There is something to be gained from all experiences, good and bad.
This includes a former job we once had, that we make every effort to forget we ever worked.
However, if leaving that job was perhaps the best decision we ever made in our lives, looking back on our experience probably taught us more about how to happily live our lives than we could have possibly appreciated at the time.
Particularly, what things to avoid at all costs.
Redditor redditatwork023 was curious to hear about all the things people now steer clear of owing to a past experience at a former job, leading them to ask:
"What's the one thing you won't do anymore because of a past job experience?"
Always Put Yourself First!
"I won't ignore my work-life balance anymore."
"Burnout from my last job taught me the importance of setting boundaries."- AuralysTwilight
To Some People, Size Does Matter...
"Volunteering to be the ‘cake cutter’ at office parties, learned real quick that people take slice sizes WAY too seriously."- Comfortable_Try_2645
Jim and Pam Might Disagree...
"Sleep with a co-worker."- Aggravating_Fun_8603
The Office Laughing GIF by NBCGiphy
Billable Hours!
"Answer emails after hours."
"Learned the hard way that setting boundaries is key to maintaining balance."- shirleyxlove
Phone Demeanor Is A Skill
"Call Centre anything."- Rudolphaduplooy
"I worked at one for 2 years during lockdown, while I was glad to be employed it was the most stressful job I ever had."
"Now I have a job where maybe I make one call a day and I wont go back to that sh*t!"- TraditionalTackle1
At The End Of The Day, A Job Is A Job...
"Give a sh*t."
"I loved, loved, loved my previous job."
"I was working for my favorite sports team - a team I grew up loving."
"I'd work weekends, holidays, and volunteer for everything I could possibly volunteer for."
"All while making barely more than minimum wage."
"As soon as they saw fit, they eliminated my position, as well as others."
"Never again will I get emotionally attached to my job, because that devastated me."
"As much as I enjoy my current job, I don't go above and beyond in any way, shape, or form."
"I do exactly what is expected of me."
"Nothing more, nothing less."
"Need extra help on a weekend?"
"Nope, not doing it."
"Need more people to work an event?"
"Not me."
"Need volunteers to work on a special project?"
"Sorry, no can do."
"I know I shouldn't punish my current employer due to the actions of my previous employer, but it is what it is, and I feel exactly zero bad about it."
"If corporate America can get away with doing these things, then I deserve to have at least some control over my life."- _Toaster_Baths
Over It Starz GIF by Run The WorldGiphy
Big Mistake. Big. Huge...
"Retail."- MythsOfOpportunities
"Retail workers unite."- Sarahnovaaa
"I'm currently in retail, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and if everything works out, I'll have a different job in a different field by this time next year."
"Unless you're in a 'Unicorn' of retail job, it just grates on your mental health."
"I wish there was a hell just for the people who take advantage of retail workers needing to stay polite and help the customer in order to be a**holes to the employee."
"I've half-joked with coworkers about how we should be able to kick one person out of the store a month."
"Just one so everyone has to save theirs for the really big a**holes."- IncognitoBombadillo
Almost Literally Had The Whole World In His Hands...
"I was a Missile Launch Officer for the USAF a long time ago, and I definitely don't want to do that again because I don't want to be in charge of blowing up the world."
"Also it was very cold and noisy in the command capsule."- TR3BPilot
An All Too Common Occurrence...
"Work for an idiot."- Affectionate-Pay3450
"I just got out of that situation."
"Never again."- Zeppelin59
Dougie Payne Doctor GIF by TravisGiphy
There's A Fine Line Between Friends And Colleagues...
"I will no longer hire friends being the boss of a friend just makes things awkward."- Femboymilksipper
Whether Or Not It's Your Own...
"Work for a family business."- Same_Ad494
Not Worth The Tips...
"I worked as a bikini batista for a summer."
"Never going to do food service again."- TayloredStichless
episode 5 bar GIFGiphy
Useful Insider Information...
"Put on new clothes without washing them first seen to many nasty backrooms."- Real-Negotiation8162
Define "Part-Time"...
"I don’t think I could do retail again."
"What was supposed to be a 16-hour-a-week part-time job while I was in high school turned into the manager calling me in the middle of the night to come in at 3-4am begging for help unloading the truck they just found out was coming in."
"Most of the other employees, including both AMs, were elderly women who either couldn’t or wouldn’t assist with unloading."
"I settled into a schedule of going to work at 3:30 am and then going to school several days a week."
"The last time I saw that store manager, she was being carried out of the store on a stretcher by paramedics after having a massive panic attack."
"She was doing 12+ hours seven days a week, the amount of pressure corporate placed on her was unreal."- MrLanesLament
Change Isn't Always For The Better...
"Not even my experience really, but my former coworker - No matter how long I work somewhere, I will never feel any sense of loyalty towards any employer."
"Ever."
"My coworker was awesome."
"She had worked at this place for like 20 years."
"Everyone loved her and she was great at her job."
"She worked so hard and sacrificed so much for that job because she had such a strong sense of loyalty and responsibility."
"She was wonderful and really loved her job."
"You know the type."
"The company ended up hiring someone new in middle-management, and this new lady started shaking things up (in a bad way)."
"My coworker brought up some issues we’d encountered, and the new manager clearly didn’t like that."
"After that, our insane new manager saw my coworker as 'oppositional'."
"This new middle-manager started doing everything she could to make this poor woman’s life hell, including whispering in the ears of upper-management."
"After a few months, she convinced them that one of their most loyal and dependable employees (who they’d known and worked with for 20 years) was now a liar, a bully, aggressive, and impossible to work with."
"After a few months, they fired my coworker."
"She was the dream 'boomer employee' who’d given everything to her employer and trusted that they’d do the same for her - but they didn’t."
"Nothing she did mattered to them."
"She was absolutely heartbroken."
"Everyone was shocked."
"I left shortly after."
"I don’t know what happened to her, but I hope she’s doing well after all of that."
"She deserves good things in life."- EnormousMonsterBaby
Sad Every job is a learning experience, teaching us how to be better at our assigned tasks.
While also teaching us, in more subtle ways, how we should and shouldn't live our lives.
No matter how we feel about our jobs, always remember that work/life balance is vitally important.
