5 For Friday: “Being Crazy at Work” Edition

Harry: “I’m trying to see how little I can work today and still get paid for a full day haha”
Me: “I’ve tested that once before too :) Didn’t send 1 email, answer 1 call, or do 1 task whatsoever relating to work. No one noticed!”

That’s a recent twitter chat I had with fellow blogger, Harry (YourPFPro.com). Back when I “worked” at a 9-5 before turning into a super hustler ;) Man was I an idiot! Haha… And do you want to know the REALLY funny part to that story?? Two days after I get called into the office – thinking I’m about to get a talking to – and instead I get a RAISE!! A $15,000 one ! Haha… those were wild times back then… And I wouldn’t recommend trying to pull that off if I were you ;)

Anywho, all that randomly reminded me that we haven’t done a 5 For Friday them in a while… The last one being about the last 5 things you’ve bought which is always fascinating to see. This time around though, I thought we’d stick with the work-topic we’ve got going on and see how you guys are performing there lately… So I’ll answer them first, and then it’s your turn!

Here we go…

  1. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done at work before?
  2. What’s the smartest?
  3. What’s the biggest bonus you’ve ever received?
  4. Are you reading this from work right now? :)
  5. What’s your favorite thing about your company? (You know, in case your boss is watching over your shoulders)

Here are my answers:

  1. CRAZIEST THING: Probably what I just mentioned: going an entire day (in the middle of the week, mind you, not even a Friday) without doing a single ounce of work. Just to see if I could pull it off.
  2. SMARTEST: Hmm… hard one… Probably deciding to work in the startup scene in the first place after trying out the corporate world for a while. They def. have their set of problems like any other company (especially the stability), but I found I really thrived in them and felt like I was making a much bigger difference there. It really opened up my eyes on other types of employment as well, and I’m sure it played a big role in me eventually going out on my own. So I pretty much owe my career to you, Craigslist!
  3. BONUS: I think around $4,000. Back at my last startup we’d get quarterly bonuses just for working there (wasn’t based on performance or anything, if you can believe that), and one time we had a killer month and our $2,000 normal bonuses were doubled. Those were just one of the millions of perks at that job, including trips to Vegas and 100% matching of 401(k) contributions (as in, we put in $15,000 and THEY put in $15,000/year). It was insane. And then we crashed and burned and the whole place ended up shutting down, haha… (Have I mentioned yet how unstable they are? ;))
  4. AT WORK RIGHT NOW? Well indeed I am! And I don’t have to worry about getting in trouble anymore either (not that it stopped me in the first place, haha…)
  5. FAVORITE THING ABOUT COMPANY: That I get paid to essentially write a diary and interact with fine upstanding citizens like yourselves ;) Wouldn’t you like to spew your thoughts while drinking beer coffee every morning?

Okay, your turn! Copy/paste the 5 questions above and then answer them below as openly and honestly as you can (with the lowest likelihood of getting in trouble). If you’re scared of getting caught, go anonymously. It worked for me :)

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36 Comments

  1. Free Money Minute July 19, 2013 at 6:16 AM

    You must have been doing some good work before you no work Wednesday in order to earn the $15k raise. That would be a sweet week!

    1. J. Money July 19, 2013 at 4:56 PM

      I mean, I did do a great job there overall, but talk about crazy timing haha….

  2. Aimee July 19, 2013 at 6:52 AM

    What’s the craziest thing you’ve done at work before?
    I worked at a construction company and the project managers would drink beers on Fridays “after” work in the office. The executive project manager brought me a beer before 5, and I definitely cracked it before I was done ordering supplies. I think that was the day we drank whiskey out of paper cups.

    What’s the smartest?
    Probably some work/organization aid. My company now does a lot by hand which makes things messy and disorganized. I try to streamline and electronify (is that a word??) things as much as possible. I’m the youngest by 9 years so they think I’m a genius when it comes to Excel, but I’m really just like most everyone else my age.

    What’s the biggest bonus you’ve ever received?
    $1000 and a $60 bottle of wine (booze=construction company)

    Are you reading this from work right now? :)
    Nope, but I have!

    What’s your favorite thing about your company? (You know, in case your boss is watching over your shoulders)
    Super flexible and unlimited sick days. I don’t have to use sick or vaca time to go to the dr’s or some other legitimate appointment. I leave early for Girl Scout things some times and they don’t even make me make up the time.

    1. J. Money July 19, 2013 at 4:59 PM

      Nice! Love that you look so smart there w/ Excel and what not, haha…. sometimes we don’t give ourselves enough credit with how much we DO know compared to other people :) I know I’m that way with blogging – sometimes I assume everyone does it which is certainly not the case.

  3. Paul July 19, 2013 at 8:44 AM

    What’s the craziest thing you’ve done at work before?
    I am retired from the Air Force and used to fly. BTW, I was not a pilot. Anyways, we non-pilot crew members would sometimes wear funny clothes and/or wigs while flying.
    What’s the smartest?
    The smarted thing I ever did was to find my current job. I hated my previous job and started looking for work (often from work ;)) after being there for three or four months. About six months after starting my job search, I found my current position. When I looked at the job description I thought, “they are looking for me”, and they were.
    What’s the biggest bonus you’ve ever received?
    When I was in the Air Force I got a re-enlistment bonus of around $20K. I got half when I re-enlisted and the rest in yearly increments on the anniversary of my re-enlistment.
    Are you reading this from work right now? :)
    Yes.
    What’s your favorite thing about your company? (You know, in case your boss is watching over your shoulders)
    I work for a great company. The people are great, the benefits are great, etc. The two years prior to this year, my company made the Fortune 100 “best companies to work for” list (medium-sized category).

    1. J. Money July 19, 2013 at 5:01 PM

      $20k!!!! Wowwwww that is awesome! And very funny you were searching from work :)

  4. Emmy July 19, 2013 at 9:33 AM

    This is fun… since my job is a bit on the ab-normal side.

    Craziest thing: Well, I work with teenagers. So I’ve done it all. Dyed my hair purple, helped a 17 year old re pierce his ear, taken kids to the ER, play a game where we are always singing “here we go round the circle..”, teach them how to play “water” pong at all nighters… (YES WE DID USE WATER! And shhhh don’t tell the parents…)

    Smartest: Honestly, learning to take criticism and knowing I’m not going to please everyone. In a lot of ways it’s like being a politician. You have to make some tough calls and try to do what’s best for everybody, but there will still be some people who don’t like you. So I think some of the smartest things I’ve done is just shut up and listen when people want to complain about me, then do my best to keep going.

    Bonus: Never. Lol. I’ve gotten a couple of raises, but nothing significant. Yay churchwork salaries!

    Am I At Work Right Now: YES! Sitting at my desk drinking my coffee. Although with my job, even if I’m not at work… I’m still at work.

    Favorite Thing About My Company (Church): Honestly, this church is really special. The trivial problems that I hear other youth ministers talking about with their administration, pastors, etc. don’t happen here. They let me have almost free reign. So many other churches have higher ups who try to direct every detail of what every group does, but not here. Pain the youth room in crazy colors? Sure! Take the youth to Chicago? Go for it! Miss a board meeting because you promised some 8th grade girls you’d take them to a movie? That’s fine – that’s your job! So I’m pretty blessed.

    1. J. Money July 19, 2013 at 5:03 PM

      Awwww that sounds awesome! And totally helps make up for the lack of huge salaries or bonuses I’m sure too :) If anyone was “at home” at work, it’s def. you. You’re like an angel sent down anyways! You belong there!!

  5. Slackerjo July 19, 2013 at 9:38 AM

    I worked in an inbound (which is completely different than an outbound) call centre environment for almost a decade and the work environment is very different than in an office or store.

    What’s the craziest thing you’ve done at work before? I would not say it was the craziest thing but to combat boredom I tried to fit the words “zombie apocalypse” into a least one call a day. Sometimes I’d mix it up and fit in the words “sea monster.”

    What’s the smartest? I cut the cord. Metaphorically as our headsets were wireless.

    What’s the biggest bonus you’ve ever received? $2200. It paid for a trip to Holland but still there is some lingering bitterness as the company cheated their front line workers while their execs got 7 figure bonuses. Nobody in my department had any respect for the bigwigs.

    Are you reading this from work right now? :) Nope. After probably 100,000 inquiries I left the inbound call centre industry for good as it was ruining my life. I saved like crazy for 5 years and decided to take the summer off. I learned a valuable lesson, a high paying crappy job is still a crappy job.

    What’s your favorite thing about your company? Always, my co-workers. Misery loves company.

    1. J. Money July 19, 2013 at 5:11 PM

      Hahahhaa….”I tried to fit the words “zombie apocalypse” into a least one call a day. Sometimes I’d mix it up and fit in the words “sea monster.””

      I always forget how damn funny you are!! Love this!

  6. John S @ Frugal Rules July 19, 2013 at 9:50 AM

    1.What’s the craziest thing you’ve done at work before?
    That’s a tough one, because I have done the try and do nothing all day before. Though, I would have to go with something else. I am an office prankster (if I can find others that are willing) I switched someone’s mouse & keyboard plugs once. It took IT 2+ hours to figure out the problem!

    2.What’s the smartest?
    Not really work related, but getting my employer to pay for a huge chunk of my MBA.

    3.What’s the biggest bonus you’ve ever received?
    We got quarterly bonuses at my last job and the largest was about $7,000 plus I won a PS3 that quarter. They were largely performance based and busted my hump that quarter, though bonuses were extremely variable.

    4.Are you reading this from work right now? :) Well, yes I am…while watching my kids run around the living room singing some crazy song. :)

    5.What’s your favorite thing about your company?
    That I get to run it! :)

    1. J. Money July 19, 2013 at 5:13 PM

      woot woot! awesome about getting your MBA paid off a lot too – that’s dope.

  7. SavvyFinancialLatina July 19, 2013 at 10:00 AM

    What’s the craziest thing you’ve done at work before? Haven’t really done anything crazy. Unless you count me getting into an argument over a project with a manager.
    What’s the smartest? Landing my job? I’m so new. Just 23, so I’m learning the ropes.
    What’s the biggest bonus you’ve ever received? $3K
    Are you reading this from work right now? :) Yes….It’s Friday morning?
    What’s your favorite thing about your company? (You know, in case your boss is watching over your shoulders) …The pay. I’m well compensated. The work is not extremely fulfilling, but I hope it gets better as I improve.

    1. J. Money July 19, 2013 at 5:45 PM

      Being well compensated for one of your first jobs is pretty good :)

  8. Amanda July 19, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    Wow! That raise must have been well deserved beforehand!
    1. Too much of a newbie that I feel doing anything crazy is not in the cards right now. But definitely have seen others do stuff that has left me scratching my head…
    2. The smartest has definitely been putting in my all into this job. It definitely makes for a profitable side hustle once I find a FT position.
    3. None… But if you count that one time someone left me a 50% tip…
    4. Nope!
    5. I get to work with friendly people and meet all different types of people on a daily basis.

    1. J. Money July 19, 2013 at 5:47 PM

      Putting your all into a job is key. Regardless of what it is, so keep it up! :)

  9. Angella July 19, 2013 at 12:39 PM

    1. Hmm. Craziest thing would probably be things like taking a nap, or bringing my kid every so often. So yeah, nothing too crazy.
    2. I was able to cut company shipping expenses by 54%. I’m pretty happy about that. I like finding things to cut back on and save money.
    3. $500? Yeah…downside of working for a small business, rarely get a bonus, and when you do it’s never much. Appreciate every extra penny though!
    4. Yes. And ready for the weekend!
    5. Flexibility with scheduling. I can come and go as I please (for the most part) as long as I get my job done. Comes in handy when you have a kid (sick days, daycares closed, etc).

    1. J. Money July 19, 2013 at 5:51 PM

      You take naps at work??? Haha… now THAT is awesome. (Do you do it under your desk too? Cuz if so – double awesome)

      1. Angella July 19, 2013 at 9:14 PM

        Haha, with my new desk set up, I could totally pull a Costanza!

  10. Leona@allmydollarsandcents.com July 19, 2013 at 1:31 PM

    Here we go…
    1.What’s the craziest thing you’ve done at work before? Completed the work from one job at another job.
    2.What’s the smartest? Negotiated a pay raise when my employer was generating higher profits
    3.What’s the biggest bonus you’ve ever received? 5K
    4.Are you reading this from work right now? :) You bet ;-)
    5.What’s your favorite thing about your company? (You know, in case your boss is watching over your shoulders)
    Nice people to work for.

    1. J. Money July 19, 2013 at 5:53 PM

      And I hope you keep reading while at work too :)

  11. Financial Black Sheep July 19, 2013 at 2:51 PM

    1) no comment lol
    2) keeping my mouth shut, because of all the HIPAA rules.
    3) $400 hiring bonus plus $500 quarterly bonuses just for working where I do. I love my job :)
    4) yes, but not on the clock. Here for appointments and a paid meeting. I don’t punch in until tonight for my favorite shift-ER shift.
    5) I just wrote about the awesome benefits I receive, but really do love my job, and the people I work with. :D

    1. J. Money July 19, 2013 at 5:54 PM

      Nice! My ex-girlfriend used to work the late night ER shift and ALWAYS had some interesting stories. That could make for a good blog in itself!

  12. Anon For This One July 19, 2013 at 6:02 PM

    1. back to back all nighters in the office fueled by diet coke. Conference calls when you (and others on them) haven’t slept in 30 hours can get kindof weird and giddy.
    2. Moving to the private sector was the smartest money move I made.
    3. $60K, which was the equivalent of about 1 year of salary at the time. But I earned it (see #1) – helped the company earn a crapload of money that week.
    4. Nope, I’m at home. No longer work for the company with all-nighters. Yay work-life balance!
    5. That most of the time I’m pretty autonomous. That’s nice. =)

    1. J. Money July 22, 2013 at 7:55 PM

      WOW – that $60k bonus is incredible! Way to kill it! (and get back to the ‘normal’ world too, haha… I’ve finally gotten better about not working 24/7 as well :))

  13. Christine @ ThePursuitofGreen July 19, 2013 at 7:58 PM

    Here goes!

    1. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done at work before?
    I’m kinda boring in this area…nothing really stands out as crazy. Used to play foosball a lot, scoot round in my office chair the entire day, drop stuff on unsuspecting coworkers from the 2nd floor…all pretty normal.

    2. What’s the smartest?
    Taking risks and moving on when I know I should. Being safe can get boring at times. Staying when you know you should leave is a motivation killer.

    3. What’s the biggest bonus you’ve ever received?
    I’ve only ever received two bonuses. $500 and then an ipad mini.

    4. Are you reading this from work right now? :)
    Kind of since I’m self employed! My mind is already checked out for the weekend though!

    5. What’s your favorite thing about your company?
    Hmm how do I answer this when technically I am the company! I like everything almost? Haha.

    1. J. Money July 22, 2013 at 7:56 PM

      Hopefully your boss is real nice to you ;)

  14. Debt Blag July 20, 2013 at 8:27 AM

    1. Haven’t done anything crazy in my current job yet, and in previous jobs, I never had to do anything crazy because the jobs themselves were pretty nuts :)
    2. Smartest was probably doing all the positioning and networking to actually get the job, having started as a summer intern
    3. 10%
    4. Nope. Up early to get in some fitness before it gets too hot
    5. The company is very good to its employees, whether in terms of the day-to-day benefits or the extreme flexibility and other helping hands after Sandy. This starts from the top and permeates through the whole of the culture

    1. J. Money July 22, 2013 at 7:58 PM

      10% is pretty cool! I’ve never had a bonus tied to my income before like that – kinda neat.

  15. Anon July 20, 2013 at 11:12 PM

    One day without doing any work? Ha ha, that’s a good start I guess!

    I’ve gone from working 60 hours a week to working less than 20 hours a MONTH while still retaining my FT salary and getting a payrise every year!

    Automation of tasks is awesome – especially if no one knows you’ve automated them!!

    1. J. Money July 22, 2013 at 7:59 PM

      HAH! Love it! And also? how you put a mask over that anonymous gravatar guy :) Pretty smooth!

  16. anon July 23, 2013 at 4:43 AM

    I dunno where the shades came from, I figured you must have had a hand in it. I guess the internet must just realise that i’m a shades kinda guy!

  17. Anon July 23, 2013 at 11:10 AM

    Or not. :-(

    Damn, I was getting all attached to those shades!

    1. J. Money July 23, 2013 at 11:22 AM

      You know what it is? The anonymous email you’re using. When you use the “Anon@anon.com” one, the shades come on :) When you switch to another like you’ve been doing, they go back to the generic pic. Because it’s all tied to Gravatar.com. So whoever owns the anon.com site set it up that way and people like you are using it, haha…. Imagine how much email that guy is getting??? :)

  18. Anon July 23, 2013 at 7:07 PM

    Yeah! Now I got my shades back! You’re on the money J-Money – thanks for pointing out why it occurs – now we must spread out and show the shaded avatar everywhere good gravatars are used!

    1. J. Money July 24, 2013 at 8:26 PM

      haha, glad our time was put to good use ;)