Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
Article created by: Shelly Fourer
If you’ve ever searched “hack for…”, you know the internet is stuffed with shortcuts, some sketchy, some genius. The real gold, though, comes from people who actually do the job every day. Those are the tips that save time, stop stress, and make you look inexplicably competent.
Today we’ve rounded up the best answers to Reddit’s “What’s a cheat code at your job that only employees would know?” — think little life-hacks, and smart shortcuts that feel like real-life game glitches. Keep scrolling to steal a few and up your work game.
- Read More: 43 Cheat Codes People Use At Their Jobs
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I work in marketing. The cheat code is: know everything around you—from colors to shapes to fonts to words—is trying to convince you to take certain actions. It's all psyops.
Final score:
1point
RELATED:
#3
I worked in a customer-service-type position with a recorded telephone line.
"You should do what you think is best" is code for "you should do that, but on a recorded line, I can't tell you to do that.".
#4
If you wanna do your job correctly, forget everything a trainer tells you and ask for advice from a coworker who’s been there the longest
-An Amazon employee.
#5
Retail: It should go without saying, but you're way more likely to get what you want when you're friendly or at least respectful toward the person working.
#6
I worked at the library. The librarian in charge of the Teen Center had a policy that every rank and file employee underneath her was empowered to waive up to $50 in fines without asking permission or giving a reason. This was mostly intended to help teenagers who had lost track of some Arthur book when they were 6 and now couldn't get what they needed for high school projects. But we were at liberty to use it for whoever we wished.
So, if they say "no" to waiving your fines at the circulation desk or any other desk, you may just get a yes in the Teen Center, if you're nice.
I changed some adult man's whole life by doing it for him once. He didn't even ask me to. He would always come in to get graphic novels from the teen section but could only read them at the library because he owed $20 in late fees, and that was a lot of money to him. When he asked me if there was any way to get a comic sent over from another branch without placing a hold (which he couldn't do because of his fees), I just took his card and waived the fees. I saw his face change as I gave it back to him and told him what I'd done. Suddenly he was able to read at home at whatever time he wanted. I think about him a lot.
EmotionalFollowing72: Our library stopped all late fees and wiped accounts clean. It’s been a year and there’s been a 30% increase in books checked out and a huge reduction in lost books because people returned them knowing they weren’t going to be fined.
#7
As a journalist, here's a cheat code: When interviewing someone important, always ask your most important question twice - once at the beginning when they're prepared, and once at the end when they're relaxed. The second answer is usually more honest and revealing. Also, if someone says 'no comment' to a question, try rephrasing it as a statement instead of a question - people often feel compelled to correct you, giving you the information anyway.
ImSamIam: Also utilize silence. In general people don't like to be the last to speak so if you don't respond and let it get quiet for a moment, they'll usually keep talking.
#8
I used to work in IT support and if you are good enough at it, computers and other technology will magically start working when you get close to it. People will try to recreate the problems they have been dealing with for hours and will be unable to do it.
#9
Maybe not just my job but if you get emailed something by someone you know is busy and you feel the urgency they convey is not warranted, just bounce it back to them asking a simple question in the guise of clarifying something.
Buys you anything from a few hours to a few days.
#10
Not a job cheat code, but a neighborhood cheat code. My parents used to have a lot of parties at their house. They only paid for one garbage can. After the party there would be 2-3 full cans at the curb waiting for the garbage collector. All of the cans always were emptied. The neighbor across the street did the same, but when he had extra cans they were NEVER emptied. He would ask my dad if he got his extras emptied and my dad would say “yeah, always”. What he failed to tell the neighbor (who was also his friend), was that he always left a six pack or a bottle or two of wine behind the cans for the trash collectors. Whenever one of the trash collectors saw my dad they would give him a little salute.
#11
My sheep will follow me anywhere if I'm carrying a bucket. Doesn't even have to have anything in it.
#12
I used to let nice people at my GameStop store in the early 2000s basically use us as a free game rental service.
There was a 7 day return policy on all used games.
Play it for a week, return it for a different game.
There was a very sweet grandma and her grandson that would come in every week to do this - she loved how happy gaming made her grandkid. It was super wholesome.
#13
Found a vending machine at work that had an odd cheat code, if you put in a five dollar bill then selected your choice of beverage. The vending machine would then give you four quarter, dispense your drink and then return your five bucks automatically. The entire time I work at that job I kept a five dollar bill in my wallet. Never mentioned it to my coworkers.
#14
I worked for a large international company that would pay for meals on the road. Sometimes, when I was arriving home late at night, rather than stopping off a restaurant for dinner and wasting an hour, I would just buy a gift card for the restaurant with the corporate credit card and expense it as my meal. I used to ask for the cards in irregular amounts, I.e. $45.27 rather than round numbers to keep it seemingly legit. We were allowed to spend up to $65 for dinner, so it didn’t raise flags. Then, I could enjoy a meal with my spouse at a later time.
waterloograd: When I worked for the government as a student, they gave us per diems. So instead of showing receipts they just gave us something like $75 per day to cover food. What we would do is get pizza for dinner, split it and save the leftovers for lunch. Probably made about $50/day doing things like that.
HogGunner1983: They don’t ask for a receipt? When we travel all meals at restaurants must have both the itemized and the signed receipts.
Edit: TIL my company is stricter than I realized on travel expenses 🫠
#15
Here's a double for you...
As the IT guy, when employees needed a tech task done fast(er) or wanted special treatment, they'd bring me a bottle of Mtn Dew or a Payday (candy bar).
I used my personal rewards account to earn points when ordering office equipment.
With 200 employees and an owner who liked the latest and greatest tech for himself and company, I'd rack up a truly significant amount of points quickly. I quickly figured out the employees with kids and those less fortunate, so I'd often use points to buy employees home computers and simple computer parts.
#16
At BK if you order a Whopper "heavy all" it comes with extra everything and looks more like the photo. Also being an insider term, they sometimes think you are a secret shopper from corporate and make it extra good.
#17
If you sit beside the big fancy meeting rooms there's a non-zero chance you might get some leftover snacks.
#18
This is more an industry cheat code.
Best time to buy a new TV is Super Bowl Week.
All MFG.'s are trying to move all their old flagship models during this time to make room for new ones, and you'll get close to Black Friday pricing on flagship models. Black Friday be wary about TV deals. Look at reviews. If there's a lot, and they go back months, go for it. You most likely got a deal, because it's most likely part of their current TV lineup. If there's no reviews or they are only very recent around BF, it was a BF model the MFG. threw together usually with subpar cheaper components JUST for Black Friday pricing. There's a higher chance you'll have issues down the road with that TV. I used to assist a TV buyer for a major US electronics retailer.
#19
When asked if you have a time for another project, you don't. You're plate is full. Always act like you're super busy. That way you can coast on your current responsibilities and not take on more. We did this because no matter the promises, we never received promised bonuses or raises for extra work.
#20
If you call customer service and there’s no option to speak to a person or the automated menu is taking forever just dial 0#0 usually takes you right to a real person. I found this works with most other companies too. It really is an IRL cheat code.
#21
If you tell an old lady it's time to take her medication, she will count every pill, ask what each and every one is for, argue with you about it for ten minutes, insist she doesn't take any medication and that her son is a doctor who told her never to take pills or she would die, then she will choose one pill at random to take and throw the rest on the floor.
If you tell an old lady you need her to try a spoonful of this applesauce you made and tell you what it's missing, she won't even realize she just took 17 pills at once.
#22
When doing business travel have a friend list their house on Airbnb and book their apt. Have fun and have a great dinner with the hotel and per diem money.
#23
Doctor's office here! If you are trying to get in for a sooner appointment, call the office in the morning on days you're available. When patients cancel their appointment on the night before or the same day, we usually have it open because it's such short notice. That's your best shot at getting an appointment really soon. It often works even for providers who have wait lists going out months in advance. Same thing for testing and imaging.
Poopocrat: If you need a fast referral to a subspecialty appointment, ask your doctor to call the physician referral line. If another provider asks me to see someone fast, that patient is offered an appointment within 2 weeks.
Source: am doctor in the USA
#24
Tape restoration: If VHS smells like vinegar, bake at 130°F for 8 hours. Saves 'unplayable' tapes. Families think it's magic.
#25
Back in the day when I worked on staff, we had a team of runners who would constantly buy all the supplies for the business. Use the business phone number for discounts at the grocery store or cvs or any place we would buy stuff from.
Constant discounts & cash back, but first come first serve to whoever cashed in the points. This was like a decade ago but we used to get a free orange julius at the grocery store with enough points.
I still always use the company phone number at every store, & so does a hundred or more past employees. The points stack up so fast! If I'm still using the number after fifteen years, I wonder how many others are using it too?
#26
If they’ll let you use your own credit card, do it. I racked up 40k in bonus cashback by using my credit card for travel in a 2 year period. They changed the policy and I was one of the only ones that was mad about it.
2-cents: I traveled professionally for 12 years. Between Hilton and southwest I didn’t pay a dime for a single family vacation. It was pretty sweet.
AnchezSanchez: Yeah, I have people on my team earning like $150k and they complain about having to put stuff on their credit card when they travel, and then having to wait while they get expenses back. You're 28 years old, no kids, what are you doing with your money man? Pay on your card and get the points ffs.
#27
Half the problems get solved faster if you just ask the right coworker instead of following the process.
#28
Did a travel job. Needed a new car. Noticed they only logged miles not gas for reimbursement. Got an electric car and the reimbursement paid the lease and insurance.
#29
In a casino if you play red and black on a roulette table, game after game, your percentage of getting your money back every hand is 94.47% if the wheel has two greens.
If you do this enough times with high enough bets using your member card, you’ll quickly accrue enough membership points to become the casino’s top tier member (Double Black, or Diamond, or Double Diamond, or whatever it is).
Once you get to top tier membership (and it won’t take you many spins depending on how much you’re betting), everything becomes comped to you - food, drinks, shows, accommodation, spa, everything. You can even get your friends comped.
It’s legal, it’s within their membership rules, it’s practically free (unless a green comes up and you lose hands), and it’s the only true way to beat a casino.
And no, most casino staff are too stupid to realise what you’ve done because the roulette croupier and floor manager won’t have a clue how membership works (ask them and I promise they’ll stutter their way through an answer), and membership tier advancement is automated. To the system you’ll just look like a big better.
Source: managed data analysis at a casino.
#30
The biscuits and gravy "special" is 6.99 but if you ring in biscuits and gravy a la carte is like 5.75.
I only do it for people that are nice to me.
#31
If you hire movers, ask if they offer cash discounts. You can easily get 10%-15% off your bill by paying in cash.
NaturalAd6199: Just make sure you get a signed receipt when you make the cash payment
You May Like “I Couldn't Stop Laughing”: 47 Weird But Surprisingly True Excuses For Missing Work 60 Fascinating Behind-The-Scenes Photos People Took At Work That Were Too Good Not To Share (New Pics) “I'll Never Truly Forgive Myself”: 50 People Share The Sneakiest, Most Low-Key Evil Things They’ve Ever Done
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Donata Ruzgaitė
Mindaugas Balčiauskas
Related on Bored Panda
