ll get on it,” and if it can’t be done, report back with, “I checked on it, and it turns out that it’s a problem because ______.” Then give alternatives or workarounds to make something close to it happen.

‘TL;DR: Bosses would rather hear that you tried and failed rather than you won’t try at all.’
-cipheroid

‘Peacock your work.

‘For many of us, doing your job well is just the bare minimum of being a professional. Especially all of the quiet behind the scenes stuff.
You have to constantly brag about how hard you’re working, how this project is going to change everything, how you’re the most indispensable person at the company.

‘It’s total bullshit, but you’ll see that these people that are doing their jobs loudly will move up quicker in the food chain. They aren’t the smartest, they aren’t the best, they’re just the loudest. Be loud and brag. There is no place for being humble in your career.’
-Turk1518

‘You are not a family.’
-PottedPotheadDaisy

‘Know your superiors. Know what they’re like.

‘General advice could be: Dont be the best, dont be the worst, don’t annoy your boss and make his life any more complicated, but also don’t outshine them.

‘But this doesn’t apply universally. You could have an asshole boss and you could also have some perfectionist who will punish you if you don’t give it your all.’
-WelsyCZ

‘If your boss is shitting on something the team fucked up and asked who’s responsible, no names are given.

‘It’s something our team leads established years ago and it helps keep people safe and productive. (We’ve only had to “use” this rule about 2 times in 10 years)’
-Aromatic-Insect-1328

‘If we’re getting time back early from the meeting you don’t say “welllllll one more thing”, unless it’s extremely important.’
-languidlasagna

‘Learn to not care. At all.’
-bruyeremews