The harsh truths of working from 9 to 5


I had recently graduated from college, and getting a job was the expected next step. That’s what everyone does, anyway.

I began my career in technology as a software engineer, one of the highest paying positions in the world. I only held this position for six months before I lost everything.

Now that I’m leaning more toward freelancing, I’ve learnt a lot from my 9–5 days. Here are some of the things that I discovered.

1. Your coworker is not a friend

Yes, everyone agrees that it’s acceptable to form relationships and bonds with your coworkers.

Well, that didn’t work out for me.

My closest coworker at work told my employer that I was looking for a new job, which got me in hot water and forced me to learn the hard way that my coworkers are not my friends.

I have to realize that friendship is not the reason they are called “colleagues.”

2. Your boss doesn’t give a damn about you; he just wants to do his work.

I was mistaken to believe that my supervisor should be concerned about me. His only concern was finishing his work. Isn’t that the reason I get paid?

He asked me if I had backed up all of the company’s files the first time my laptop broke for a long. I was fortunate enough to do so.

He didn’t care if the laptop was fixed or not.

3. Set a lot of boundaries; it will be beneficial

I was usually a “yes man” at work, therefore I didn’t set boundaries. Since I worked from home, I was willing to take on any kind of job at any time of day in an effort to learn and, most importantly, win over my boss.

I had no idea that it was seriously harming my mental well-being.

I finally lost it and had to give up.

4. More work, not your pay or salary, is the reward for your labor

I always enjoyed performing well at work, and I was always sure to complete any task given to me. I never realized that I was creating opportunities for myself to be given increasingly more difficult tasks.

I hurried to show my employer what I had accomplished each time I completed a task. He gives me the thumbs up and gives me more work right away.

That was my prize for putting in so much effort.