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Location: In a city within a state where politicians come to get their PHDs in Corruption
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We, Americans tend to have this unhealthy, idealistic version of our jobs and everything that goes along with that. We look for places where we can buy into the corporate vision, work next to people just like ourselves, and try to make the world a better place! Yet, we are unhappy. This post, and most people on this forum reflect that.
Remember folks, no one on their death bed said, I wish I could have worked more!
I think it's funny when I hear people talk about how they have "friends" at work. I believed that too when I got my first job. Well, I believed that until I actually overheard my "best friend" who I ate lunch with regularly and would chat with on a regular basis, pass along a criticism I made about the company to management. I'm quiet and I was working late that day, but she didn't know I was still there. I was absolutely shocked. Then when the layoff came, that I was a part of, some of the other people who had been friendly towards me didn't seem to care.
I have also noticed when someone quits or gets fired, the next day it's just business as usual and everyone has forgotten about the person, like the person had never even worked for the company.
Now I just shut up and do my job without socializing or giving much thought to the other people. I mean, what's the point of pretending to be friends with someone who doesn't really give a flip about you?
Same when someone having 20 or 30 years with the company retires. Workers just throw a party for the person and forget about them totally the next day. The thing is, people move on and the sun continues to rise the next morning and the earth keeps turning.
When we decide to retire, quit or move on, we need to do it for ourselves. People are only consumed in their own lives and no one will bother to even wonder what has happened to those who are gone.
Over the years I have made 2 real friends at work. The rest are what I call work friends. We talk and are friendly at break and say "hey" if we see each other at the store or whatever. But I do not delude myself, if I never showed up at work again, no one would care exceptmaybe as a passing curiosity.
Same here. My store has upwards of 400 employees and when one 'goes missing' it sometimes takes quite a while to miss them. Then one day I'll think it's been a long time since I've seen so and so and wonder what happened to them. I know that's exactly what it would be like if I never showed up again.
As far as work friends...I've been at my store going on 7 years now. I have many 'friends' at work but they are really just very good acquaintances. I've never been invited to their parties, weddings, baby showers, etc.. This being a small town, and my employer the largest in the area, we have a LOT of families working there. They have their own inner circle of 'friends' and many have known one another since childhood. I even tried befriending a few of the older widow ladies but I guess they all have enough friends already. So work friends really don't exist for me and it's okay. We get along fine on the job and that's where it counts.
I honestly don't care if nobody at work cares about me. I go to work to earn a living, not to be part of a social club. All I expect from my coworkers is to be professional, respectful, and to pull their own weight.
At one place where I worked we had a marketing manager drop dead on the job.
People were speculating about who would get his job before his body was even cold.
This is hilarious. The title of the thread is just so funny and so true. I don't go to work to make friends or be liked. I go there to do a good job and get a great performance review. Period. Nothing more. I don't socialize with people at work and I don't want to know their personal business. It's called having good professional boundaries.
One job I was in I got promoted to a different division and my start date was four weeks out and the whole four weeks the three people I shared the office with argued about who was going to get my office supplies and resource binders. It was like bickering relatives arguing over who gets the China and silver.
EVen on the weekends people would lock up their office supplies because co workers would take your stuff. Even chairs. We had to label our chairs with our name because people would accuse each other of taking their chair. And get this.....all the chairs were the same . I figured out if you mentioned lice they'd leave your chair alone.
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