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Most folks are familiar with the concept that it’s maybe best to not know “how the sausage is made,” which applies to actual sausages as well as most jobs. After all, anyone who has worked knows that there are always going to be some things we keep hush hush, but it can be a bit disconcerting to realize that this is true at nearly every company on the planet.

Someone asked “What's a secret in your job that people aren't supposed to know about?” and netizens spilled the beans. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own examples in the comments section.

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#1

You can have multiple degrees and be profoundly stupid.

iAMguppy Report

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    #2

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About The mark up on supplies in the medical field is criminal.

    I_am_Reddington , Jonathan Borba /pexels Report

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    #3

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About I was a server at a chain barbecue restaurant. Yummy food, & they played blues all day. The secret was what they put in the potato salad that was so good… celery seeds. When I was first hired & doing training, they told us we would lose our jobs if we told anyone. It’s been > 25 yrs, I think I’m safe to blow the secret. 😂.

    DecadentLife , Cajsa Lilliehook/flickr Report

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    #4

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About Restarting your computer will fix so many problems you call your IT dept for when you don’t restart the damn thing for 8 months….

    Gh0sts1ght , ThisIsEngineering/pexels Report

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    williamteach avatar
    William Teach
    William Teach
    Community Member
    13 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Way back when I worked for a big wireless company restarting was the first thing we did, which often fixed it. Usually by taking the battery out and putting it back in. Breaking that circuit.

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    #5

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About I’m your IT guy. I just google everything. I’m just good at googling.

    intensenerd , cottonbro studio/pexels Report

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    Grenelda Thurber
    Grenelda Thurber
    Community Member
    6 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    But you know what you're looking for and know the right answer when you see it. That's what pays the bills.

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    #6

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About Working for giant companies, it’s comical how many systems are raggedy messes of bare-bones functionality. All available money gets thrown at certain projects, leaving everything else to work on complete shoe-strings.

    _Externails_ , Tima Miroshnichenko /pexels Report

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    James016
    James016
    Community Member
    16 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is that one 20 year old server that without it, your shiny modern infrastructure will crumble

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    #7

    When you bring your 5 kids in for Halloween costumes and leave 20 opened packages all over the dressing room floors for the employees to try and clean up and match all the pieces back in their bags, you WILL be remembered, you will be talked shite about, and when you need that one piece to compete everything, we're not going to have it, and it looks like no other stores in the area have it either.

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    Susan
    Susan
    Community Member
    3 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When I used to work retail and a customer was rude to me I would tell them I would go look in the back for whatever item they needed. Then I'd sit down and take a nice long break after which I'd go back out to tell them that I couldn't find any. But if someone was nice I'd call every store in the area and arrange free shipping for them. Remember to be nice to workers!

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    #8

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About When I was temping for a large company, I was told if anyone called to say any of their property / vehicles had been damaged they couldn’t make an insurance claim because they weren’t covered, when in fact they were but the company didn’t want their premiums to increase and caused problems with their budgets. They pissed me off so much treating me like c**p, so I told everyone who called the truth and to put their insurance claims in. Then I walked out. Haha!

    JasmineRider27 , Anna Tarazevich /pexels Report

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    #9

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About Most family members have no idea what's best or even good for their loved ones with dementia.

    A lot of times, they make things worse.

    HelgaGeePataki , Pavel Danilyuk/pexels Report

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    fredneobob90 avatar
    Huddo's sister
    Huddo's sister
    Community Member
    17 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    True, because there isn't as much support for them as there should people. Often they try to take on more than they should, or they hear from doctors in a clinical sense without knowing what that means as far as actually caring for them. They also may not understand why nurses or carers do things the way they do but don't think to as before judging. Unfortunately not all nursing home staff are as well trained as they should be though, or there just aren't enough of them for the actual amount of care needed, as recent inquiries have found.

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    #10

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About ALWAYS WASH OFF THE CAN BEFORE DRINKING 😬.

    CubanBird , cottonbro studio/pexels Report

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    sueuser avatar
    Sue User
    Sue User
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    10 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And wipe the soup tin before opening, especially if you have a can opener where the lid drops in the can.

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    #11

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About I don’t have to serve you as a crew memeber.

    I had to use this once.

    Lady was rude and horrible and recorded me cussed me out

    she threw a frosty at me

    I quickly gave her card back and told her I’m not serving you have a great day shut and locked the window

    and worked form the first window until she decided to leave my drive thru.

    AbbreviationsFlat767 , RDNE Stock project//pexels Report

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    #12

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About The IRS doesn't have the budget to enforce tax law, and will drop any issues they feel would cost more than they will collect. There has been more than one instance where a client comes to us after years of arguing with the IRS and we will literally just reprint their prior letters on our letterhead to have the IRS drop the whole matter.

    BackInTheRealWorld , Vlada Karpovich/pexels Report

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    #13

    Health insurance has been going on a tear with denying claims/services, even with all of the boxes checked. The billing department at my place has straight up been hung up on multiple times trying to get answers.

    SheZowRaisedByWolves Report

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    ScootyPuffJr
    ScootyPuffJr
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    8 hours ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This should be so much higher up. My pain management team actually used the words "s**t out of luck" last week while talking to me since my insurance company has denied all of our claims and appeals to move forward with necessary procedures while I'm in horrendous pain with no answers. Thanks, United Healthcare!! I hope there's a hell so you can all burn there someday.

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    #14

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About It’s insanely easy to be a “bestselling” novelist, and just because you are doesn’t mean you make any money. I’m a true-blue USA Today Bestselling Author and I’ve made $5ish in 2024.

    villettegirl , Suzy Hazelwood/pexels Report

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    fredneobob90 avatar
    Huddo's sister
    Huddo's sister
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    17 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Is this because there is no real authority on the term 'best selling'? I vaguely remember hearing something about that. You would think it would have a criteria based on actual sales but I have a feeling it's not.

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    #15

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About If your 2 year old doesn’t want to paint because they’d rather do something else, we can’t force them. If you keep complaining and being nasty because you want fridge art, we will do your child’s art and put their name in it so you can stop complaining.

    SleepyOrange007 , T Leish/pexels Report

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    hlmorgan avatar
    Big Chungus
    Big Chungus
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    5 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We switch out the one piece of art on the fridge each season. We have stainless steel so the only magnetic part is a small side panel that barely juts out.

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    #16

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About Olive Garden Server: You can get 3 free wine samples every time you go.

    _Neither_Bug , Tim Durand/pexels Report

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    #17

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About Many sales guys are the guys that never grew out of the frat house, but the ones that make bank every single year are the guys that really listen and understand someone's motivations without them spelling it out. Those folks know what's important to their customers and their boss and quietly find a way to make everything work for everyone involved.

    The guy that's the life of the party, knows everyone around, and loves making connections can do well in sales, but the quiet, emotionally intelligent, and detail oriented guys will make $150k+ every single year selling just about anything out there.

    wastedpixls , Chloe/pexels Report

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    #18

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About How often IEPs aren't followed, how often staff are attacked by students(sometimes very seriously injured), how often teachers and/ or staff make fun of the students they serve.

    Opticallusion , Anna Tarazevich/pexels Report

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    ellenranks avatar
    Diolla
    Diolla
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    4 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For my fellow non- Americans: An Individualized Education Plan (or Program) is also known as an IEP. This is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child with an identified disability who is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related services.

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    #19

    Night shift gets more s**t done because we're able to wear headphones while daytime isn't. We focus on our work while listening to podcasts while AM will spend hours worth in bathroom breaks.

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    Jocelyn Webster
    Jocelyn Webster
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    12 minutes ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My place of work allows ear bone conduction headphones. We have to wear ear protection for 12 hours. Days and nights are our only shifts.. and days gets less done because management cannot make up their mind. Nights gets more done because the people working just make the decisions then and there.

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    #20

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About If you ask internet customer service reps politely to credit you for every day of outage in your area on that billing cycle you can easily get 70% discount on your bill. Most outages happen overnight and nobody notices but most providers keep record of them.

    Key_Neighborhood387 , Yan Krukau/pexels Report

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    #21

    A lot Hospitals may look good as a patient. As a mechanical engineer and pipefitter, the amount of money that gets siphoned away from the mechanical side. These places are literally running off the phrase:

    “Two bolts are holding back catastrophe”

    You wouldn’t believe how true this is for many things we romanticize.

    schools and hospitals are in a rough spot, at least by me in Chicago.

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    Shelby Moonheart
    Shelby Moonheart
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    6 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My hospital looked a bit run down after COVID. The care was still great but I could tell the building was not maintained as well.

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    #22

    IT guy. The whole "have you tried turning it off and on again" thing isn't just us being lazy.

    Like 70% of all problems genuinely get fixed by a restart, but we can't just say that because management thinks "real IT work" needs to look more complicated. So we remote in, click around a bit, maybe run a basic diagnostic, then... restart your computer.

    Survival_man Report

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    markalexander avatar
    Mark Alexander
    Mark Alexander
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    4 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Those problems are not fixed. They're just deferred until the same conditions occur again.

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    #23

    Any part I can get, you can get too. The only difference is I mark it up by 30%.and then charge you labor and taxes.

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    #24

    When I tell you to turn the router off and on again, it's not because I have no idea what is going on and hope the issue will sort itself out. There are all kinds of logs where I can see what the problem is. When you restart the router, these logs get updated.
    Also, when you lie and tell me you restared the router already a bunch of times and it didn't resolve the issue, I can tell that you didn't - the logs are right there, and the last time it was restarted was 3 months ago. I can't tell you that I know you are lying, but it definitely goes in the documentation so everyone knows that everything you say needs to be double checked.

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    #25

    We regularly come *this* close to either poisoning everyone for 50 miles around or blowing a football field sized crater in the ground then poisoning everyone for 50 miles around.

    Source: operator at a midsized chemical plant.

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    #26

    Most meetings could honestly just be an email, but we have them anyway to look productive.

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    Edward Shaw
    Edward Shaw
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    11 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If companies cancelled meeting culture the economy would crash.

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    #27

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About That fancy touchscreen thermostat we installed in your office is just a screen you are changing the number on. The logic controller we installed in your heating/ac unit uses a different sensor and is predetermined what temperatures it is set at.

    bubbz41 , rockriver/flickr Report

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    #28

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About I answer the phone a lot and if someone asks for me I say I’m unavailable and send them to voicemail.

    lsarge442 , Anna Shvets/pexels Report

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    Shelby Moonheart
    Shelby Moonheart
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    6 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If I pick up my phone and someone askes for me by my legal name I say that that person isn't available right now. Can I take a message? They usually hang up.

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    #29

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About Most elevators in the United States do not get maintained properly. I used to work for an elevator company and they would only limit us to a few calls a day because they didn't want to give the impression that something was wrong with their elevators. They didn't want to lose those contracts for those elevators and maintenance. Once in a while I would say maybe three four times a month we would find an elevator that was really in bad shape. Every time we would put it out of service the next day it would be in service again not sure who put it back in service but someone did. Even if we reported it nothing would get done no would check the cameras or anything. It was better to take a risk and not have people complaining about having to use the stairs even if it cost them their own safety. I learned to keep my mouth shut and do what I was told I was close to retirement and didn't want to lose that.

    Charlietango2007 , Kelly/pexels Report

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    ScootyPuffJr
    ScootyPuffJr
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    9 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've been trapped in elevators twice, and the one where I work now breaks down weekly, has started on fire, and has dropped a few floors with a coworker inside it. Stairs for the win whenever possible!

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    #30

    “Just A Screen”: 30 Parts Of Jobs The General Public Isn’t Supposed To Know About There are rats in the kitchen.

    flacotron , DSD/pexels Report

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    FrogMan
    FrogMan
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    13 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And in at least one restaurant in France, they’re cooking your food

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