Journal of No. 118

Looking for another job while currently employed inevitably feels like living a double life. You have to keep up with your current tasks and responsibilities at work so that nobody becomes suspicious about what you might be up to. At the same time, though, you need to make yourself available for interviews with other companies while devoting enough time and energy to preparing for those interviews so that you actually do a good job. It's a tough balancing act that few can accomplish with ease, and this employee certainly tried to pull it off. Unfortunately, it didn't exactly turn out the way they had hoped it would.

After being contacted on Indeed by a competitor, this author decided to hear what these folks had to say and took an interview with them. They weren't actually looking seriously for other job opportunities. This position would actually be a lateral move, but it would be at a company that was closer to their location and therefore more convenient for their commute. After a successful interview, the author felt good about their chances and was told they would hear more very soon. However, nothing was set in stone.

Soon thereafter, the author was confronted by their CEO, who had connected the dots and figured out that they were looking for work elsewhere. The author was backed into a corner and was unable to deny it. That's when they learned that the fragile CEO was letting the employee go as a result. The author began to suspect foul play. After all, how did the CEO figure it out? It's not like the employee was absent or doing a poor job in their current role. When the author contacted the other company, it became clear that there was, in fact, some communication behind their back.

There are certain situations where you just don't want to draw unnecessary attention to yourself. Things like avoiding making direct eye contact with the teacher in class to avoid answering questions, or that exceptionally long paragraph that's coming up.

In situations like this, it's best to go as unnoticed as possible. Flying under the radar becomes a method of self-preservation, even when you're not doing anything wrong; it's just that getting your teacher's attention at the wrong time would be mighty stressful and inconvenient. 

As you grow up, the powers that be are no longer petty authority figures but mighty swollen bureaucracies and their agents of misfortune. Again, it's not that you're doing anything wrong, at least not intentionally, but drawing their gaze is like the eye of Sauron fixating on the Ring when Frodo slips it on his finger, and once the gaze is upon you, there is no going back.

Before you know it, you're going to be drowning in unnecessary administration and all the paperwork that comes with it, with fines for each small violation as a reward.

When it comes to building management, the local authorities' building inspector and the fire marshal are two of those things that you'd rather not have come poking around. With their technical policy manuals in hand, there is not a building in the world that these professionals could walk through where they couldn't pull up some violation that would need rectifying. 

Don't get me wrong, this is all for good reason, good technical standards are written in the dark red ink of hard lessons. But when you're on the receiving end of an impossible list of required alterations, it doesn't feel this way. And I'm sure that's exactly how this landlord was feeling after they willingly brought themselves to the attention of the local fire marshal, putting an end to their quarrel with their tenant. 

Some employees, as soon as they set foot on the first day on the job, will make it loud and clear that they do not want to be there. They have no problem letting everyone know that the last thing they want to do is actually work. 

How they keep their job for more than a week is beyond me…

That is exactly what crossed my mind when I read the story below. From day one, this news reporter was very vocal about her lack of interest in the job. So much so that she had no problem letting everyone know that she used ChatGPT to do her job. Surprisingly, she wasn't fired after getting caught, or after she made a big mistake live on-air, but it wasn't long before she decided to quit herself, six months into the job.

Now, some coworkers are planning her goodbye party, but one of them is refusing to attend. Keep scrolling to read why.

How much time would you say you spend on work even after you leave the office for the day? 

While we would probably love to say we spend absolutely no time working or even thinking about work while we are off the clock, we all know that's a huge lie. Work follows us home whether we like it or not. We do, however, get the chance to contain it. Work shouldn't take up your time after you leave the office, and if you stay determined, you can keep it to a minimum and enjoy your free time as freely as you can.

Take the employee in the story below as an example. After working from home full-time, her company decided to bring the employees back to the office. That resulted in the company losing the privilege it got from having employees work from home, such as availability throughout the entire day. As soon as the employees were forced into a regular schedule from the office, they refused to spend any time they were not there on anything related to work.

When the boss confronted this employee for refusing to reply to Slack messages after hours, she made sure to tell him who was at fault for that.