Working at a 9-5, kind of insulting experience today. How would YOU react?

[Vigilante]

Do what you have to do to keep the job as long as you need the job. If that means eating some shit, eat some shit. You have a bigger end game.

 

[JAJT]

My 2 cents:

All the successful people I know, read about, and listen to, say the same thing:

"When I had a job, it didn't matter what it was - I was the best at it."

I've personally had this paradigm shift hit me recently. I've been so focused on the other side of the fence that the side I'm on always suffered. I always thought "Oh, well this doesn't matter, because I REALLY want what's over there, so that's where my focus should be". Everything suffered with this mindset. I developed lazy habits at my 9-5 and that naturally turned into lazy habits with everything else in my life.

When you develop an attitude of excellence, in EVERYTHING, that habit is transferable. I don't know anyone who works their a$$ off at work and comes home incapable of lifting a finger. Likewise I don't know anyone who is a lazy bastard on the job but is the perfect picture of productivity elsewhere.

Bottom line: if the fence between "here" and "there" is too high, build yourself up on the side you are on until you just have to take a small step over the fence to the other side.

 

[SlimTycoon]

You felt Insulted? Why?


If you're insulted by that, than you're not ready for business. Seriously. You haven't seen anything yet.
Good luck because you'll need it. You're going to need to be a hell of a lot tougher my friend. What are you going to do when one of your customers decides to curse you out? Are you going to feel insulted?

 

[Mr.Dietsch]

Well man until you do not need that job, you take the verbal abuse just like everyone else. Then when the day comes that you can quit, walk up to him kindly and put your two weeks in. Never burn bridges, you never know when you might need someone to fall back on. Definitely make sure he remembers you though, that way in 5 years when you randomly pull up next to him at the gas station in your sick dream car you can make sure to reintroduce yourself and ask him how that 9-5 he still works at is going.

 

[andviv]

He is trying to take your time away from you

Sorry, can't agree with this.

He is not 'taking' anything away from you. He is 'paying' you to provide a service, to work.

Skrew him up and down and side to side and he wouldn't even know it.

Is that how you will be grateful to the people that give you a salary in exchange of honest work?

Is that how you will treat your customers in the future?

 

[TK1]

Taking job things / a boss EMOTIONAL is employees mentality.

Feeling sad, because your boss yelled at you is employees mentality.

Argueing with a boss, saying 'F*ck you' to him is employees mentality.

Understanding that it's business, not personal is boss mentality.

Understanding that you use a job to make ends meet til your own business takes over is boss mentality.

The answer is to work hard, keep your mouth shut and turn your emotions off (especially when other people try to get at you). With determination, patience and luck your time will come.

PS: Nothing pisses people more off than a smile

 

[PatrickP]

Well to start with I never would have only been working just 3 days a week unless I was independently wealthy or making PLENTY of money from my business.

So my response would have been, do you think I could work 7 days a week? Yes serious.

 

[Tommy92l]

Yeah, I think I should shut up about the whole - job on the side - thing. But I mean what would someone say if I was saving up to go to college? I guess a bit different since thats more of a societal norm.

I know I need to grow some thicker skin. See, when he said it to me it wasn't like I cried and couldn't stop thinking about it.

It just had a very subtle impact that said "Holy shit, I finally see why people hate these jobs so much"

Trust me, I know I've got a lot to figure out and I'm far from stable, but thanks for the advice everyone!

 

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[andviv]

I've been so focused on the other side of the fence that the side I'm on always suffered. I always thought "Oh, well this doesn't matter, because I REALLY want what's over there, so that's where my focus should be". Everything suffered with this mindset. I developed lazy habits at my 9-5 and that naturally turned into lazy habits with everything else in my life.

This is pure gold. Rep++ for providing this insight.

 

[Tommy92l]

Well to start with I never would have only been working just 3 days a week unless I was independently wealthy or making PLENTY of money from my business.

So my response would have been, do you think I could work 7 days a week? Yes serious.

Thats very true, I don't have anything to say other than "You're Right."

 

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[DTS Ltd]

So, I work only about 3 days a week, I've found a semi-ok way to do passive income but I still need the other job to finance the rest of my stuff (I'm 20 btw).

So today, my boss walks up to me and says

"Hey, you're working 5 days next week"

Like most of you here, When I am off, I am still working...but on bigger and better projects that make money.....NOT just sitting around waiting to work my 9-5. My motivation for going to work is to realize how much I hate it, which makes me want to work harder"

Anyway, these people just don't get it. Just because I am younger than most of the people there, they act like I'm an idiot when I say "Yeah, I am working from home, slowly building it up....I use this to finance it."

See, I am glad I got the hours, its just more money for me...but I was EXTREMELY insulted by the way he TOLD me to it, he didn't even F*cking ask! As if I didn't have friends, plans, or anything else going on. Just assuming I was a machine ready to roll at his Beck and Call. Also, I couldn't say "Listen, when I don't work here, I work at home". He'd laugh in my face!

How would you guys have responded to this?

The less certain people know about your plans to advance yourself, the harder it is to attempt to sabotage you.

And those co-workers who you think look at you like an idiot? There's a better chance that your efforts off the job will eventually lead to you making enough progress for you to leave that job, which would leave these people questioning themselves.

Work the hours, collect your pay, and handle your business when you have the time. And stop volunteering information to your co-workers! Unless it's someone who appreciates what you are trying to achieve...

 

[Whole Paradigm]

To the OP, I learned real quick to shut-up about my endeavors. I very rarely speak of them. Find a small group of trusted people here if you want to discuss the details and inner workings. Otherwise, you'll receive mostly silly replies and put-downs.

I put my two weeks in at my job the other day. They believe I'm going to work for another company and my ego is just fine with letting them believe so.

 

[mayana]

I'm sure that your boss didn't mean to be insulting. He probably assumes that you are like most people working three days per week: You'd love to work 5! He probably even thought you'd be happy to work 5 days!

As long as you are 20 years old, I'd keep the job, keep the money, develop thicker skin, learn some more lessons at this job. Keep working on your side business, of course, but don't get insulted about someone actually FLATTERING you by offering you more hours at work

 

[JAJT]

but am still trying to be self employed.

Yoda would like a word with you.

 

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[SlimTycoon]

When your boss says "Hey, you're working 5 days next week".. you say "F*ck you!"..

Seriously though, use this experience, use his company to take as much information skills and ideas as you can. Skrew him up and down and side to side and he wouldn't even know it. Take his whole business strategy, and use it in your own business.. take as much as you can. He is trying to take your time away from you - so it's justified. Just be like him towards him but in a way that's not too obvious. And find more paying customers who are willing to pay you for work you love doing so you don't have to put up with this kind of thing.

Your post clearly shows your age and lack of life experience. I'd advise you to take a break from the forum and grow up. Your post is the worst advice I have ever read online. Than again I don't hang out on forums because I have real work to do.

 

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[HackVenture]

Not knowing what sort of job this, what sort of person your boss is and what
his tone of voice was like, I still think it didn't warrant you being upset lol.

You could even have taken it as a compliment like "hey you're doing a great
job I need more of your help so you're working five days next week enjoy the
money" or something like that, alot of people want a job and don't have one bro.

 

[miked_d]

Yeah, I think I should shut up about the whole - job on the side - thing. But I mean what would someone say if I was saving up to go to college? I guess a bit different since thats more of a societal norm.

You don't need to tell them ANYTHING. If they ask, be vague. Say you are saving it. Keep at it until you don't need the 9-5 anymore.

Employers do not usually like workers to have outside jobs. They see it as a possible distraction when you are at work.

 

[mlcmartin]

I'd say, skip the whole 9-5 thing altogether and start in sales. Just approach a business and say "Hi, I wanna sell your stuff.".. and then go out and sell it. "Can you give me a discount?".. "What's the price? It's 35".. "can we say 90 for 3?" Then at least you're going to learn skills that will eventually help you leave your 9-5 forever. You may have to work hard 8-9 at first when you have no skills at all, but the skills you learn in the process of getting better at it, will change your life for ever. Just a thought..

Oh.. and btw.. you shouldn't listen to me. Because aparently I don't have any life experience and my advice is bad, so I shouldn't be spending time on this forum. So don't listen to me.. I'll be back with more life experience later..

 

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[mlcmartin]

Speed+ for the truth.

You think a boss is mean? Wait till you get a CUSTOMER. They can be relentless. They won't accommodate for you.

Think about this: you're running a business and you average around 10 products per week. You've adjusted to this, so you only have at max 15 products on you at once. The next week, a customer comes in with an order of 100 products. Are you gonna feel insulted that they asked you to do more than you bargained for? If that customer doesn't get his 100 pieces by next week, he's not going to be happy.

So you have to do a little extra work. Big deal. Take the paper and do what you do.

BIG BIG BIG difference. When you get an order for 100 products you can pool help from other people and paralellize the delivery to make it happen fast. When you are asked to work a few days extra it's like they tell you here is your prison sentence extended by a few years. Usually you don't get to choose who will do the work - you have to drag your a$$ to the cubicle and do it yourself - AND not even get any kind of recognition for it because the company gets all the credit. So HUGE difference. When a customer comes with an order for 100 products you get the chance to grow and to prove to all the other customers that you can do it. It can be used in marketing, it can be used in testimonials and it can later result in a 1000 product order that comes in through you - for which YOU get paid. When someone asks you to work 100 times more for THEM and not for YOURSELF then you're spending these 100 hours making sure that they get the next big order and not you.

But I guess some people would say it's your "dharma" to serve the company if you have willingly signed the contract with them to be their slave. And some companies tread their slaves better than others. But you are still a slave.

 

[JamesS88]

I don't have the background that a lot of posters do, and I'm still young, but my advice is this: DO NOT talk to coworkers about your entrepreneurial endeavors. It will be used as a weapon against you. When it comes to coworkers, think of it like that line when a cop is reading you your rights, "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." As far as your coworkers are concerned, you're nothing more than competition. They wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire. Not everyone is like that, but more than you would think.

 

[socaldude]

You felt Insulted? Why?


If you're insulted by that, than you're not ready for business. Seriously. You haven't seen anything yet.
Good luck because you'll need it. You're going to need to be a hell of a lot tougher my friend. What are you going to do when one of your customers decides to curse you out? Are you going to feel insulted?

This right here.

One of the biggest things I have ever learned is that Business is War.

Business competitors will do anything they can to deter you and sabotage your business. When I had my first non-fastlane business my competitor did some public research and found that I didn't have a certain permit. They reported me and I got hit with a heavy fine. They violate your copyrights etc etc.

Because the majority are sidewalkers, the majority of your customers will be sidewalkers. They yell at you and threaten to sue you over $60 EVEN if you are nice and give a complete cash refund AND let them keep the product EVEN if you clearly stated no cash refunds. No joke.

Employees will steal from you. They can make errors that can costs you big time.

When I first started I was really sensitive, trusting and WAY too nice. And I paid the price big time. Now I don't trust anybody; not even the little old lady next door. Now I am very stern and assertive, I stand my ground. And now I separate business from friendship.

 

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[andviv]

As if the job was my life.

But of course it is.... for him.

He probably assumes that you are like most people working three days per week: You'd love to work 5! He probably even thought you'd be happy to work 5 days!

True that.

You're basically telling them,"Oh hai dere, I want yo money so I can leave later". Something like that at least.

I don't agree.

Have you heard of the term 'networking'? It basically means you should talk to people and see how you can help them and, maybe, they can help you too.

I talk about my plans to co-workers. Friends. Family.

Yup, most don't get it.

But some of them do.

When they see an opportunity, they call me because they know I am doing something similar.

When they think about a business, they talk to me, ask me for my opinion. Invite me to invest or partner with them. Why? Because they know I get it.

This is a very lonely path. Why make it lonelier?

But again, I am OK with it because I am, most of the time, ok with the people that try to put me down. Simply ignore them.

****************************

How do I do this?

I tell them about a story I read about an entrepreneur. I use examples of others, to see how they react.

Or I ask them about their dream.

To a boss, you can easily tell her/him: "You are very good at this... have you thought of running your own business?"

If they are human, you get a 99% chance of them having spent at least a couple of hours thinking about it.

Let them talk.

But the key point here is, you first need to be willing to help them and expect nothing, NOTHING, in return.

Anyway, I seem to have this particular way of thinking, so to each its own.

 

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[mayana]

Bottom line: if the fence between "here" and "there" is too high, build yourself up on the side you are on until you just have to take a small step over the fence to the other side.

That's a pretty cool way to think about it.

 

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[faromic]

This post is in response to a comment I saw on the first page of this thread about demanding more money for working the extra time.

I don't think that demanding a higher rate for work 2 days during the week is gonna fly. At the places I've worked I've never seen anyone even think about saying that. Remember most people are replaceable at their jobs. They think they aren't but they are. It's like your sitting at work thinking how great the work is that you do and no one can perform at this level. It's a false sense of security.
I've been around this first hand. My dad has a business and sometimes his employees ask for a raise of $1 an hour because they're doing good work..Sometimes he gives it to them sometimes he doesn't. But I'm pretty much certain if they demanded more money he'd tell them to go find someone else to pay them that money.
As a matter a fact there was a situation like this recently. He was bidding on a job and in order to get it he had to do to it for a lower price that he wanted. So he approached a couple employees and asked them if they would be willing to do the project at a fixed rate. They didn't want and stayed home instead not getting paid. It's a construction business and work can be scarce in the winter.

The point is that I doubt demanding more money is going to get you anywhere. You may even burn a bridge, which I don't like doing, even though I plan to have my own businesses one day.

 

[Tommy92l]

So, I work only about 3 days a week, I've found a semi-ok way to do passive income but I still need the other job to finance the rest of my stuff (I'm 20 btw).

So today, my boss walks up to me and says

"Hey, you're working 5 days next week"

Like most of you here, When I am off, I am still working...but on bigger and better projects that make money.....NOT just sitting around waiting to work my 9-5. My motivation for going to work is to realize how much I hate it, which makes me want to work harder"

Anyway, these people just don't get it. Just because I am younger than most of the people there, they act like I'm an idiot when I say "Yeah, I am working from home, slowly building it up....I use this to finance it."

See, I am glad I got the hours, its just more money for me...but I was EXTREMELY insulted by the way he TOLD me to it, he didn't even F*cking ask! As if I didn't have friends, plans, or anything else going on. Just assuming I was a machine ready to roll at his Beck and Call. Also, I couldn't say "Listen, when I don't work here, I work at home". He'd laugh in my face!

How would you guys have responded to this?

 

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[wade1mil]

At your age, I would have been happy to work two extra days. If that were to happen today, I would tell him he's going to need to find someone else to cover the shift because I have prior obligations. No argument or debate, just hey I'm letting you know. Being insulted is just the way you took it and he doesn't care if you were insulted. You are a tool in that business and they'll use use as they please. It's part of being an employee.

One thing to keep in mind is there are certain laws in terms of changing a schedule. In California, I believe you must change an employees shift at least 48 hours before they're scheduled.

 

[Tommy92l]

Do what you have to do to keep the job as long as you need the job. If that means eating some shit, eat some shit. You have a bigger end game.

Agreed. And its not like I have never had someone talk down to me, obviously, its just that I didn't expect someone to present it that way.

 

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[PatrickP]

Why are you only working 3 days a week?

Who pays for your housing, food etc?

 

[mlcmartin]

When your boss says "Hey, you're working 5 days next week".. you say "F*ck you!"..

Seriously though, use this experience, use his company to take as much information skills and ideas as you can. Skrew him up and down and side to side and he wouldn't even know it. Take his whole business strategy, and use it in your own business.. take as much as you can. He is trying to take your time away from you - so it's justified. Just be like him towards him but in a way that's not too obvious. And find more paying customers who are willing to pay you for work you love doing so you don't have to put up with this kind of thing.

 

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[DTS Ltd]

When your boss says "Hey, you're working 5 days next week".. you say "F*ck you!".. Seriously though, use this experience, use his company to take as much information skills and ideas as you can. Skrew him up and down and side to side and he wouldn't even know it. Take his whole business strategy, and use it in your own business.. take as much as you can. He is trying to take your time away from you - so it's justified. Just be like him towards him but in a way that's not too obvious. And find more paying customers who are willing to pay you for work you love doing so you don't have to put up with this kind of thing.

I'll co-sign this. While you're working at this place. Observe everything that you can about the way this person runs their business. Get as much of an understanding of the structure as you can. You'll be able to apply what you have learned into the running of your own business.