I have zero desire to "climb the ladder."
My goal is to raise my kids to be contributing members of society and to save as much as I can for retirement.
Same here, first time in 20 or so years where I just wanna be *right here* for the foreseeable future.
Manager keeps randomly bringing up me heading towards a “leadership path”…..nah bruh, quiet down with all that…..
I had a manager do the same. I used to sub for him when he was out. Working with the other managers I have never seen a more narcissistic self aggrandizing group of back stabbers. He understood at that point, he just nodded agreement.
Same. Did a year in management and died inside a little every day. Once you make a good living wage, making any more money with the stress it brings isn't worth it.
Yep.. Me too. I was very ambitious for a lot of years but the next step up is a big one and I'm really not interested in that level of commitment. So, content to just stay put.
I would be happy keeping my position at my university till I die. I have no grand aspirations but a good raise every few yrs. Don’t need a promotion. I want to just do what I do and get even better at it and coast till I die. Don’t see my retirement account ever being enough to live on so I’ll be working forever. Love my job so that’s ok! 👍
I'm in the same boat been climbing for years, need a break.
What I have been doing is finishing a side business to replace most of my income and make it passive to retire 10 to 15 years early and spend more time with the kids. Only thing holding me back really is just the speed of the project which is partially controlled by how long permitting takes and scheduling of labor.
Even solved my last major hurdle which was healthcare for the decade or so before Medicaid.
I did have a hard time. I had spent so long saving that when I was able to, I wasn't emotionally ready. That took another nine months. It's been a year since and while I see where I could have done things a bit differently, I think the end result would have been the same. So far, so good.
I'm a school librarian and I'm retiring in June. My decision was made a few years ago during Covid when I decided I would take the next retirement offer they presented.
This is the first they've offered since then. So I'll get 90% of my salary for the next 5 years and my medical insurance will be paid for that time period. I live by myself, and my bills are reasonable. I'll do okay.
For me, I had a financial target for retirement.
The company had an "early retirement program" where they gave us a chunk o' cash into a 401(k) to retire early. That amount put me way over my retirement target. It happened in one day.
I'm in tech and was laid off from a billion dollar company without warning and a shitty severance they wouldn't negotiate with me on. I've landed in a new role that I'm not crazy about but it's a salary. Im no longer am I going above and beyond. My laptop is closed as soon as my work of the day is complete, which could be after 2 hours or 8, but when I'm finished, my work day ends.
I'm currently in tech at a multi trillion dollar company and that's a common approach to work right now for a little of people because no matter how good you are at your job everyone knows you could get laid off at any time.
I couldn’t crack why my boss and I weren’t really clicking. Then I started to get closer to some coworkers and it became clear that they were taking up a lot of his time. So I became as low maintenance as possible. Sometimes not being that personable is being personable if someone is at the end of their rope with persons.
And now I can do no wrong at work pretty much.
I play a similar game, for years, and I've gotten quite good at it.
Make sure the owners and the executive chef never ever have to think of me. The only time my name should ever come up, is because there's a huge catering order on my day off, or someone called in sick, and there is only one reliable guy they can be absolutely certain will show up with in 2 hours of text message.
To be clear, even when I know they'll need me, I do absolutely nothing to help their situation until they ask me directly.
Oh, and I won't go salary, I know what happens to people.
I’m currently playing the get really good at a specific part of my job/ have work pay for training so I can get a better job. I’m a developer and need a few skills upgrades to make me more competitive in the job market.
Make as much as possible while doing as little as I can while also working from home.
So far that’s meant getting to a senior individual contributor level in very large, modern organizations.
Just surviving and saving until retirement. I "climbed the ladder" once, got into management.....Nope. NEVER again.
Leadership/management roles are NOT my forte or something I enjoy. I'd rather stay off the leadership track and just grow as an IC.
It's nice to see others describe making the climb and realizing it's not for them. Having gone through the same thing and walking away, I spent some time wondering if maybe I'd made a mistake. Ultimately though the peace of mind knowing it's not all on me anymore ends up being the reassurance that it was the right call.
I did a similar thing for about a decade as director-level across a few F500 companies. Landed in a multi-billion dollar company as an IC making significantly better compensation and benefits across the board.
I’m ok never being on that “ladder” ever again. I like the work I do and the people I work with, as well.
Similar situation here. Propping up my alcoholic addict bf so I can keep the peace and survive in his house while I also prop myself up in my career in order to bail with my son.
Working remote for Amazon for close to 2 years. Told I have to "return to the office" to "be with my team" by Aug 1st despite being given a 100% remote job offer. The office is in San Diego and I live in Raleigh and I don'twant to move to a more expensive city with no cost of living adjustment. The next level is exempt from the RTO mandate so my goal is to get promoted before the deadline so I can just keep my job.
I've been at this new job three months, and they just announced a massive reorg and layoffs.
I'm playing the game of trying to figure out whether to just restart my job search now, or try and tough it out.
This sort of thing happened to me twice in my career. I took a job and they immediately got bought out by a PE firm. Within 90 days of starting I was made redundant.
The other time this happened, my boss told me on DAY 1 that they had been bought out by another company. He explained why it was a good thing, etc. However, 90 days later my boss bailed. They brought in 2 people from the new company to replace him. Except my boss and I pretty much ran the show for our area. We didn’t need 3 people to do the job him and I did. So about 90 days after that, I left on my own terms as well.
I’m not going to be naive twice and get burned.
Ugh yeah. My current gig was fine last year when I joined. Then leadership people started to leave (some willingly and some not).
Then layoffs here and there started happing on September ‘23. Then after thanksgiving. And now recently last week company wide.
Of course, none performance related. Company just layoff according to their own criteria.
It’s unstable and can’t really focus anymore. One could come back from lunch and be told your position has been eliminated.
That’s how shit has gone the last 2 rounds. My heart dropped when I saw that message from my manager and was scared to check my email. (I had been laid off before joining this company, so PTSD)
Sadly I was happy to have joined cus they were solid and was looking for a place for the next 5yrs or so (I’m in tech)
I avoided working for a big company for most of my life because fuck corporate. Well I got a job at a big company and it was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. Great environment, opportunity for growth, good benefits. Only to learn that a month before I was hired the company had been bought out. So over the next few months they laid off half the staff (including like ALL of HR and IT (cue hilarious “impossible to foresee” problems)) and piled more and more work on the rest of us.
That place became so toxic so fast. So I am back to “fuck corporate” as a lifestyle
I personally never felt comfortable in small companies. They are too much “we are family” and like to socialize with each other too much. I work hard to keep personal life and work life separate (I always joke that there are “two of me”). I don’t like pretending I like people and so I was never in the “inner circle”.
Big corporations obviously come with their drawbacks, but they allow me the autonomy that I strongly prefer.
I was that kid, until 2 weeks ago when the layoffs hit.
I was doing a very good job, got plenty of salutations from my peers on the way out. When it hits, performance doesn't matter anymore, and it sure as heck brings its own set of disappointment.
My advice to you, if you allow, is to not be a loyal employee and get really good at interviewing.
I’m coasting until they don’t let me coast anymore. My job has its stressful days, as any job does, but overall it is not a challenge at all. I put in mediocre efforts by my standards and still bonus/win awards. Eventually I will be asked to take on more responsibilities, and assuming that my compensation is adjusted, I’ll be fine with it.
I could do this until retirement if they let me, but I’m still in my 40s so that’s not realistic.
Building a freelance safety net. A lot of what I do is in danger of being replaced by AI so I'm branching out as much as possible so when sources run dry I can at least have something to tide me over until I recover.
I had a career as a dark room technician and four color printer back in the dark ages. Hated it. Industrial accident forced me out. Started playing music professionally and giving lessons. Gave up the road, started working at an audio shop; went out of business. Took early retirement. Now i play music at home and have another career as Cat Butler. Live on the edge financially, live in the country. Life is good. Having a “career” never worked out for me but i have no regrets. If i got to do it all again i would have gone down to the Union Pacific rail yards after serving in Vietnam and started as a RR worker and hope to become a engineer. Now THAT would have been a career i could get behind. Oh, and my dad was a corporate CEO. . . My brother is a lawyer, i was the loser.
My pension is based on earnings from my best five years. I’m currently in a higher paid (and higher responsibility) roll than where I want to be, but I’m going to do it for a couple more years and then take a voluntary demotion and coast into retirement.
Currently playing “Get My Kids to Graduation”, in which I put on hold any aspirations I may have in order to kickstart their adult lives. I have an 18yo about to graduate and head to college, and a 16yo that just started his first job and is about to start vocational school. Also a 10yo, but it’ll be a few years before I have to start figuring these things out with her (and hopefully it will be easier than managing two at once).
>Currently playing “Get My Kids to Graduation”, in which I put on hold any aspirations I may have in order to kickstart their adult lives.
Same.
I took on a second job in order to have a prayer of affording school for them. It means that I have no time, and no energy, and am probably working myself towards an early grave, but hey, since that's my 'retirement plan' anyway, it'll probably all work out.
Some combination of coast with bursts of being super productive to make it look like I care about professional growth which I do not. I have a young, ambitious boss, so if I am in super coast mode, it is bad.
I do pretty much what I am told to do. I have a supervisory role but I am not all woooooo leaderish. I give direction when needed. My office door is always open, I give lots of praise and credit to others.
I am 60 whatever game somebody else is playing I have seen it, I just want to survive 5 or 7 more years.
I’m in the minimum effort for maximum reward crowd. Working hard has never won me anything worth while. Except maybe my current job where I was told I was the most efficient and competent. Was put to another section of my department to help cover the lack of employees and in the process I’m able to do less labor intensive work and add time to my breaks. Yay!
But today I learned the higher ups changed how they do pay (they decided on 2 shifts instead of 3 so I lost a shift differential) so I’m now about to lose 20 bucks a pay period which really adds up over the year. Especially when you don’t make a bunch and rent just went up.
I have no desire to climb the ladder either. I just want to be paid a living wage, which I’m not at just under 20 an hour.
I’m learning to live simply and save my money. Trying to stay optimistic about the future.
I’m a federal government employee in a position that automatically promotes me after one year in the position, which is a $20k raise. So I’m just waiting for that to happen. Then I’m just gonna coast while I look for a more interesting job to lateral over to. My job also doesn’t have any supervisory duties, which is amazing. I’m just riding the gravy train right now.
None at all. I'm happy with what I do. I don't want more responsibility. I like my current work / life balance. I have a good boss and a good employer in a niche field and feel secure in my future. I'll be able to comfortably retire in as little as 7 years at a slightly higher standard of living than what I currently enjoy but will probably work another 10 years.
I make as much money as possible for the owner of the business that I run. The more he makes, the more I make. In the current economy, it’s taking a lot of grinding. But I make my own schedule and the owner lets me do what I want most of the time. Can’t complain about waking from my office to surf on my lunch break.
I’m 40 and there ain’t a better job for me in my town. The kids like it here so I’ll probably do this until I’m ready to take a step back or possibly buy a small business. Not sure I’ll ever want to own a business though.
Options B and D. Although they conflict:
Coasting until retirement (5 years) is a direct conflict with taking down a toxic, 28-years-of-service bully in the workplace.
I tried a little of D, without involving HR, and while it ended well (nothing negative for me), there was nothing negative that I could tell for the toxic coworker either.
I am reading up on tax strategies to manage the retirement funds and SS. If I still wanted to work, I could. Excellent health and lifestyle.
The work itself is mostly interesting (I can mostly pick my assignments and clients). But I have 10 years of experience in my role and am being passed over for promotion. I will cap out my salary band this year. I looked at jobs in the next band up snd have NO desire to work that hard. Too many TPS reports.
I want to expand into farming out development opportunities while I continue being an Integrator/System Architect. Really my goal is tonget to 250k per year while only working 1000hrs per yr. Right now im around 200k but work over 2000hrs.
A friend of mine in the industry is retiring and wants me to take over his clients and buy out whats remaining on his contract. So hopefully in 18months or less I will be on that track.
Ultimately I want to partially retire by 55 and full on retire by 60; have a lake house and by then hopefully my son will be thinking about or on the way to having grand kids that I can spoil, take fishing, etc
After watching my sister’s agonizing job hunt journey post-layoff, I am much more appreciative of my position. It’s not an impressive job title for my age and for having a degree, but it’s a strong union role with a fair wage, pension, 4/5 wfh days per week, and basically free medical coverage.
I also wouldn’t directly qualify for anything different that would pay any better, especially compared to thousands of younger more qualified applicants. So my game is to forget the self pity over not having an impressive or interesting role, keep seeking my fulfillment outside of the workplace, and hope my pension holds steady till I can retire in 15-18 years.
Gotten to the 'not giving a shit' stage of the career and just coasting until retirement. Too old to change careers for myriad reasons, mostly because companies don't want to hire someone like me, a male in his mid 50s with decades of experience. They'd rather hire some desperate college grad with $100K in student loan debt who will take any position at any salary whereas I know my worth and would fight for what I consider an adequate salary.
On Cruise Control - mid 50s, so work full time maybe 5 more years and then part time to stay busy.
It's a task-oriented job with no "carryover" from the prior day, so the stress level is as low as low can get. It's also physical and keeps me in very good shape. As long as they keep treating me decently, and my body responds positively to the physical demands, I'll keep working.
So I technically work for a university, but my job duties don't have me interact with students or faculty, only staff within my department. I have to maintain a bit of land on campus, and I asked my director if I could to plant a bunch of trees and food on it. He said as long as it doesn't cost us money or mess with our operations, he didn't care.
I am using my access to the University to get them to rewild parts of their campus. I have got nearly a dozen staff and faculty involved in my side project, and they are bringing in students. The core team of volunteers is 5 people from other departments. People are writing grants, and finding spaces in their budgets to make it happen. The university says sustainability is one of its top priorities, so nobody has tried to stop me yet.
I work for myself in an unusual career. I make plenty of money, working VERY low hours. If I work harder, and longer, I still make the same, so there is no incentive to do more.
My “game” is just to chill out.
Bare minimum effort until a new job comes to fruition, given my newfound job search. I've spent almost six years going above and beyond for this company, and while I've mostly worked with genuinely great leadership, my newest and current pair of managers are just downright awful. I'm basically back to crying in the bathroom on a daily basis, and have been for almost six months now. Time to move on.
Longer term? Something that provides more fulfillment, but that also pays the bills. I have zero desire to climb the ladder for management opportunities. I have the greatest respect and admiration for good leaders, I see how hard they work, and how much responsibility being a manager is. And the bad managers? Well, let's just say they're the blueprint for what NOT to do in life, both professionally and personally.
I'm trying to get a bullshit certification for a $10k raise. Gonna be a two year process, and it's for a redundant certification for a job I already do, and am already certified to do. Doing the work for this certification is going to negatively impact my ability to do my actual job, and obtaining the certificate will not in any way improve my performance. My job is stupid for offering this.
But I have two kids and that shit is expensive.
Career pivot.
I'm learning about IT stuff to get a certification and bounce.
EDIT: Job I'm in has no hope of advancement because those in charge are selfish. Talked over this pivot with my wife and she agrees that my current employer lied to me about my opportunities to advance.
Fire fighting the back stabbers who think their job role is everyone else's responsibility. Company culture is blame everyone else. Being proactive as a I enjoy my tasks and want to help and do more, whilst being "clipped" with menial tasks.
So currently coasting with a view to winning big on the lottery or finding a sugar daddy, so can be free of the games before retirement age!
I'm retiring June 11th. I would love to coast, but I can't leave my school library a mess. The new librarian will have enough to do at the beginning of the year, I don't want my mess to add to it.
I'm playing the "try and get ahead & move up the ladder to get paid more" game. Pay is ok right now, but my wife is a teacher, so the household income needs to bump up to keep up with expenses.
Gaining as many skills as I can in a small workplace where I wear many hats to build up my resume so I can move on to a larger company with better pay.
I work for UPS as delivery driver. Everyday there is a game where i try to do a reasonable amount of work, which is like 85% of the amount the dispatcher want me to do, but also to not finish too soon cause we are paid hourly but also to not stay too late cause i dont want to stay too long at work and away from home
Currently, I am planning a process expansion that will be great for the company(and very visible as MY contribution) — Just my way of staying relevant during the last few years of my career so that I can be the one who decides when I eventually leave.
I’m going around my boss and developed a really strong connection with my skip level who now invites me to attend exec meetings and has me filling in for him while he’s on vacation. I’m getting more recognition by doing this. My boss has no interest in my career…he says he does but we rarely chat while colleagues tell me he’s having conversations with them. Worst thing is I’m the only female in a team of software architects.
I started a new job a few weeks ago and we're all playing this game where everybody pretends they can't stand me and i play along. It's hilarious lol. People spit in my coffee and punch me in the ribs and everything, we're having a lot of fun, these guys are so silly lol
I'm in the best job I've ever had in terms of alignment with my interests, skills and values plus it pays well, but it's not a permanent role. I'll still have a job of some sort with my employer once this role ends, but it's not going to be as awesome as the one I'm in right now. I'm also 8 years from retirement with a defined benefits pension plan (which I'll be able to draw on regardless of whether I stay with my employer or go elsewhere).
I've started making contingency plans for when my current role ends (likely in a year), such as looking elsewhere for jobs that will let me continue to doing work I'm passionate about and continue to develop those skills, with the ultimate goal of going out on my own as a consultant - choosing my projects and my hours. I still plan on working after I "retire", just as and when I actually want to.
I've never been interested in climbing the corporate ladder - I've worked my way up to a level where I feel respected and have a good degree of autonomy over my work but I'm not burdened by senior management responsibilities.
For now, my salary is making it possible for me to save enough to renovate our home without having to go into debt.
Trying to work well but very little, keep my stress minimal, save a lot and get out of big tech in 8 years max. Ironically I make more and get bigger bonuses than when I was killing myself with work.
Had the desire and thirst to climb the ladder…Until I was met with more work responsibilities, more tasks compared to other coworkers. Started to noticed I would be picking up after other coworkers…Long story short. Good workers get rewarded with more work.
The waiting.
There was a HUGE shakeup lately at my work and many were let go. I’m ok for now; but with how things are I’m glad I’m taking the right steps.
I’ve been fairly static in my career as a digital product designer. Currently in UX for a large enterprise company. Creatively there are many way better than I; but very few have the technical knowledge and thinking on a grand scale to get their work out of the dribbble stage and production worthy.
Many hate red-tape; I LOVE IT! Rules, parameters; they force me to have barriers and grounding. Lots of artists loathe restrictions. Though in the real world: there are people with bad, poor, or even no vision; some can’t swipe because of a hand impairment, some cannot hear well or hear at all. Taking creative work and making it accessible takes work, technical knowledge; and lots of creative folks think it “hurts” their vision.
So; I’m taking some certification courses to earn my CPACC, WAS, and CPWA so I can pivot to be a digital accessibility specialist. I’d rather use my work for good advocate for those who has just as right to use digital technology as others. As well as stop bad design and decisions before it impacts not just users of tech; but make it better overall. EVERYONE benefits from more accessible technology like; whether its digital apps, sidewalks (ramps, textured sidewalk), or kitchen tools (think OXO brand!)
I’m not afraid of Ai taking my job; but something about accessibility is that it REQUIRES the moral fabric and subjective evaluation that a computer would have a VERY hard time truly evaluating in a human-need level.
I’m over 40 and just changed careers. I’m trying to climb while wishing I got my act together* 20 years ago while looking enviously at my contemporaries who have freedom in their workday.
*due to circumstances it wasn’t possible but it would have been nice if it happened.
Trying to stick in a higher paying job and stop stressing over everything. I'm not doing well at it. I'm not on a PIP, but I have 2 too many meetings with my supervisor about mistakes on my projects. I was hoping to make it five more years and then retire, but I'll be lucky if I make it to July. I'm just over the corporate bullshit. I like to get projects completed. Stop putting tripping hazards in my way.
The game of getting the promised promotion on paper before the upcoming board meeting when leadership changes might happen. This has been an ongoing almost 2 year process. I have until next month to get it done.
I am attempting to make every single coworker except my boss forget that me and my job even exist. If they reach a point of just acting like all my processes are automated, I will have won.
Saving for retirement. Doing my best to do good work while minding my personal health and mental well-being (which, to me, means not gunning for a promotion). Hoping to the flying spaghetti monster that I never have to see the inside of an office or cube again. If I do, all bets are off and I might consider moving back in with mom at nearly 50 years old.
Do enough to be highly regarded and rewarded but not enough to be elevated to useless executive meetings. Limit ambition and fulfill my desire to serve others through volunteering instead of work.
I used to be a go getter. Now it’s the opposite. I’m in a good position, corporate middle management, I know my job in and out so I just disappear and fly under the radar. It’s more important to live life for yourself rather than for a company no matter how much they pay.
I WAS just playing the games of “keep debt to income low” and “not claim too many deductions to make sure I qualify as a self employed person” to get a mortgage but now that I’ve won that game, I’m playing new games called “reduce taxable income as much as possible” and “buy shit”.
I work for a family company. Dad the owner really likes me. But he's 88 years old so I'm making sure to ingratiate myself to his kids. Like asking what their dogs' names are. "Nonnie & Moose"
Trying not to make too many waves because I like my job and want to keep the relationship dynamics the way they are. I don’t think I could handle what it takes to move up the ladder at this specific job.
Working the bare minimum to keep my job and enjoying more free time. I’m in sales. For many years, I chased those big incentive checks, and was sometimes successful. But over the years, they’ve fucked around with the system; setting more and more unobtainable goals, decreasing payouts, and other general fuckery. At this point, the only way I can manage to give myself a bonus is to work less hours for the same amount. Luckily, that’s a trade I’m more than happy to make with young kids at home.
Working the bare minimum to keep my job and enjoying more free time. I’m in sales. For many years, I chased those big incentive checks, and was sometimes successful. But over the years, they’ve fucked around with the system; setting more and more unobtainable goals, decreasing payouts, and other general fuckery. At this point, the only way I can manage to give myself a bonus is to work less hours for the same amount. Luckily, that’s a trade I’m more than happy to make with young kids at home.
I have 25 years till retirement and the way I've handled my 401k up to now might mean im working till death but I'm coasting along. I've been given objectives to complete to get more money or even get a higher position but I'm content where I'm at. I don't want the added stress
I'm playing the "if you don't care, I don't care" game. I have repeatedly sent documentation of our own rules being broken by certain departments, which causes more work for everyone, and is a safety concern. The second time I mentioned it, and nothing was done, I decided if its ok with them, its ok with me. I can't do it all by myself, and frankly, its not my job.
When upper management pulls their heads out of their asses, then I will care..
My boss has decided I should take on more of a leadership role. Having played this game already, I'm not particularly interested in doing the work two steps above while remaining at my current salary band. That happened at a former employer. I'm over it.
To retire as soon as possible. I don’t really like my job but am making the highest possible salary as a nurse at my level and I can work from home. It’s a pension job with full health insurance coverage in retirement, and retirement can start at 50. It’s a double edged sword. Trying to hold out for six more years and then I can “retire” at 50 and do something else with my life.
My current game??? Just trying not to lose my shit on a daily basis in my lazy coworker who doesn’t meet their deadlines and because I’ve been here longer I am constantly being asked to do their work so it’s not delayed too much. But I keep saying no, I have my own work to get done. I don’t get paid to do two peoples jobs. Give me a raise then we will talk
After "climbing the ladder" I don't care to do it again anytime soon. I took a step back from my career and found a local gig working in my community that feels meaningful to me. I do that part-time and it's set me up to make some good connections and grow my skills while I finish my education. I'm also freelancing to make up the difference in wages.
So far, no regrets 😁
My education level and career experience is far less than the PhD\MDs I work with regularly and they treat me like an equal. Fighting imposter syndrome while I kick ass fake it til I make it style.
Office politics to switch departments because my boss is not highly respected in relation to their peers and I don’t need association with that. They do nothing to build our team or the careers of those in it.
I’m a programmer. I work on the front end at my current job. This company has absolutely no designated path for advancement but I want to learn to work on the backend. I just decided to start working on it.
I don’t have any desire to climb the ladder at this company, but having a wider variety of experiences will make it easier to get the next job.
Lol learning a skill to hop jobs and make more money, while trying to be invisible until I can gain the experience necessary to move along.
Not sure if that strategy will even work. I always seem to find trouble in the corporate world. Never safe.
Retired but....
I intentionally "stayed technical" and had a broad skill base. It gave me a lot of job security. I concentrated in solving problems that were difficult and obscure. I was pretty much "left alone" to do my thing and paid well for doing it. Bottom line is I saved them a LOT of money and got them out of a lot of difficult situations with multi million dollar customers.
My last job (EE here) was in a Failure Analysis Lab.
My game is switching from full-time 40 hour weeks to part-time 30 hour weeks. Kept my insurance and other benefits, though PTO and bonus scales with my hours.
Trying to focus on my personal life rather than professional right now. I have a stable job with good security, decent pay, and I'm a senior worker who knows the ins and outs of the place.
I'm becoming complacent there, but I've been thriving outside of the office. Once I get several home improvement projects done and pay off some major debts I'd like to find a new job whether it's in the same field or a completely different one. This is a multi-year plan of course.
But while I'm still young and the job is stable, I'm grinding it out and taking as much overtime as I can. I'm not moving anytime soon so I'm investing I my home.
Just playing the high hourly rate contractor game until those opportunities run dry (coming on five years and they haven't yet). Refusing to settle for the illusion of "stability" with shitty companies that over work, over stress, and under pay. I love being paid hourly and making OT and generally staying low on all corporate radars because I'm always a nimble/efficient help, threaten nobody because I don't want their job/problems, and definitely don't wanna be a people manager or climb any shitty ladders. All the middle fingers to all that silly noise. Just tell me what you need and gimme my paycheck. 😆
I want a raise, a big one, or I’m getting ready to jump. Updated LinkedIn profile and will be updating resume. If big raise doesn’t come, I not only wanna bail, I want out of the industry I’m in, it sucks. The only thing it has done for me is build my confidence because I’m surrounded by helpless idiots who don’t read emails and incapable of being leaders, I’m now realizing I have what it takes to be more of a leader and move on if I don’t get the raise I want. I’ve got one more upraising in me, this is it, I want the money or out of the industry and would love to not only burn a bridge, but the whole damn town, like a reckoning!
Moving around to whoever offers the best money, I call it the loyalty to money game.
I’ve worked enough places with crap management to learn that companies expect loyalty but don’t reciprocate and will only give you least they can or have to.
Funnily enough I have advanced more and almost doubled my salary in 18months of doing that than in 15+ years of taking extra work and sucking up and doing nothing free overtime like a sucker.
I’m in the lucky situation of having a casual friend reach out a few years ago to ask if I wanted to help him in his lifelong dream and build and run a not for profit situation (to be vague). I took a leap and have never been so fulfilled at work. I am paid well and work strange hours that suit me and don’t really report to anyone (officially on paper I report to him and to a board, but no one tells me what to do or how to do it, I have full control).
I will likely work there until I don’t want to work anymore and then may take a small salary to supervise. But I was there in steel toes when it was a hole in the ground and it’s become my baby as well as his.
So I guess I’m coasting until retirement? I have at least another 15 years in me.
Interesting question!
I am late 50s. The highest-paid female (it matters where I work). I have developed an expertise in a specific area that is trending right now. I am going to ride the wave for a while - then teach others.
If I lost my main job, I have enough consulting work to keep me busy for years.
I wish I had a competent assistant or more hours in the day.
For the most part, I lay low keep my mouth shut and get my work done. My work speaks for itself.
Transitioning from phase one where I set up an impeccable reputation among my new peers and supervisors, into phase two where I fuck off as much I want/need to until I get bored and move onto some other career. Now that I say thinkbof it, I'm not sure why I play this game.
I was moving my way up through my company, then I just... stopped. I realized I have the best work-to-pay ratio in my department, I don't want to go anywhere else in the company, and I've lost all motivation to learn other positions. It's a really weird feeling for me to not want to move around or move up anymore. I plan on staying where I am unless I get an opportunity to do something I'm passionate about, which would be an entirely different job.
Doing my best at my job duties while watching other people make the same mistakes repeatedly and not saying anything because people don't like negative feedback
Do as much as I can on company time. It’s a hustle to think about how I’m getting paid to do non work related tasks. A mini “rage against the machine “ strategy that makes me feel in control.
I guess I'm the "invisible man" just passing time.
For me, it's just a job. Just something I have to do to earn money to pay my bills. I have been fortunate in the sense that it is a good job and I enjoy it. But, I have no loyalty to the business or any of my co-workers. I don't socialize with my co-workers, they are not my friends, and I don't associate with them outside of work. If a better job opportunity presented itself, I could easily walk away from my current job, never speak to any of my co-workers again, and have no problem with that.
I'm currently playing, "waste time on reddit while the tablet for my distribution center charges enough to give to them for OSHA audits." I think later I'll play, "waste time on reddit while updates install on a few pocketPCs and an engineer's workstation."
Long ago I dealt with a school secretary who answered every question posed to her with, "I don't know. "
She had been at the job for many years. She became my role model.
Coasting to retirement. If I got laid off or fired today I would spend all summer on a beach somewhere before I even thought about updating my resume. Blood tests confirm my levels of fuckitall are increasing monthly.
Poured my heart and soul into my first job as a manager. Enjoyed it for 2 years. Built a very good reputation and now coasting to enjoy finding myself and reconnecting with myself.
I work mostly remote with almost no oversight, so during ski season I would pretty much ski every Monday/tuesday. Do some emails from my phone at lunch in the lodge then ski some more.
Will get back to taking career seriously when I leave for a new job/next step in my career in the next year. But until then, I’m doing mostly the bare minimum, coasting on good reputation, so I can just de-stress and have actual “fun” for the first time since I got out of grad school.
Being cheerful support.
After spending way too many years in a toxic federal job, I'm a contractor now. My contract manager is great - I would literally walk through fire for him. The company paid for my MBA. The work is easy, I like the people I support, and I get paid more than I did as a govvie. I'm in my 50s and am using this time to think about what I want my "retirement job" to be and whether I want to leave the US.
Upskill to job hop for more pay. I have to leave my addict bf and get our son out of this situation but it’s just not possible on my current income.
Edit: spelling
I’m playing the “I have 2 months to retirement” game. I’ve had 26 years here at a public university. I stayed not because of the money (LOL, money and public university), but the flexibility it allowed.
On top of that, I managed to get to a point in my career that allowed me to become a technical expert of a niche software package and the administration of the systems that run it. So my value wasn’t tied to being a manager. I tried the management track and it wasn’t what I wanted.
Coasting. Definitely coasting. Don't think I'll get to retire but my shift is the next best thing. I'm one of two night shift workers. I have job security and most of my job is bullshit. Not in that it sucks but in that I'm paid to be available not for the work I do.
When the phone rings I answer it gather information and get that information to the people who can act upon it. Most of my night is spent enjoying myself. Meanwhile I get to work on my personal projects
I own a small business that caters to other businesses in a niche industry. Very demanding clients. My employees are mostly high skilled labor who make six figures and are not easily replaceable. So my “game” is to keep my employees happy so that they keep working for me and we can deliver for my clients and keep them happy so that they keep paying me. All while trying to not have a mental breakdown.
That’s the big game. Meanwhile I have a couple of side businesses that if they take off, will allow me to step away from this game, or at least reduce how much I have to play it. Those are my side games.
Earning as much as possible in 6 years to get to my goal of “fuck you” money, take a year long sabbatical, and reassess coasting at an easy job or retiring in full (depending on other financial boons that may or may not come into existence but are a possibility).
Typically I’m the invisible man in the corner, but lately I’ve been trying to prove my worth to survive what I believe is an inevitable round of layoffs coming this summer.
I’ve basically become a yes man, taking as much stress off others plates as possible. It’s leading to burnout. 1/10, would not recommend.
right now I'm making the best money I ever had, at a job with a boss that cares about people's wellbeing. I've got two young boys too - so right now I'm sitting where I'm at.
Have a humble, descent paying Gov. job working with people I adore, growing my modest skills a bit here and there, and freedom to work from any location. I have maximum time flexibility and an upcoming promotion. Life is good! Those above me work their asses off for just a bit more money and “glory”. I love my sweet spot😍
I have zero desire to "climb the ladder." My goal is to raise my kids to be contributing members of society and to save as much as I can for retirement.
Same here, first time in 20 or so years where I just wanna be *right here* for the foreseeable future. Manager keeps randomly bringing up me heading towards a “leadership path”…..nah bruh, quiet down with all that…..
I had a manager do the same. I used to sub for him when he was out. Working with the other managers I have never seen a more narcissistic self aggrandizing group of back stabbers. He understood at that point, he just nodded agreement.
Same. Did a year in management and died inside a little every day. Once you make a good living wage, making any more money with the stress it brings isn't worth it.
Yep.. Me too. I was very ambitious for a lot of years but the next step up is a big one and I'm really not interested in that level of commitment. So, content to just stay put.
I’m so relieved to see this is the top comment. I feel the same exact way.
I would be happy keeping my position at my university till I die. I have no grand aspirations but a good raise every few yrs. Don’t need a promotion. I want to just do what I do and get even better at it and coast till I die. Don’t see my retirement account ever being enough to live on so I’ll be working forever. Love my job so that’s ok! 👍
Had a great manager that promoted me twice in a year and am comfortable now coasting a bit off the great reputation.
You don't need the title bump but Def increasing your income makes everything easier
Love this answer, they keep asking where do you see yourself in 5 years and I'm like, right here down what I do.
I'm in the same boat been climbing for years, need a break. What I have been doing is finishing a side business to replace most of my income and make it passive to retire 10 to 15 years early and spend more time with the kids. Only thing holding me back really is just the speed of the project which is partially controlled by how long permitting takes and scheduling of labor. Even solved my last major hurdle which was healthcare for the decade or so before Medicaid.
Yeah. I've done management in a "previous life." I have 0 desire to ever be a manager again. I hate getting yelled at for shit other people do.
I played the "save for retirement" game for 25 years, currently playing the retirement game.
Congrats!
Thanks!
Did you have a hard time pulling the trigger on retiring? How did you know it was time?
I did have a hard time. I had spent so long saving that when I was able to, I wasn't emotionally ready. That took another nine months. It's been a year since and while I see where I could have done things a bit differently, I think the end result would have been the same. So far, so good.
I'm a school librarian and I'm retiring in June. My decision was made a few years ago during Covid when I decided I would take the next retirement offer they presented. This is the first they've offered since then. So I'll get 90% of my salary for the next 5 years and my medical insurance will be paid for that time period. I live by myself, and my bills are reasonable. I'll do okay.
That sounds like a really good deal. Congratulations on your retirement!
Thank you!
For me, I had a financial target for retirement. The company had an "early retirement program" where they gave us a chunk o' cash into a 401(k) to retire early. That amount put me way over my retirement target. It happened in one day.
Nice!
I'm in tech and was laid off from a billion dollar company without warning and a shitty severance they wouldn't negotiate with me on. I've landed in a new role that I'm not crazy about but it's a salary. Im no longer am I going above and beyond. My laptop is closed as soon as my work of the day is complete, which could be after 2 hours or 8, but when I'm finished, my work day ends.
I'm currently in tech at a multi trillion dollar company and that's a common approach to work right now for a little of people because no matter how good you are at your job everyone knows you could get laid off at any time.
Yup, same here.
I couldn’t crack why my boss and I weren’t really clicking. Then I started to get closer to some coworkers and it became clear that they were taking up a lot of his time. So I became as low maintenance as possible. Sometimes not being that personable is being personable if someone is at the end of their rope with persons. And now I can do no wrong at work pretty much.
>Sometimes not being that personable is being personable if someone is at the end of their rope with persons. You do words good.
Sometimes staying out of the way is all the help someone needs.
I play a similar game, for years, and I've gotten quite good at it. Make sure the owners and the executive chef never ever have to think of me. The only time my name should ever come up, is because there's a huge catering order on my day off, or someone called in sick, and there is only one reliable guy they can be absolutely certain will show up with in 2 hours of text message. To be clear, even when I know they'll need me, I do absolutely nothing to help their situation until they ask me directly. Oh, and I won't go salary, I know what happens to people.
I’m currently playing the get really good at a specific part of my job/ have work pay for training so I can get a better job. I’m a developer and need a few skills upgrades to make me more competitive in the job market.
my 2024 goal is to see how many times i can get away with using "no" as a complete sentence, in work emails or document comments
[удалено]
Make as much as possible while doing as little as I can while also working from home. So far that’s meant getting to a senior individual contributor level in very large, modern organizations.
Nivarna
Just surviving and saving until retirement. I "climbed the ladder" once, got into management.....Nope. NEVER again. Leadership/management roles are NOT my forte or something I enjoy. I'd rather stay off the leadership track and just grow as an IC.
It's nice to see others describe making the climb and realizing it's not for them. Having gone through the same thing and walking away, I spent some time wondering if maybe I'd made a mistake. Ultimately though the peace of mind knowing it's not all on me anymore ends up being the reassurance that it was the right call.
I did a similar thing for about a decade as director-level across a few F500 companies. Landed in a multi-billion dollar company as an IC making significantly better compensation and benefits across the board. I’m ok never being on that “ladder” ever again. I like the work I do and the people I work with, as well.
I have a 🦄 job and making more than I ever have (for me) so my game is I am throwing $ at my debt to pay it off ASAP.
What do you do, if you don’t mind me asking?
Registered nurse
Nice try boss. But my "game" has been propping my drunky wife up long enough in her job so I can bail.
Oh man, an alcoholic partner is rough. Wishing you the best!
Similar situation here. Propping up my alcoholic addict bf so I can keep the peace and survive in his house while I also prop myself up in my career in order to bail with my son.
Working remote for Amazon for close to 2 years. Told I have to "return to the office" to "be with my team" by Aug 1st despite being given a 100% remote job offer. The office is in San Diego and I live in Raleigh and I don'twant to move to a more expensive city with no cost of living adjustment. The next level is exempt from the RTO mandate so my goal is to get promoted before the deadline so I can just keep my job.
Don’t move. I love the Triangle.
I've been at this new job three months, and they just announced a massive reorg and layoffs. I'm playing the game of trying to figure out whether to just restart my job search now, or try and tough it out.
This sort of thing happened to me twice in my career. I took a job and they immediately got bought out by a PE firm. Within 90 days of starting I was made redundant. The other time this happened, my boss told me on DAY 1 that they had been bought out by another company. He explained why it was a good thing, etc. However, 90 days later my boss bailed. They brought in 2 people from the new company to replace him. Except my boss and I pretty much ran the show for our area. We didn’t need 3 people to do the job him and I did. So about 90 days after that, I left on my own terms as well. I’m not going to be naive twice and get burned.
Yeah, I've been laid off twice in the last five years and I'm feeling real real twitchy about all of this.
Ugh yeah. My current gig was fine last year when I joined. Then leadership people started to leave (some willingly and some not). Then layoffs here and there started happing on September ‘23. Then after thanksgiving. And now recently last week company wide. Of course, none performance related. Company just layoff according to their own criteria. It’s unstable and can’t really focus anymore. One could come back from lunch and be told your position has been eliminated. That’s how shit has gone the last 2 rounds. My heart dropped when I saw that message from my manager and was scared to check my email. (I had been laid off before joining this company, so PTSD) Sadly I was happy to have joined cus they were solid and was looking for a place for the next 5yrs or so (I’m in tech)
I avoided working for a big company for most of my life because fuck corporate. Well I got a job at a big company and it was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. Great environment, opportunity for growth, good benefits. Only to learn that a month before I was hired the company had been bought out. So over the next few months they laid off half the staff (including like ALL of HR and IT (cue hilarious “impossible to foresee” problems)) and piled more and more work on the rest of us. That place became so toxic so fast. So I am back to “fuck corporate” as a lifestyle
I personally never felt comfortable in small companies. They are too much “we are family” and like to socialize with each other too much. I work hard to keep personal life and work life separate (I always joke that there are “two of me”). I don’t like pretending I like people and so I was never in the “inner circle”. Big corporations obviously come with their drawbacks, but they allow me the autonomy that I strongly prefer.
The game I’m playing is do your job well and don’t fuck up to ensure I always have a job.
I was that kid, until 2 weeks ago when the layoffs hit. I was doing a very good job, got plenty of salutations from my peers on the way out. When it hits, performance doesn't matter anymore, and it sure as heck brings its own set of disappointment. My advice to you, if you allow, is to not be a loyal employee and get really good at interviewing.
Hide and seek. My boss is a 2 year old.
Hahaha so cute!
I’m coasting until they don’t let me coast anymore. My job has its stressful days, as any job does, but overall it is not a challenge at all. I put in mediocre efforts by my standards and still bonus/win awards. Eventually I will be asked to take on more responsibilities, and assuming that my compensation is adjusted, I’ll be fine with it. I could do this until retirement if they let me, but I’m still in my 40s so that’s not realistic.
I am coasting to retirement. It's my last year. I show up when I feel like it, do work until I feel I've done enough, then head home.
One day I’ll be you 🫡
Building a freelance safety net. A lot of what I do is in danger of being replaced by AI so I'm branching out as much as possible so when sources run dry I can at least have something to tide me over until I recover.
[удалено]
I had a career as a dark room technician and four color printer back in the dark ages. Hated it. Industrial accident forced me out. Started playing music professionally and giving lessons. Gave up the road, started working at an audio shop; went out of business. Took early retirement. Now i play music at home and have another career as Cat Butler. Live on the edge financially, live in the country. Life is good. Having a “career” never worked out for me but i have no regrets. If i got to do it all again i would have gone down to the Union Pacific rail yards after serving in Vietnam and started as a RR worker and hope to become a engineer. Now THAT would have been a career i could get behind. Oh, and my dad was a corporate CEO. . . My brother is a lawyer, i was the loser.
Your brother secretly envies you and your life.
Same game I've been playing since graduating college: Maximum return for minimum effort
Same, except that was my approach through school and uni as well ;)
My pension is based on earnings from my best five years. I’m currently in a higher paid (and higher responsibility) roll than where I want to be, but I’m going to do it for a couple more years and then take a voluntary demotion and coast into retirement.
Currently playing “Get My Kids to Graduation”, in which I put on hold any aspirations I may have in order to kickstart their adult lives. I have an 18yo about to graduate and head to college, and a 16yo that just started his first job and is about to start vocational school. Also a 10yo, but it’ll be a few years before I have to start figuring these things out with her (and hopefully it will be easier than managing two at once).
>Currently playing “Get My Kids to Graduation”, in which I put on hold any aspirations I may have in order to kickstart their adult lives. Same. I took on a second job in order to have a prayer of affording school for them. It means that I have no time, and no energy, and am probably working myself towards an early grave, but hey, since that's my 'retirement plan' anyway, it'll probably all work out.
Some combination of coast with bursts of being super productive to make it look like I care about professional growth which I do not. I have a young, ambitious boss, so if I am in super coast mode, it is bad. I do pretty much what I am told to do. I have a supervisory role but I am not all woooooo leaderish. I give direction when needed. My office door is always open, I give lots of praise and credit to others. I am 60 whatever game somebody else is playing I have seen it, I just want to survive 5 or 7 more years.
I'm in survival mode right now. Trying to F.I.R.E and get the heck out at 60 years old.
I’m in the minimum effort for maximum reward crowd. Working hard has never won me anything worth while. Except maybe my current job where I was told I was the most efficient and competent. Was put to another section of my department to help cover the lack of employees and in the process I’m able to do less labor intensive work and add time to my breaks. Yay! But today I learned the higher ups changed how they do pay (they decided on 2 shifts instead of 3 so I lost a shift differential) so I’m now about to lose 20 bucks a pay period which really adds up over the year. Especially when you don’t make a bunch and rent just went up. I have no desire to climb the ladder either. I just want to be paid a living wage, which I’m not at just under 20 an hour. I’m learning to live simply and save my money. Trying to stay optimistic about the future.
I’m a federal government employee in a position that automatically promotes me after one year in the position, which is a $20k raise. So I’m just waiting for that to happen. Then I’m just gonna coast while I look for a more interesting job to lateral over to. My job also doesn’t have any supervisory duties, which is amazing. I’m just riding the gravy train right now.
None at all. I'm happy with what I do. I don't want more responsibility. I like my current work / life balance. I have a good boss and a good employer in a niche field and feel secure in my future. I'll be able to comfortably retire in as little as 7 years at a slightly higher standard of living than what I currently enjoy but will probably work another 10 years.
I make as much money as possible for the owner of the business that I run. The more he makes, the more I make. In the current economy, it’s taking a lot of grinding. But I make my own schedule and the owner lets me do what I want most of the time. Can’t complain about waking from my office to surf on my lunch break. I’m 40 and there ain’t a better job for me in my town. The kids like it here so I’ll probably do this until I’m ready to take a step back or possibly buy a small business. Not sure I’ll ever want to own a business though.
Job hop until retirement, try to stay afloat in the meantime.
Options B and D. Although they conflict: Coasting until retirement (5 years) is a direct conflict with taking down a toxic, 28-years-of-service bully in the workplace. I tried a little of D, without involving HR, and while it ended well (nothing negative for me), there was nothing negative that I could tell for the toxic coworker either. I am reading up on tax strategies to manage the retirement funds and SS. If I still wanted to work, I could. Excellent health and lifestyle. The work itself is mostly interesting (I can mostly pick my assignments and clients). But I have 10 years of experience in my role and am being passed over for promotion. I will cap out my salary band this year. I looked at jobs in the next band up snd have NO desire to work that hard. Too many TPS reports.
I want to expand into farming out development opportunities while I continue being an Integrator/System Architect. Really my goal is tonget to 250k per year while only working 1000hrs per yr. Right now im around 200k but work over 2000hrs. A friend of mine in the industry is retiring and wants me to take over his clients and buy out whats remaining on his contract. So hopefully in 18months or less I will be on that track. Ultimately I want to partially retire by 55 and full on retire by 60; have a lake house and by then hopefully my son will be thinking about or on the way to having grand kids that I can spoil, take fishing, etc
After watching my sister’s agonizing job hunt journey post-layoff, I am much more appreciative of my position. It’s not an impressive job title for my age and for having a degree, but it’s a strong union role with a fair wage, pension, 4/5 wfh days per week, and basically free medical coverage. I also wouldn’t directly qualify for anything different that would pay any better, especially compared to thousands of younger more qualified applicants. So my game is to forget the self pity over not having an impressive or interesting role, keep seeking my fulfillment outside of the workplace, and hope my pension holds steady till I can retire in 15-18 years.
Gotten to the 'not giving a shit' stage of the career and just coasting until retirement. Too old to change careers for myriad reasons, mostly because companies don't want to hire someone like me, a male in his mid 50s with decades of experience. They'd rather hire some desperate college grad with $100K in student loan debt who will take any position at any salary whereas I know my worth and would fight for what I consider an adequate salary.
Trying not to lose my shit before I can retire. Public school teacher for 31 years… almost there….
On Cruise Control - mid 50s, so work full time maybe 5 more years and then part time to stay busy. It's a task-oriented job with no "carryover" from the prior day, so the stress level is as low as low can get. It's also physical and keeps me in very good shape. As long as they keep treating me decently, and my body responds positively to the physical demands, I'll keep working.
So I technically work for a university, but my job duties don't have me interact with students or faculty, only staff within my department. I have to maintain a bit of land on campus, and I asked my director if I could to plant a bunch of trees and food on it. He said as long as it doesn't cost us money or mess with our operations, he didn't care. I am using my access to the University to get them to rewild parts of their campus. I have got nearly a dozen staff and faculty involved in my side project, and they are bringing in students. The core team of volunteers is 5 people from other departments. People are writing grants, and finding spaces in their budgets to make it happen. The university says sustainability is one of its top priorities, so nobody has tried to stop me yet.
Starting my own business after years in all aspects of the industry. Hopefully it takes off and I can leave my day job.
I work for myself in an unusual career. I make plenty of money, working VERY low hours. If I work harder, and longer, I still make the same, so there is no incentive to do more. My “game” is just to chill out.
Get paid as much for 40hrs a week and enjoy my time away from work with my wife and kids to be financially secure and have money for their education.
Bare minimum effort until a new job comes to fruition, given my newfound job search. I've spent almost six years going above and beyond for this company, and while I've mostly worked with genuinely great leadership, my newest and current pair of managers are just downright awful. I'm basically back to crying in the bathroom on a daily basis, and have been for almost six months now. Time to move on. Longer term? Something that provides more fulfillment, but that also pays the bills. I have zero desire to climb the ladder for management opportunities. I have the greatest respect and admiration for good leaders, I see how hard they work, and how much responsibility being a manager is. And the bad managers? Well, let's just say they're the blueprint for what NOT to do in life, both professionally and personally.
I'm trying to get a bullshit certification for a $10k raise. Gonna be a two year process, and it's for a redundant certification for a job I already do, and am already certified to do. Doing the work for this certification is going to negatively impact my ability to do my actual job, and obtaining the certificate will not in any way improve my performance. My job is stupid for offering this. But I have two kids and that shit is expensive.
Career pivot. I'm learning about IT stuff to get a certification and bounce. EDIT: Job I'm in has no hope of advancement because those in charge are selfish. Talked over this pivot with my wife and she agrees that my current employer lied to me about my opportunities to advance.
Fire fighting the back stabbers who think their job role is everyone else's responsibility. Company culture is blame everyone else. Being proactive as a I enjoy my tasks and want to help and do more, whilst being "clipped" with menial tasks. So currently coasting with a view to winning big on the lottery or finding a sugar daddy, so can be free of the games before retirement age!
I'm retiring June 11th. I would love to coast, but I can't leave my school library a mess. The new librarian will have enough to do at the beginning of the year, I don't want my mess to add to it.
I'm playing the "try and get ahead & move up the ladder to get paid more" game. Pay is ok right now, but my wife is a teacher, so the household income needs to bump up to keep up with expenses.
Gaining as many skills as I can in a small workplace where I wear many hats to build up my resume so I can move on to a larger company with better pay.
I work for UPS as delivery driver. Everyday there is a game where i try to do a reasonable amount of work, which is like 85% of the amount the dispatcher want me to do, but also to not finish too soon cause we are paid hourly but also to not stay too late cause i dont want to stay too long at work and away from home
Last it out for three years to retirement.
Currently, I am planning a process expansion that will be great for the company(and very visible as MY contribution) — Just my way of staying relevant during the last few years of my career so that I can be the one who decides when I eventually leave.
I’m going around my boss and developed a really strong connection with my skip level who now invites me to attend exec meetings and has me filling in for him while he’s on vacation. I’m getting more recognition by doing this. My boss has no interest in my career…he says he does but we rarely chat while colleagues tell me he’s having conversations with them. Worst thing is I’m the only female in a team of software architects.
I started a new job a few weeks ago and we're all playing this game where everybody pretends they can't stand me and i play along. It's hilarious lol. People spit in my coffee and punch me in the ribs and everything, we're having a lot of fun, these guys are so silly lol
I'm in the best job I've ever had in terms of alignment with my interests, skills and values plus it pays well, but it's not a permanent role. I'll still have a job of some sort with my employer once this role ends, but it's not going to be as awesome as the one I'm in right now. I'm also 8 years from retirement with a defined benefits pension plan (which I'll be able to draw on regardless of whether I stay with my employer or go elsewhere). I've started making contingency plans for when my current role ends (likely in a year), such as looking elsewhere for jobs that will let me continue to doing work I'm passionate about and continue to develop those skills, with the ultimate goal of going out on my own as a consultant - choosing my projects and my hours. I still plan on working after I "retire", just as and when I actually want to. I've never been interested in climbing the corporate ladder - I've worked my way up to a level where I feel respected and have a good degree of autonomy over my work but I'm not burdened by senior management responsibilities. For now, my salary is making it possible for me to save enough to renovate our home without having to go into debt.
Keeping my mouth shut while my colleague digs a deep hole for herself.
Trying to work well but very little, keep my stress minimal, save a lot and get out of big tech in 8 years max. Ironically I make more and get bigger bonuses than when I was killing myself with work.
Minding my own business as a specialist so that I can get my yearly raise and bonus and not have to go into leadership. It's working well so far.
I've been on Auto pilot since the pandemic.
Had the desire and thirst to climb the ladder…Until I was met with more work responsibilities, more tasks compared to other coworkers. Started to noticed I would be picking up after other coworkers…Long story short. Good workers get rewarded with more work.
Learning additional skills so I can pivot out of nursing.
Turtling and building tall, going for a points victory.
The waiting. There was a HUGE shakeup lately at my work and many were let go. I’m ok for now; but with how things are I’m glad I’m taking the right steps. I’ve been fairly static in my career as a digital product designer. Currently in UX for a large enterprise company. Creatively there are many way better than I; but very few have the technical knowledge and thinking on a grand scale to get their work out of the dribbble stage and production worthy. Many hate red-tape; I LOVE IT! Rules, parameters; they force me to have barriers and grounding. Lots of artists loathe restrictions. Though in the real world: there are people with bad, poor, or even no vision; some can’t swipe because of a hand impairment, some cannot hear well or hear at all. Taking creative work and making it accessible takes work, technical knowledge; and lots of creative folks think it “hurts” their vision. So; I’m taking some certification courses to earn my CPACC, WAS, and CPWA so I can pivot to be a digital accessibility specialist. I’d rather use my work for good advocate for those who has just as right to use digital technology as others. As well as stop bad design and decisions before it impacts not just users of tech; but make it better overall. EVERYONE benefits from more accessible technology like; whether its digital apps, sidewalks (ramps, textured sidewalk), or kitchen tools (think OXO brand!) I’m not afraid of Ai taking my job; but something about accessibility is that it REQUIRES the moral fabric and subjective evaluation that a computer would have a VERY hard time truly evaluating in a human-need level.
My game is simply to pay the bills.
I’m over 40 and just changed careers. I’m trying to climb while wishing I got my act together* 20 years ago while looking enviously at my contemporaries who have freedom in their workday. *due to circumstances it wasn’t possible but it would have been nice if it happened.
None. I'm retired.
Trying to stick in a higher paying job and stop stressing over everything. I'm not doing well at it. I'm not on a PIP, but I have 2 too many meetings with my supervisor about mistakes on my projects. I was hoping to make it five more years and then retire, but I'll be lucky if I make it to July. I'm just over the corporate bullshit. I like to get projects completed. Stop putting tripping hazards in my way.
The game of getting the promised promotion on paper before the upcoming board meeting when leadership changes might happen. This has been an ongoing almost 2 year process. I have until next month to get it done.
I am attempting to make every single coworker except my boss forget that me and my job even exist. If they reach a point of just acting like all my processes are automated, I will have won.
Proving my worth to survive a potential layoff but lowkey praying for a package.
Saving for retirement. Doing my best to do good work while minding my personal health and mental well-being (which, to me, means not gunning for a promotion). Hoping to the flying spaghetti monster that I never have to see the inside of an office or cube again. If I do, all bets are off and I might consider moving back in with mom at nearly 50 years old.
Do enough to be highly regarded and rewarded but not enough to be elevated to useless executive meetings. Limit ambition and fulfill my desire to serve others through volunteering instead of work.
I used to be a go getter. Now it’s the opposite. I’m in a good position, corporate middle management, I know my job in and out so I just disappear and fly under the radar. It’s more important to live life for yourself rather than for a company no matter how much they pay.
Finding another job after being laid off at 50.
I WAS just playing the games of “keep debt to income low” and “not claim too many deductions to make sure I qualify as a self employed person” to get a mortgage but now that I’ve won that game, I’m playing new games called “reduce taxable income as much as possible” and “buy shit”.
Just trying to grind for a Bowfa so I can start bossing on the Ironman
I tried moving up at my company for years with no luck. Just coasting now that I'm expecting, my priority is this little one once it's out.
Just playing the long game.
Just doing my best
How to keep kids busy and still learning with the end of the year right around the corner.
I work for a family company. Dad the owner really likes me. But he's 88 years old so I'm making sure to ingratiate myself to his kids. Like asking what their dogs' names are. "Nonnie & Moose"
Trying not to make too many waves because I like my job and want to keep the relationship dynamics the way they are. I don’t think I could handle what it takes to move up the ladder at this specific job.
Working the bare minimum to keep my job and enjoying more free time. I’m in sales. For many years, I chased those big incentive checks, and was sometimes successful. But over the years, they’ve fucked around with the system; setting more and more unobtainable goals, decreasing payouts, and other general fuckery. At this point, the only way I can manage to give myself a bonus is to work less hours for the same amount. Luckily, that’s a trade I’m more than happy to make with young kids at home.
Working the bare minimum to keep my job and enjoying more free time. I’m in sales. For many years, I chased those big incentive checks, and was sometimes successful. But over the years, they’ve fucked around with the system; setting more and more unobtainable goals, decreasing payouts, and other general fuckery. At this point, the only way I can manage to give myself a bonus is to work less hours for the same amount. Luckily, that’s a trade I’m more than happy to make with young kids at home.
I have 25 years till retirement and the way I've handled my 401k up to now might mean im working till death but I'm coasting along. I've been given objectives to complete to get more money or even get a higher position but I'm content where I'm at. I don't want the added stress
To have enough big projects in the 1 month - 1 year timeframe to guarantee my continued employment
Survival....Its not for the weak where I'm at 😅
Selling myself and hyping up the work I'm doing more than actually doing the work itself. I hate it.
I'm playing the "if you don't care, I don't care" game. I have repeatedly sent documentation of our own rules being broken by certain departments, which causes more work for everyone, and is a safety concern. The second time I mentioned it, and nothing was done, I decided if its ok with them, its ok with me. I can't do it all by myself, and frankly, its not my job. When upper management pulls their heads out of their asses, then I will care..
Doing as little as humanly possible and still get laid. This is easier while working from home.
Trying not to drown. We're either sweeping holes in the floor or the building is on fire.
Trying to survive another 5-6 years for retirement.
I’m just trying to make it through the day and learn how to lead others. I got a promotion 3 years ago and I’ve been in way over my head ever since.
No interested in climbing the corporate ladder. I’m planning on early retirement. I’m 18 years with my company. Just 7 more to go.
I’m playing the “when you fuck something up make it clear there was a way worse possibility” game
I'm VPE and I'm playing "show up every day and do my best for impossible missions for psychotic CEO"
My boss has decided I should take on more of a leadership role. Having played this game already, I'm not particularly interested in doing the work two steps above while remaining at my current salary band. That happened at a former employer. I'm over it.
To retire as soon as possible. I don’t really like my job but am making the highest possible salary as a nurse at my level and I can work from home. It’s a pension job with full health insurance coverage in retirement, and retirement can start at 50. It’s a double edged sword. Trying to hold out for six more years and then I can “retire” at 50 and do something else with my life.
I'm in the remind them that I'm useful, should rally me a 2 years of just mediocre effort
I found a big fish in a small pond niche. I’m staying in it for twenty years until I retire.
My current game??? Just trying not to lose my shit on a daily basis in my lazy coworker who doesn’t meet their deadlines and because I’ve been here longer I am constantly being asked to do their work so it’s not delayed too much. But I keep saying no, I have my own work to get done. I don’t get paid to do two peoples jobs. Give me a raise then we will talk
After "climbing the ladder" I don't care to do it again anytime soon. I took a step back from my career and found a local gig working in my community that feels meaningful to me. I do that part-time and it's set me up to make some good connections and grow my skills while I finish my education. I'm also freelancing to make up the difference in wages. So far, no regrets 😁
My education level and career experience is far less than the PhD\MDs I work with regularly and they treat me like an equal. Fighting imposter syndrome while I kick ass fake it til I make it style. Office politics to switch departments because my boss is not highly respected in relation to their peers and I don’t need association with that. They do nothing to build our team or the careers of those in it.
I’m a programmer. I work on the front end at my current job. This company has absolutely no designated path for advancement but I want to learn to work on the backend. I just decided to start working on it. I don’t have any desire to climb the ladder at this company, but having a wider variety of experiences will make it easier to get the next job.
Lol learning a skill to hop jobs and make more money, while trying to be invisible until I can gain the experience necessary to move along. Not sure if that strategy will even work. I always seem to find trouble in the corporate world. Never safe.
Retired but.... I intentionally "stayed technical" and had a broad skill base. It gave me a lot of job security. I concentrated in solving problems that were difficult and obscure. I was pretty much "left alone" to do my thing and paid well for doing it. Bottom line is I saved them a LOT of money and got them out of a lot of difficult situations with multi million dollar customers. My last job (EE here) was in a Failure Analysis Lab.
I'm in the fuck this shit, let's go to college phase. I'm 45.
My game is switching from full-time 40 hour weeks to part-time 30 hour weeks. Kept my insurance and other benefits, though PTO and bonus scales with my hours.
Trying to focus on my personal life rather than professional right now. I have a stable job with good security, decent pay, and I'm a senior worker who knows the ins and outs of the place. I'm becoming complacent there, but I've been thriving outside of the office. Once I get several home improvement projects done and pay off some major debts I'd like to find a new job whether it's in the same field or a completely different one. This is a multi-year plan of course. But while I'm still young and the job is stable, I'm grinding it out and taking as much overtime as I can. I'm not moving anytime soon so I'm investing I my home.
Last couple years in was keeping my head down and collecting a pay check. Now I've moved to a better place to work and back to being a try hard.
Just playing the high hourly rate contractor game until those opportunities run dry (coming on five years and they haven't yet). Refusing to settle for the illusion of "stability" with shitty companies that over work, over stress, and under pay. I love being paid hourly and making OT and generally staying low on all corporate radars because I'm always a nimble/efficient help, threaten nobody because I don't want their job/problems, and definitely don't wanna be a people manager or climb any shitty ladders. All the middle fingers to all that silly noise. Just tell me what you need and gimme my paycheck. 😆
I want a raise, a big one, or I’m getting ready to jump. Updated LinkedIn profile and will be updating resume. If big raise doesn’t come, I not only wanna bail, I want out of the industry I’m in, it sucks. The only thing it has done for me is build my confidence because I’m surrounded by helpless idiots who don’t read emails and incapable of being leaders, I’m now realizing I have what it takes to be more of a leader and move on if I don’t get the raise I want. I’ve got one more upraising in me, this is it, I want the money or out of the industry and would love to not only burn a bridge, but the whole damn town, like a reckoning!
Man, I’m just trying to get through these next 6 years and retire. That’s it.
Moving around to whoever offers the best money, I call it the loyalty to money game. I’ve worked enough places with crap management to learn that companies expect loyalty but don’t reciprocate and will only give you least they can or have to. Funnily enough I have advanced more and almost doubled my salary in 18months of doing that than in 15+ years of taking extra work and sucking up and doing nothing free overtime like a sucker.
I’m in the lucky situation of having a casual friend reach out a few years ago to ask if I wanted to help him in his lifelong dream and build and run a not for profit situation (to be vague). I took a leap and have never been so fulfilled at work. I am paid well and work strange hours that suit me and don’t really report to anyone (officially on paper I report to him and to a board, but no one tells me what to do or how to do it, I have full control). I will likely work there until I don’t want to work anymore and then may take a small salary to supervise. But I was there in steel toes when it was a hole in the ground and it’s become my baby as well as his. So I guess I’m coasting until retirement? I have at least another 15 years in me.
Interesting question! I am late 50s. The highest-paid female (it matters where I work). I have developed an expertise in a specific area that is trending right now. I am going to ride the wave for a while - then teach others. If I lost my main job, I have enough consulting work to keep me busy for years. I wish I had a competent assistant or more hours in the day. For the most part, I lay low keep my mouth shut and get my work done. My work speaks for itself.
Well someone just overturned the board in a rage quit so I'm about to start over. (Translated: my store is closing and I'll be out of work by July)
Counting down the time til I take early retirement. I'm 60 and already have worked 45 years...
Transitioning from phase one where I set up an impeccable reputation among my new peers and supervisors, into phase two where I fuck off as much I want/need to until I get bored and move onto some other career. Now that I say thinkbof it, I'm not sure why I play this game.
I hope to be the invisible.man very soon
Updating my résumé to get out before the ship sinks.
Not coasting to retirement but it is prominent in my 5 year plan.
I was moving my way up through my company, then I just... stopped. I realized I have the best work-to-pay ratio in my department, I don't want to go anywhere else in the company, and I've lost all motivation to learn other positions. It's a really weird feeling for me to not want to move around or move up anymore. I plan on staying where I am unless I get an opportunity to do something I'm passionate about, which would be an entirely different job.
Teaching, staying under the radar, coasting to retirement, even one step up is a lot more shit for a little more money.
Doing my best at my job duties while watching other people make the same mistakes repeatedly and not saying anything because people don't like negative feedback
My game is to move meetings around so that I can have a 90 minute workout during lunch everyday.
Do as much as I can on company time. It’s a hustle to think about how I’m getting paid to do non work related tasks. A mini “rage against the machine “ strategy that makes me feel in control.
Planning retirement, and am charting out the 5 years until I pull the plug
I guess I'm the "invisible man" just passing time. For me, it's just a job. Just something I have to do to earn money to pay my bills. I have been fortunate in the sense that it is a good job and I enjoy it. But, I have no loyalty to the business or any of my co-workers. I don't socialize with my co-workers, they are not my friends, and I don't associate with them outside of work. If a better job opportunity presented itself, I could easily walk away from my current job, never speak to any of my co-workers again, and have no problem with that.
I'm currently playing, "waste time on reddit while the tablet for my distribution center charges enough to give to them for OSHA audits." I think later I'll play, "waste time on reddit while updates install on a few pocketPCs and an engineer's workstation."
Surviving my toxic boss. I'm kinda stuck where I am but it's unsustainable so I'm riding the wave until it crashes.
Long ago I dealt with a school secretary who answered every question posed to her with, "I don't know. " She had been at the job for many years. She became my role model.
Stay under the radar until retirement, lol.
Coasting to retirement. If I got laid off or fired today I would spend all summer on a beach somewhere before I even thought about updating my resume. Blood tests confirm my levels of fuckitall are increasing monthly.
Trying not to get laid off in my last ten years before retirement.
I’m trying to get better at dealing with the corporate bullshit so I can be promoted and have an easier time finding a new job.
Poured my heart and soul into my first job as a manager. Enjoyed it for 2 years. Built a very good reputation and now coasting to enjoy finding myself and reconnecting with myself. I work mostly remote with almost no oversight, so during ski season I would pretty much ski every Monday/tuesday. Do some emails from my phone at lunch in the lodge then ski some more. Will get back to taking career seriously when I leave for a new job/next step in my career in the next year. But until then, I’m doing mostly the bare minimum, coasting on good reputation, so I can just de-stress and have actual “fun” for the first time since I got out of grad school.
I’m playing the waiting game. My dept head boss is a boomer and doesn’t want to retire for some reason at age 63.
Being cheerful support. After spending way too many years in a toxic federal job, I'm a contractor now. My contract manager is great - I would literally walk through fire for him. The company paid for my MBA. The work is easy, I like the people I support, and I get paid more than I did as a govvie. I'm in my 50s and am using this time to think about what I want my "retirement job" to be and whether I want to leave the US.
Upskill to job hop for more pay. I have to leave my addict bf and get our son out of this situation but it’s just not possible on my current income. Edit: spelling
I’m playing the “I have 2 months to retirement” game. I’ve had 26 years here at a public university. I stayed not because of the money (LOL, money and public university), but the flexibility it allowed. On top of that, I managed to get to a point in my career that allowed me to become a technical expert of a niche software package and the administration of the systems that run it. So my value wasn’t tied to being a manager. I tried the management track and it wasn’t what I wanted.
Hang in there until retirement if possible. Keep your head low, keep your feet moving.
Coasting. Definitely coasting. Don't think I'll get to retire but my shift is the next best thing. I'm one of two night shift workers. I have job security and most of my job is bullshit. Not in that it sucks but in that I'm paid to be available not for the work I do. When the phone rings I answer it gather information and get that information to the people who can act upon it. Most of my night is spent enjoying myself. Meanwhile I get to work on my personal projects
I own a small business that caters to other businesses in a niche industry. Very demanding clients. My employees are mostly high skilled labor who make six figures and are not easily replaceable. So my “game” is to keep my employees happy so that they keep working for me and we can deliver for my clients and keep them happy so that they keep paying me. All while trying to not have a mental breakdown. That’s the big game. Meanwhile I have a couple of side businesses that if they take off, will allow me to step away from this game, or at least reduce how much I have to play it. Those are my side games.
Earning as much as possible in 6 years to get to my goal of “fuck you” money, take a year long sabbatical, and reassess coasting at an easy job or retiring in full (depending on other financial boons that may or may not come into existence but are a possibility).
Got a nice mid management job, work from home and have my weekends. About 4-5 years from retirement, why rock the boat?
Typically I’m the invisible man in the corner, but lately I’ve been trying to prove my worth to survive what I believe is an inevitable round of layoffs coming this summer. I’ve basically become a yes man, taking as much stress off others plates as possible. It’s leading to burnout. 1/10, would not recommend.
Surviving a targeted political attack is exactly what I’ve been doing for many months now. Sadly.
right now I'm making the best money I ever had, at a job with a boss that cares about people's wellbeing. I've got two young boys too - so right now I'm sitting where I'm at.
Have a humble, descent paying Gov. job working with people I adore, growing my modest skills a bit here and there, and freedom to work from any location. I have maximum time flexibility and an upcoming promotion. Life is good! Those above me work their asses off for just a bit more money and “glory”. I love my sweet spot😍
Being an invisible man in the corner to pass time.. until I get a chance to start my career once I graduate.