Privileged white-collar salaried person here, making $55K a year in academia (staff). I've been “quiet fired” in that I haven't had a raise above 1.5% in 10+ years in spite of stellar reviews and hard work and company spirit, volunteering for events, etc. Boss retired and I was given their (minimal) responsibilities but no piece of their ridiculously huge salary. WFH is not allowed here, in spite of 2 years of very high faculty/staff productivity during lockdown. It costs me time, overpriced lunches, and gas and takes me away from my garden, home cooking, a quiet spot to work in, and other simple comforts. LOTS of good people have left in recent years and things are just a mess every day because the administration is so old, entrenched, and clueless. I know a lot about how to do a lot of things here, but I'm not on anyone's radar because they just see me as a frumpy old woman in this low-level admin role.
I really don't want to have to prove myself all over again in a new job, so, with the antiwork wisdom you've all shared, here's what I do:
- Come in late and leave early – I'm doing essentially the same job as 10+ years ago, but faster, better, and smarter, so I just need 4 hours, rather than 8, to get it done. So even though my net $ has gone down in adjusted dollars over that time, I consider it a raise in my hourly rate and I keep F-T benefits.
- Perform well and consistently at my job and work as hard as ever (including evenings and weekends if needed) when a new project comes my way, so my reputation remains untouchable.
- Talk openly about my salary, lack of raises, my (reddit-aided) work philosophy, and the good and the bad about this institution – I talk about issues I've had with bad managers to their own teams so the people who work under idiots can start questioning things on their own. I have a lot of history and knowledge to back up anything I say.
- Keep in touch through lunches and happy hours with like-minded colleagues so that we know we're not alone.
- Send positive notes to people when I see them doing good things at work here – whether I know them or not. Because we all need to hear that sometimes.
- Dress like I'm at home – t-shirts and tennis shoes. Walk through the halls with my head high because I actually am dressing for the job I want (ha!).
- Take at least 3 sick days a month – I have so many that they no longer accrue, and they don't get paid out if I leave, so I might as well use them.
- Do all my personal volunteer work and other stuff at the office, so that when I get home I don't need to do any computer or other “work” for the rest of the day and I can focus on my own and my family's needs.
- Take all my vacation time – my coworkers know they can reach me anytime if they need me, but nobody's paying attention to this group and we know what we're doing, so it's usually not a problem.
I know I'm luckier than a lot of people. This is my “positive note” to reddit/antiwork because I have learned a lot from you all, and it has saved my sanity and probably a lot of my health, too, when I was going through some really dark and difficult times at my job. Thank you so much: here's to all of us making real, positive change in the working world!