Redditor AMGBOI69420 wanted to hear about what it was like to work for the insanely rich, so they asked:
"People who work for the super-wealthy, what stuff have you seen?"
I've also had rich friends who didn't clean clothes.
They bought new every week.
You can't make this stuff up.
Musical Chairs
Make It Rain Money GIF by Tim and EricGiphy"Pumped a bunch of money into the Malibu City counsel in order to change a few seats. This would allow him to have the local ordinance changed so his front doors could be taller than 20 feet."
losthours
A Personal Willow
"Worked as one of four full-time groundskeepers at a large estate. 46 acres of lawn to mow twice a week. 2 clay tennis courts, 3 pools, one for the main house, and one for each of the two guest houses. 100+ acre private lake with boat house. No clue how big the whole estate was including the woods. My personal favorite was the 3-mile personal race track."
"But what really blew my mind was that he hosted his niece's wedding one summer, and paid $350k to have this massive willow tree trucked in and planted by the lake for wedding photos. Only to pay another $50k to have it removed and the landscaping returned to its original state after the wedding because he did not like the look of it."
Rarnah
Different Shades
"I used to work at a jeweler that sold Argyles amongst other precious things. We had one big money customer who never wore anything more than Hawaiian shirts and shorts (think on-holiday Adam Sandler) who would come in and tell us 'I’m feeling like a (color) diamond today.' And we’d show him the collection we had at the time of those colors."
"He had dozens just sitting in our vault. Loved collecting them but he never took one home. Sometimes he’d book a visit and we’d get them out of the vault for him to look at over a glass of whatever drink he felt like. The cheapest I saw him buy in my time there was $130k."
princess_bubble
I Don't Understand
"I often do work for the wives of wealthy professionals. The thing that has always stood out to me is that if I tell them that something they want isn't doable, they respond with literal confusion. It isn't anger. It's confusing. They are so unaccustomed to not being given exactly what they want that it's as if they don't understand what is happening when they are told they can't have something."
ShakyTheBear
Take This
Cash Gifts GIF by DigiGiphy"Not the craziest thing but wild to me."
"I was working for a kind of well-off family during a summer. I went inside to get a drink and the mom was cleaning the kitchen putting things away and such. She picks up a Macbook and says to me 'Hey, do you want this? No one uses it.' Got a brand new Macbook for college."
kingJoffi
I held onto my last Macbook in hopes that someone would just give me a new one.
Like on TV.
It didn't happen.
Let's Party!
Real Estate Thanks GIF by The Masters Division at Nest Seekers InternationalGiphy"I set up a party for a family out in the Hamptons that bought the house next door just to level it and set up a giant temporary party tent on the plot. Wild sh*t."
BinxieSly
Take it All...
"My brother-in-law builds custom homes in the redneck Riviera belt of Florida. One day, he called me to come over to this $15m beach house he was doing a complete remodel of. He was the original builder. He asked me to bring my truck and trailer. I show up, and he walks me through all four floors. He then says, 'The owners have removed all the stuff they want to keep. She has told me to dispose of everything as I see fit. Get what you want.'"
"Furniture, appliances, outdoor furniture, rugs, lamps, artwork, you name it. I don't know the value of everything I took home with me that day, but it was the highest-end stuff I've ever seen. FOUR floors of it, and I only got one trailer load because I simply couldn't fit anything else in my house. I likely had over $20k worth of furniture and appliances on that trailer."
Blackhawk-388
Money well spent
"Had a client come into our 3D printing office. His attention was immediately caught by a large industrial 3d printer in our showroom. Pulled out a credit card and bought a $250k machine on the spot. The best part was when we installed the machine at his facility. The first thing he wanted to print was a meter-tall penis. A few weeks after the install we got a photo of him standing next to the meter penis. Money well spent."
robertcboe
Not a Bad Dude
"An old boss did extremely well and sold off the lion's share of his ownership but wanted to stay involved in the company anyway, so he'd drive his absurd supercar to the office and just hang out. One day he came into the office and it was set up in such a way that the executive offices were in a little 2x2 office glass pod in the middle (with curtains for privacy if needed) and our rows were arrayed around them."
"I'll say this though, he wasn't a bad dude. We may not have seen eye to eye on politics but if you worked for the company he knew your name and would hang around and chat. Super generous around the holidays with time off and the big holiday party/door prizes/stuff of that nature. The company went way downhill when he finally let go of the reigns completely."
GWindborn
Money well spent...
kennedy center honors mic GIFGiphy"I moved the guy that created eBay. He had Aretha Franklin's grand piano (played it) and Elvis Presley's coat (didn't wear it)."
Interesting-Step-654
I want Aretha's piano and Elvis' coat.
I would wear the coat while playing the piano.
Curious to hear what strangers online would think about modifications to their work schedule, Redditor LanaDelCoochie asked:
"Do you believe in the 4 day work week? Why or why not?"
People mentioned how poor time management was more problematic.
Marking Time
"Some jobs are literally waiting for something to happen."
– Leeiteee
Working Efficiently
"I don’t mind working if I’m busy, but sitting somewhere staring at a clock waiting for the time when I’m ‘allowed’ to leave drives me crazy. If there’s nothing for me to do, let me go home. You’re just wasting my time and your money."
– uglyuglydog
Slow Shift
"I'm food service, my first store was so slow I only needed 2 people in the afternoon. I intentionally worked 11-2 then 5-11 just so I didn't have to twiddle my thumbs and clean already clean things for 3 hours each day."
– BlueNinjaTiger
Stress Of Killing Time
"My current job (the contract for which expires next Friday, but is up for negotiation tomorrow) is 15-20h WFH at my convenience. I wake up at 3am, log in, and work until everyone else in my house gets up- usually, 7. If I need to add some hours, I log in again while my toddler is at preschool."
"A few years ago, when I worked for this same company, I was tied to a desk in a poorly-renovated school building and very frequently had nothing to do. I cannot tell you how many books I read during my days at my desk in the summer with nothing to do. I browsed Reddit a fair amount, sure, but it was easier to leave a Kindle window open just a sliver next to an Excel spreadsheet to look busy. I re-read a few of my favorites; I read many new things."
"But it was so maddeningly frustrating to be stuck inside at work with literally nothing to do, waiting for anything to come to my inbox!!"
– WomanOfEld
People discuss the pros and cons of working remotely.
Benefits Of Working From Home
'If there’s nothing for me to do, let me go home.'
"Which is one of the reasons I've liked working from home since Covid started. If things are slow and I don't have anything to do, I can relax for a bit and wait for stuff to pick up."
– Surax
Being Productive While At Home
"100%. I'm newish at my current job, so I try to be in the office as much as I can. But if it's a slow week and I already foresee my Thursday/Friday being slow- I'm staying home. I'm still doing what I have to do, but I can simultaneously do other things like read or watch something without feeling guilty, do some laundry, hang with my dog, etc. After my first full year I will most likely be normalizing this to be my Friday each week at the very least."
"On the other side of the spectrum, my last job was fully remote and I was a little too bored and also didn't push to do anything beyond my basic responsibilities, so that was very unhealthy. It's good to be at least moderately productive and accept a new challenge every now and again. I basically did nothing for 2 straight years."
– daveblu92
It's A Preference
"I totally get why people love it, but I am so unproductive at home it‘s crazy. Tried nearly every trick in the book, but when it comes down to it just going to somewhere else for work does the trick for me."
"I think working from home is a nice tool, but it certainly isn‘t a solution for everyone. And even working from home a 4 day week makes a big difference."
– Ulldra
Not For Everybody
"For me, I am discovering the reason for my unproductivity is lack of interest in the work. Like, if I go into the office then I feel I have to make it worth it by getting the work done. If I am working from home though... I feel so unproductive because I just don't care. Like I could get the work done easier while nobody is interrupting but instead I interrupt myself."
"I've got one more week in the current job then I start a new one where I actually feel interested in what I will be doing there. Who knows how long that will last for but it just feels more like something I'd like to think about than twiddling my thumbs."
"Not the case for everybody but something to consider."
– Libriomancer
The limited work schedule seemed to please a good majority of people.
The Popular Opinion
"You might be surprised. I work with a lot of folks who still do the five-day work week, but all of them have been incredibly respectful and accommodating of our 4-day week. They ask me to schedule a meeting or call on a Friday, I reply with 'I don't work on Fridays, what other options work for you?' and they invariably give me other options without batting an eye. And frequently say 'I wish we were on a 4-day week, too.'"
– Mehitabel9
The Thing About Fridays
"It’s because even people who 'work on friday' don’t really work on Friday. Especially if your office has a WFH policy, 90% of the company will be from home on a Friday. And 95% of that group is signing off at 1pm, and breezing through their morning/just shaking their mouse. Just watch peoples skype statuses on Fridays lol."
"And even before Covid when I had to go into the office on Friday, it was well recognized that Fridays were for chilling. You don’t schedule a 3pm friday meeting."
– Count_Rostov_
Worker Burnout
"Yes worker burn out is real."
"So much work in offices is just created to fill time, make things more efficient, pay people the same, get the same amount done with happier workers."
– lemons_of_doubt
Opinions varied across the board since different jobs come with specific demands.
But the overall complaint had to do with the mismanaging of time, with many arguing if there was no further work to be done at an office, employees should be sent home.
Conversely, even a handful of those who worked remotely had the itch to be in a less distracting environment.
Personally, I'd rather be working from home than inside a cubicle at a job location–even though the latter may be more conducive to work efficiency.
What are your thoughts?
Redditor rectangularbear wanted to have a chat about the aspects of life we all wish we could've experienced a little easier.
"What's a life lesson you learned the hard way?"
I have nothing to add. I only know how to make anything and everything hard.
Slow Down
In Love Thank You GIF by La Guarimba Film FestivalGiphy"Don't fall too fast for someone."
liftoffsavage
"That's why it's called falling."
ShoppingOutrageous87
Too Much
"High expectations are prone to leading to disappointment. This applies to all things, but personally, I find that it applies to people the most."
Artistic_Bug630
"I messed up with this big time. Talked me ex fiancé up like she was an angel straight for heaven. Turned out to be the Devil wearing Prada. Had to walk into church by myself looking straight busted when everyone found out my 'angel' dumped me."
RealTalk1250
The Smile
"Go to the dentist. Teeth don't heal, they only get worse."
Present-Skill-4114
"I know a guy who can’t understand why he can’t get a girlfriend. All of his teeth are rotted and discolored except one. Idk about anyone else, but to me that’s worse than just having no teeth at all. Idk if he realizes how much worse bad teeth can make you look."
Shadowweavers
Bad Blood
"Just because someone is family doesn't mean they will not screw you over."
Great-Panic-9504
"I too am among some of the many who have learned this the hard way. Foolish me experienced this time and time again before I finally realized that I have friends who have made better family than any of the blood related members of my life."
Mystrrrscat2901
"I really hate the 'Family is everything' mentality some people espouse, as if the accident of blood relation excuses or entitles someone to abusive, manipulative behavior."
Dahhhkness
Single is Happy
Jimmy Fallon Television GIFGiphy"Don’t settle, and if you get the vibe someone is settling for you, end it. Loneliness isn’t half as bad when compared to heartbreak."
TheStinkBoy
"Regretting that single Tinder swipe after dating a paranoid for 11 months now, scared as hell for what could go wrong if I dump her."
bright-son
Love is one of the most difficult things ever. Why so?
Seriously?!
Will Smith Prison GIF by mtvGiphy"That when my Uncle says 'I won't bail you out of jail' what he actually means is 'I won't bail you out of jail.' Who'd have thought."
blaze980
You got You!
"Nobody is gonna watch out for you, like you."
1980pzx
"I saw something the other day written by another foster parent that said 'I became the kind of person I wish would've saved me when I was a kid.' Punched me right in the feels because it's absolutely true, for me anyway."
MissSassifras1977
The Heat
"Don't set yourself on fire to keep other people warm."
realistic_b**tard
"Woah. This is all I've needed. I will never be the same. I will never think the same. I swear my life will only get better from here on. Such a simple sentence. Didn't think a reddit comment had the capacity to change my life so much. Obviously you haven't invented the phrase, but thank you for your comment."
fairycxt
Keep Trying
"Don't give up on something without even trying. Even if you are convinced you will fail. In life, no one will do it for you, you have to do it yourself."
Automatic-Cat-7777
"Yes. And don’t gauge your potential on your self-confidence. Even if you feel there’s no way you can do something, and even if you fail miserably on your first try, keep trying. You’d be amazed at how many people who got good at something but started out as the worst at it."
vanityislobotomy
Say Bye
Bye Bye Peace GIF by Cappa Video ProductionsGiphy"Trust your gut when friends do bad things. It’s ok to leave relationships."
Myrtle_The_Tortoise
Life doesn't have to be so hard. Why do we make it so?
Redditor tiredofland wanted to hear about the times they had to deal with emotions at work.
They asked:
"How do you handle people crying at work?"
I have cried many a time over the years. Especially when waiting tables. A hug always helped.
Condolences
six feet under GIF by HBOGiphy"As a funeral director, I tend to just touch them on their arm and hand them tissues. And stay quiet."
Oct92018
Cry on Me
"I usually provide a tissue. I often get hugged. My last job, we had a meeting and one of the people in the meeting, well, she seemed off. Everyone filed out and I kind of lingered, asked, 'Hey, is there something wrong you want to talk about?' Boom, waterworks, she had to put her cat down this morning, etc. I am the guy in the office people cry on, I guess."
Nadaesque
to a science...
"I'm a teacher, so it's a near daily occurrence for me. I have a jar full of candy - usually chocolate- on my desk (the kids call it sad candy), a chair, and a big round plush bird toy just the right size for hugging. His name is Sherbert, cause he's colored like rainbow sherbet. They can talk it out with me or just cry in silence if they'd rather, but I just sit with them until they're ready to re-join the world. It's sad, but I have this crap down to a science."
ThePhiff
The Stress of It All
"I work for a 911 center, you better believe there is crying. Especially when an employee is new and they give CPR to an infant and its not a positive turnout, someone kills themself while you are talking to them on the phone. Pretty soon your heart and soul die and you can deal with it, but something especially awful happens and it hits you. I have been doing it for 28 years and have seen plenty people come and go, who couldn't handle the stress?"
One-Butterscotch-786
Fur Babies
"In the veterinary industry, unfortunately, if you notice a co-worker is or has been crying, usually you pretend not to have noticed, maybe ask them nonchalantly if they can do something for you that isn't client-facing for a while like fill prescriptions, and don't bring it up later unless you're friends outside of work."
"Everybody cries at work at some point, and it's not even usually about a sick/dying animal. If a client is crying though, you have to be sensitive, empathetic, comforting, gentle, offer them privacy and condolences without smothering them."
"Clients cry for the reasons you expect, and of course it's hard to see them through it, because dealing with a sick or dying pet is hard. Staff will often shed a tear in these appointments too, but most often when a co-worker is crying it's because another person went out of their way to hurt them. Be kind to your veterinary staff folks, we feel pain too."
sainttawny
People do seem to cry a lot. Makes sense, I do.
I'm Here
Tell Schitts Creek GIF by CBCGiphy"'Is there anything I can do?' Then just listen. Often the listening is enough."
Pavlock
Kindness
"I work in healthcare, so this happens quite frequently. Usually it’s patients. Most often, people just want their feelings validated and that someone understands them. That’s all. Being empathetic goes a long way."
moscowmulesplz
"Yes! Empathy truly goes a long way!"
ElBarbon026
Alone
"Saw a chick crying at work, sitting outside. Half wanted to ask her if she was ok but when someone is crying hard sometimes they just want to be left alone in their feelings and it must be embarrassing enough to cry at work, so I left her alone and kept walking."
KiwiCatPNW
He is Awful
"Many years ago I (male) was having an extended discussion with a female coworker about something technical and I noticed that she would periodically start crying during our talk. I was so dense that I thought (perhaps out of intended politeness) that I should just ignore this and go on."
"For some reason I have often thought about this and reflected on the fact that it would have been much more humane to at least ask her if she was OK, if she would prefer to talk later, if she would like to talk instead about what was upsetting."
"Later I heard from someone else that she had travelled to the area from another state with her boyfriend. He had a job at another company nearby that was expanding rapidly and she had received the news that he was already cheating on her with multiple coworkers."
fund0us
I'm Blind
"I follow the golden rule so I ignore them, pretend not to see them, and later talk to them normally like nothing happened, because that is what I want in their position."
xyanon36
"Same! I tend to get more upset if someone checks on me, because now I'm embarrassed and feel exposed on top of what's causing me to cry in the first place. Since I never want to be the cause of that, I won't ever approach someone in that state."
Annonymous_97
There is no perfect way to comfort somebody. You just do it. Or apparently... look away.
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Most people are very lucky to have a job, even if they complain about the long hours. But is there a breaking point when a person decides it's time to walk away?
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor r4y4d0 asked:
"Would you quit a job for mental health? Why or why not?"
For these Redditors the decision to quit is better than the alternative.
No-Brainer
"Buddy, people quit life over mental health. Of course I’d quit a job for it."
– Catburglar1987
"I've quit jobs because of mental health twice. The second time was after a very close call on the quitting life front (close enough to involve psych emergency services)."
"2 years later I still don't feel safe returning to office work (certain personal factors and the fact that it happened in 2 out of the 2 full time jobs I've ever had make me worried I'm at too high a risk of it happening again for my comfort). Luckily I have a good remote work option now due to contacts and goodwill made at job #2. I know at one stage I'm going to have to up the therapy and bite the bullet but now ain't it."
– Aenthralled
Beware The Burnout
"You can quit to get ahead of the burnout. I've burnt out before and it sucks. I recently found myself going down the same path so I dropped a uni course and asked my boss to move me to less emotionally stressful work. It worked! So I would say it is not 'the same picture' because quitting for mental health might save you from a lot of misery."
– Cytokine_storm
Workplace anxiety raised blood pressure to dangerous levels.
But Before Quitting...
"I DID quit a job for my mental health. They replaced me with three people. My blood pressure dropped 10 points in a week."
"Find another job before you quit if you can, though."
– deagh
Diet And Excercise Can Only Do So Much
"Yep. My partner was flagged with alarmingly high blood pressure by the doc recently. We went scorched earth and cut out almost all sodium, ate 90% vegetables, worked out every day."
"Blood pressure didnt start dropping until after they got laid off and lost their stressful job 🥴"
"Take care of yourselves, guys."
– sardine7129
"It's 100% My Job"
"My doc recently tripled my BP med dose, added another BP med, and talked to me about a low sodium diet."
"I lost a kidney 22 yrs ago. The Nephrologist was VERY clear that I needed to watch my salt intake and keep it low. Which I have been since then. I've been in the hospital before because it was so low, lol."
"Just started BP meds this year. It's 100% my job. Healthcare workers are quitting left and right. We've lost 16 people in my department because they got tired of administration BS. Work is a garbage fire right now. I'm jumping this ship as soon as I find another job."
– Tiny_Teach_5466
People continued strongly advising others to put their mental and physical well-being first.
"My wife quit her job over mental health...and the job paid about CDN$160k."
"It saved our marriage, her relationship with our kids, her friendships, and herself."
"So ya...people do it."
– Marlowebabe
Damaging Consequences
"I didn’t do this and faced the consequences. Worked till the lights went out, even though I had serious anxiety and depression because of my job."
"When the lights finally went out, I’ve spent 2.5 years at home with a severe burn out and a depression."
"I urge everyone to put their mental and physical health above their work. It isn’t worth it. Don’t be like me."
– Daanvann
"Don't Be Miserable"
"F'k yes I've done it so many times in my life! The whole point of living is to find happiness and purposes that make you happy. Don't be miserable and end up like the managers of the places you've worked in. That sh*t follows you home even if you try to bury it. Everyone is affected by it especially family members they notice your tone change."
– meatusdeletus91
Triggering Trauma
"I quit the best paying job I’ve ever had for mental health reasons. I was getting paid about $600 every payday (not much, but it was decent for a part time job), but that money didn’t prevent me from having full on breakdowns in the bathroom after my bosses/managers screamed at me in front of the customers. It was so intense that it reminded me of my abusive childhood."
– Toasty825
"Best Decision Ever Made"
"I did it once. Best decision I ever made. Once I realised I was dreading going to work each day, i realised it was time to go. I had been looking around and got a different job, same role in a different company (bonus: for more money!) and put in my notice that day. My life transformed overnight. I literally thought there was something wrong with me and I just wasn’t adjusting to ‘life at work’ after uni and was depressed. Turns out, no, the company I worked for was just f'king depressing. Turns out it’s possible for companies to be nice to work for and are filled with nice people who nice to each other. Crazy!
"Since then, I would ALWAYS tell somebody to ditch a job for their mental health. Just get online and see what’s out there. Only ever leave a job for a job though, I think. Financial instability won’t help your mental state."
– Ilovecheesenwine
Redditors were pretty much unanimous in strongly suggesting people leave their stressful jobs before it's too late.
While the decision to quit is not easy one to make, it's worth looking into other jobs in the meantime that won't cause as much emotional distress.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/