- Your employer doesn't give a shit about you. Act accordingly.
- NEVER give 2 weeks notice! They would fire you in the blink of an eye.
- Do NOT let them know where your new job is because they will sabotage it.
- Take your fucking breaks. People fought hard for the few mandated rights you have, don't give them away.
- Don't give in to peer pressure of other workers the employers have broken who give their rights away.
- Don't be afraid to point that out.
- Talk about your salary if you want to, it's legal despite what your employer tells you. They don't want you to compare notes, you might form a union.
- Never request time off, INFORM them you're taking time off. Despite what they want you to think, they are not your parents and life is important. They don't own you, they rent you. Don't be afraid to point that out.
- NEVER work for free! You are paid for your labor AND your time. If you're not in the clock, you're not working. Make them feel like jerks for asking you to do so. If an event is mandatory, it must be paid time.
- Docking pay for ANY REASON IS ILLEGAL WAGE THEFT and should always be reported.
- Don't let them harrass you into quitting. Make them fire you because they're trying to screw you out of collecting unemployment.
- If your workplace feels oppressive, someone has CHOSEN to make it so. Don't allow them to.
- Don't care more about the job / work than the people in charge.
- If you're not rewarded for going above and beyond, don't fucking do it.
- If your industry has a union, join it. If it could or should have a union, form one.
- Watch: Office Space, Norma Rae, Fight Club, Erin Brockovich.
- If you're being forced from work at home back into the office, they are trying to reassert dominance over you. Demand to be paid mileage.
- Never go out of your way to save the company money. If they're going to waste money, try to have them waste it on you.
- HR is supposed to be on your side. They are not and you can't trust them.
- “Our employees are like family” is a major red flag. To snarkily reply “You say that like it's a good thing” will usually get the point across.
- They usually need you just as much or more than you need them.
- Get it in writing. Any agreements or crazy instructions. Pretty much anything.
- Never drink at a work function. No good can really come from going in the first place.
- If the leadership suspects someone is doing something shady, it's usually because that's what they would do.
- You'll rarely be given what you don't ask for. If you deserve it, ask.
- If you're going to quit anyway, make a crazy ask before you leave. Can't hurt.
- No, you can't explain the gap in your employment because you signed an NDA.
There's more, but these should help you through. For some of these, you need your coworkers to be on the same page.