1- The way people can lie without any problem. You can tell they are lying, they know you know they are lying but it does not even face them. And when caught in a lie, they will lie again and state boldly they never said/did that in the first place. Grant you I was dealing with people two steps removed from a felony, but still…

2- Crappy lifestyle is a self-fulfilling loop of shit. And I don’t mean not making enough for that monthly new electronic device or trips, but just being a decent person. Apparently being a good person and living your life in a nice way without getting yourself in shit nobody asked you to be in, is passe.

3- Honesty scares all levels of management. Call it as you see them and risk being shunned or even punished.

4- It wasn’t my fault, I didn’t do it, I am not touching it. I believe that somewhere inside a company, there has to be some training manual for supervisors and managers  on how to CYA and throw people under the bus. It is sad when your best defense as a worker when something happens is that you were on your day off. It is a foreign concept to assume responsibility and get shit fixed before it gets any worse. Nowadays it seems it is better to find a patsy and not fix a problem because you never know if it will get bigger. Sort letting gangrene race its course because we don’t know if amputation  will work.

5- Form has nothing to do with function. Procedures are set in stone deeper than the tablets of Mount Sinai. It doesn’t matter if they expired sometime in the Carter administration and the original function no longer exists, Form must be followed. I actually got written up with insubordination for coming with a procedure that was faster, more accurate and economical.

6- Wear a trauma plate on your back. Backstabbing is an art form for some people even if you have done nothing but help them.

7- No loyalty up or down the chain of command. A corollary of #4. Promises made will be broken, monies loaned will go unpaid, items borrowed will never get back to you and comments made in confidence will be broadcasted faster than breaking news on Twitter.

8- And if you can write, you will be 100% in the shit list forever.  God forbid you can write more than two coherent sentences and can record with accuracy an event with the who what when where why & how properly expressed. Accurate reports are simply too dangerous for the peace and tranquility of the workplace.

9- I won’t play their game.  I may have days I’ll get home pissed off, but I can go to sleep with a clean conscience. Plus it is nice not having anything they can exert pressure on you because you played their disloyal and sometimes dishonest games. And of course, there is this:

PS: No, I won’t share where I worked.