Whether we like it or not, the "perfect" job simply doesn't exist. No matter if you work in a restaurant, a warehouse, or enjoy the view from your sun-drenched corner office on the 23rd floor, every career path comes with multiple ups and downs. But when it comes to corporate, the nine-to-five grind definitely holds its challenges. The petty politics, gossiping, bootlicking, and sometimes overwhelming stress are just a few things employees need to navigate in the business minefield.
The good news is, though, that there are workers who set out on a mission to make our journey a little bit easier. Like TikToker Taha_haha_ who recently went viral for creating a series of videos about the struggles of her daily corporate life. The worker shared the lessons she learned the hard way — so that you won’t have to.
From advice on how to use PTO to when's the time to switch jobs, the woman’s tips seem to have deeply resonated with many employees. Over 2.4 million people have watched one of her clips, chiming in with things they realized themselves while climbing the corporate ladder. Read on to find out some of her illuminating insights, as well as the comments they received on the platform, and be sure to tell us what you think about them in the comments!
Recently, a woman went viral for listing the lessons she learned while working in corporate
Image credits: taha_haha_
In one of her videos, she also explained when and how to ask for a raise
Image credits: taha_haha_
You can watch her full video, which got over 2.4 million views, right over here
"Being the hardest working person doesn't get you as far as you think it would," Taha_haha_ mentioned in one of her tips, and she certainly has a point. We’ve long heard about efficient workers getting punished with more work instead of being appreciated for their efforts. Going the extra mile to help your company reach success and feeling undervalued for it is certainly disappointing and has a toll on our well-being. Moreover, pushing yourself to the limit can even affect your state of mind and lead to burnout.
As Joshua Klapow, Ph.D., psychologist and creator of MentalDrive, explained in a previous interview, burnout is a condition that is officially recognized by the World Health Organization as an occupational hazard. He mentioned to Bored Panda some of the most important symptoms people in traditional corporate roles often overlook, yet should be on the lookout for:
- Fatigue related to work
- Emotional disengagement and/or apathy for the job
- Dissatisfaction with the work environment despite any changes or positive modifications
- Difficulty concentrating at work, diminished productivity and efficiency, greater frequency of mistakes
- A general dislike for the present work with no optimistic view of changes in the future
When employees experience burnout and stress due to working too much, it’s crucial to take some time off. Unfortunately, people often feel guilt about leaving their projects behind, fear losing their peers’ respect, and feel hesitant to use their PTO. But according to leadership expert Selena Rezvani, every worker needs PTO to refuel instead of seeing it as something to use when there’s a huge surplus.
"Research shows North Americans are the most stressed-out workers in the world. If you think about it, it’s hard to be results-obsessed and NOT get burned out," she said. "I tell people that dedication and hard work are things to be proud of, but when we take time off regularly, we have better health, stamina, and engagement at work. Not just that, we actually perform better and work harder."
The leadership expert explained that "PTO guilt" is real and that there’s still a stigma against taking a well-deserved vacation. "Employers need to stop vacation-shaming and incentivizing people to have 'perfect attendance.' It’s crazy to me that there are workplaces that give out perfect attendance awards and financial incentives to those who don’t use their PTO at the end of a period," she added, noting it’s not conducive to normal human rhythms to work like a robot.
"As a grown adult who knows their body, don’t require a person to provide a justification or reason to be out! It’s time to normalize using PTO regularly because more than half of Americans don’t take all their PTO in a year — compared to France where 90% of people take all their PTO."
Moreover, leaders and management should normalize encouraging people to fully step away when taking time off. "That’s important because when Americans do take vacations, 41% are checking into work while away, and a whopping 84% of executives have canceled vacations in order to work."
TikTokers appreciated the woman's tips and chimed in with their own experiences in the comments, here’s what they had to say
