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Here Are 18 Smart, Slightly Unethical Hacks From Workers on How to Avoid Doing Additional Tasks at Your Workplace

These individuals took these hacks to another level.

Here Are 18 Smart, Slightly Unethical Hacks From Workers on How to Avoid Doing Additional Tasks at Your Workplace

After the peaceful rhythm of working from home, walking back into an office can feel like stepping into a second job you did not apply for. And once you are there, every tiny “extra” request can land on you like it was already assigned to your name.

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This is where the workplace gets messy, because it is not just one person trying to do less. It is a whole comment thread of workers trading stories about dodging additional tasks, from “the data displayed on the screen” that somehow never gets updated to the classic moment when someone thinks you are giving a presentation. Add in clients asking for revisions, editors demanding rewrites, and printers that apparently only work “for four hours,” and suddenly the whole place feels like a chaotic group project.

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Here’s what those people pulled off, and why it worked.

After the comforts of working from home, returning to the workplace is a difficult adjustment.

After the comforts of working from home, returning to the workplace is a difficult adjustment.Twitter@rohshah07
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After the comforts of working from home, returning to the workplace is a difficult adjustment. Work-life balance is very performative, as this thread demonstrates, but who really cares how the work gets done as long as it's done?

Keep scrolling and check out what other commenters had to share.

1. The data displayed on the screen

1. The data displayed on the screenTwitter@rohshah07
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2. Replacing some letters with Latin alphabets

2. Replacing some letters with Latin alphabetsTwitter@rohshah07

3. They think you're giving a presentation

3. They think you're giving a presentationTwitter@rohshah07

4. A client asking for a revision

4. A client asking for a revisionTwitter@rohshah07

5. And the bid has been won

5. And the bid has been wonTwitter@rohshah07

6. The editor says it has to be rewritten

6. The editor says it has to be rewrittenTwitter@rohshah07

7. Everyone is just yelling for it to print and scan

7. Everyone is just yelling for it to print and scanTwitter@rohshah07

8. This commenter got the approval

8. This commenter got the approvalTwitter@rohshah07

This feels like labeling a lunch to expose the thief, and sparking chaos at work.

9. The scan worked for four hours

9. The scan worked for four hoursTwitter@rohshah07

10. He warned everyone about Scott

10. He warned everyone about ScottTwitter@rohshah07

11. There has to be three

11. There has to be threeTwitter@rohshah07

12. Edit the executive summary and you are good to go

12. Edit the executive summary and you are good to goTwitter@rohshah07

13. The company pays for mileage

13. The company pays for mileageTwitter@rohshah07

14. Keeping the lunchbox on the bike

14. Keeping the lunchbox on the bikeTwitter@rohshah07

15. This is great and much better

15. This is great and much betterTwitter@rohshah07

16. Turns out it was pretty accurate

16. Turns out it was pretty accurateTwitter@rohshah07

17. Made another colleague type his emails

17. Made another colleague type his emailsTwitter@rohshah07

The concluding part

The concluding partTwitter@rohshah07

That’s when “the data displayed on the screen” becomes the perfect excuse, since nobody can argue with whatever is already showing up.

Next comes the client pipeline, where a revision request turns into “the bid has been won” and suddenly the urgency disappears.

Then the editor steps in, and “it has to be rewritten” turns into a whole stall tactic, especially when the printer crew is “yelling for it to print and scan.”

Finally, you get the chaos payoff, like “Scott” being warned about, or getting someone else to type emails so you can stay out of the next task.

All of us enjoy a good tip or trick that helps our lives go a little bit more smoothly, but these are several tricks you might want to consider to save yourself time. Which of these hacks or "scams" did you know before now?

Do you have anything to share with us? Leave your replies in the comments section below, and don't forget to share this post with your loved ones too.

Nobody wants to be the person who keeps getting volunteered for “just one more thing.”

Still think workplace “helpfulness” is harmless, read about confronting a coworker over stolen office lunch.

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