Just some good SubGenius advice! Remember living for “Bob” is better than that crappy job!
job
Xenofact’s Job Hacks #4
They just keep coming! There’s probably at least one more post on my job survival tips for weirdoes and mutants. You can find posts one, two, and three as well.
Man I have to post more spiritual stuff, but I’m on a roll.
Stuff
Office Supplies – Everyone takes them, we all know it. Don’t do anything illegal for “Bob”’s sake, but have at it like everyone else is.
Use The Throwaways – Offices waste enormous amounts of stuff or sell off equipment. Find out how to get those fixable broken chairs or old-but-usable computers! Maybe you even HELP OUT and get your hands on the good stuff early.
Office Giveaways – People dump food, unread books, leftover holiday candy, etc. at work. Use this. Sometimes you get entire meals out of this. If it’s not happening, try to start it! Also dispose of stuff you don’t want at work, it’s honestly good citizenship, even if your job sucks.
Snacks and Food – Some places have snacks, food, coffee, tea, etc. Take advantage of that! Why go purchase stuff or bring it in when it’s there?
Benefits And More
Use Every Damn Benefit – Most jobs provide more benefits than the average person uses. Sit down with your benefits package and use the hell out of everything! Also it gives you an excuse to get to know the people in HR, etc. and network.
Use Discounts – Some companies and organizations provide discounts on things like computers, etc. Find these and USE them. Also use them for friends and family when you can, take advantage of it.
Get Therapy If You Can – If your employer provides it, get therapy. The stress of the job and the fact people may manipulate you make therapy an important tool.
Apply Health Benefits – Especially if you didn’t have any for awhile. Get in shape, use those checkups, get those new glasses NOW. Use them while you got them.
Use The Services – Lots of workplaces have dry cleaning, travelling barbers, in-lot oil changes, etc. Like benefits, use these if you can! Plus they’re excises to dodge work if you want to (though a place with a lot of services probably is decent to work at).
Parking and Travel – Check any benefits for parking and travel. Some places don’t care when you use it – or consider its non-work use normal. Prepare to save $$ because no one cares.
Training Tactics
Required Training – Required training can be boring – and often is – but it’s another excuse to take time off. You can even schedule it in ways that the prep, commute, etc. adds to time away from work. If it’s in person sometimes there’s food too!
Be a Trainer – If you become a person that does training for people, youve got a way to avoid other work, meet folks who become allies, look good, and learn stuff. Most people aren’t good at conducting training, so consider this option.
Learn Tools And Software – On the job you’ll probably get exposed to new tools, techniques, software. Take the chance to learn them, especially ones you can use elsewhere. Its on-the-job training – and you might get skills you can use in fun things or your actual life!
Use Training – If your job has training, use it. It lets you bow out of work, helps you career, and gives you skills you can use elsewhere. If you can make an excuse to take stuff you WANT but not relevant to your JOB, go for it.
-Xenofact
Xenofact’s Job Hacks #2
And it’s part 2 of my Job Hacks. These are tips for weirdoes, mutants, SubGenii, and other people trying to survive the job world. This is advice from a long-term professional from his experiences and that of his friends and co-workers.
It’s Fine To Avoid Or Hate Work – Allow yourself to be bitter and angry. This lets you work through your issues and be honest with yourself. Then, clearer on what you hate, you can focus on dealing with your job or getting another one.
Self-Preservation is Fine – You need your job to survive, you can’t sacrifice yourself because your employer is probably going to exploit that and burn you out. The survival urge is fine, that’s part of being human. It doesn’t mean you’re selfish, it just means you have space to care for yourself too.
Try Weird Hours – If you have control of when you work, try to work out schedules that serve your interests, think out of the box. Try a 4 day workweek so you get a longer weekend, or start early and leave early, etc.
Take Advantage of Local Travel – If you have to travel between places, this is a great way to control time. Count commute time at work, put errands in your plan, use it to be visible OR invisible, vanish if you can.
Learn The Territory – Get to know the place you work. This helps you find how to avoid people, how to find people, where the good donuts are, and more. Navigate your workspace.
Learn To Hide – Now and then you need to get away from people. You can “take a call” or “get some quiet time” or “go check on supplies” or something. Really you’re just in a meeting room or storage room avoiding people.
It’s OK To Avoid Promotions – It’s fine not to rise in the ranks as long as you’re happy and surviving, and get regular raises. Sometimes you get more respect for sticking around awhile (I’ve seen this in admin and communications). If you’re good enough or no one wants to do it, you can become indispensable.
Look Into Lateral Promotions – Sometimes you can get more peace, less stress, and even more cash with promotion to something the same level of your current job. Remember you can move around and not get a painful promotion.
If You Climb Up, Know How To Climb Down – If you’re going to play the promotions game, you may get more money and benefits, but you risk more stress and attention. Have a plan to step back down from your ambitions when it’s time or when you burn out. You probably have lots of options and transferable skills if you think about – and you should.
Work From Home If You Can – A lof oe places allow some work from home, so engineer it if you can. Also remember different positions have more work from home opportunities, so see if a change works for you. Ditch that commute, get more time – and possibly do your job better.
Use That Overtime and Extra Pay – Options for overtime? Bonuses? Figure out what gives you cash for the least amount of effort. Sometimes you can line up enough it’s like getting a raise but without politics or watching people argue over you.
Location, Location – Have a choice of which office, shop, etc. to work in? Use that to your advantage! Go to an obscure area and get peace and quiet, go to a busy one so you can hide among the crowd, etc. Factor in working hours and commute time as well!
Updates – Software updates can take awhile. Then you have to “test” your system to be sure everything works. Every software update is a chance to take a break.
Find Excuses to Work From Home – Commuting sucks so find ways to work from home. Schedule meetings early – or late. Note you’re near a client so its easier to see them. Make it an experiment in productivity and cost-savings.
More to come . . .
-Xenofact