30 People Share Little-Known Facts About Their Professions That Would Freak Out Outsiders

"My question was specifically looking for facts that would make outsiders lose their cool at the existence of such business practices. It's fair to say a plurality, if not majority of people have witnessed things in our jobs that struck us chillingly absurd, dangerous, or plain evil. Things that aren't on the radar of the general public," the author of the viral thread, @OneRadChee, explained to Bored Panda via Twitter. "So if you share your professional horror stories with people, they listen."

According to the Twitter user, his thread was "a piece of political agitation sneakily disguised as a then-popular meme." The author of the thread told Bored Panda that he is an anarchist and acts accordingly. "I firmly believe our current socio-economic system is deeply flawed, actively malicious, and self-destructive," he said.

"Under capitalism, people are forced to do inefficient, stupid, and harmful things in a vast number of jobs and fields," @OneRadChee shared his opinion with us.

"With that tweet, I tried to make people talk about that fact en masse. Luck was on my side, and they did. They shared outrageous truths about their chosen profession en masse. I hope it got the ball rolling in fixing some of these grievances," he commented on the massive popularity of the thread.

Bored Panda wanted to get the Twitter user's opinion on what someone might do if they feel that they're disillusioned with their job. According to him, if someone's "completely disillusioned" with their position and company, they ought to "quit on the spot and walk out." However, there are alternatives if things aren't as bad (yet.)

"For lesser gradations of demotivation there's remedies like unionizing your workplace and ensuring work conditions improve," @OneRadChee said. "But if you're totally fed up and feel like you drudge in hell, there's really nothing left to do other than press the eject button, since your plane is already on fire."

The OP shared his vision for the world. He told us that he'd like to see a mass movement of forming co-op businesses that "remove the boss/manager layer entirely and direct their work themselves."

The Twitter user was very open about his dislike of managers: "If you don't have to deal with managers who impose draconian quotas or workplace surveillance, your work life has drastically improved. It's a proven business model that creates products and services as we speak, and it could potentially be scaled up to encompass the entirety of the world economy," he said.

In our experience, practically every single job has some unsavory, boring, or even unethical aspects. There are no ‘perfect’ professions after all. It’s up to each particular individual to either change their workplace for the better (a difficult task to be sure) or to find another industry to work at which better aligns with their values.

Twitter user @OneRadChee’s question left a big impact on the site. The thread has been viewed over a jaw-dropping 67 million times since he posted the question in late March of this year. It was also retweeted 16.1k times, quoted by 15.3k users, and got over 6.8k likes.

This isn’t the first time Bored Panda has written about the dark and uncomfortable secrets related to people’s professions. Previously, redditor u/CircleBox2 told us that knowing the truth is always better than the alternative.

"As ethical consumers and responsible citizens, the more we know, the better. Everyone has a moral obligation to ensure that people aren’t being put in harm's way just to serve corporate interests, and to hold them accountable when they do,” they told us a while ago.

"There are many dark secrets which are already common knowledge, but for one reason or another, people seem to either tolerate them or look the other way, sadly. But hopefully, the more light we can shed on them, especially those that involve egregious human rights abuses, the easier it will become to take steps to deal with them,” u/CircleBox2 said, stressing the importance of sharing unsavory facts about certain professions with the wider public.

Meanwhile, another redditor, user u/HannibalGoddamni, also told Bored Panda that it’s essential to spread this hidden information. In their opinion, facts about professional secrets have the power to have a “considerable” impact on society. However, they’re also wary that this information could be taken advantage of by someone “in a bad way.”

However, internet users shouldn’t rush to believe every tiny little bit of info that they stumble across on social media. The nature of sites like Twitter means that some users aim to get as much attention as possible, so they’re not beyond bending the truth a bit for the sake of views, likes, and comments. So if a fact seems ‘off’ somehow, it’s best to consider the reliability of the source and double-check the info.

As we’ve covered before, misinformation often spreads faster than accurate information, so it helps to take everything you see on social media with a grain of salt. ‘Facts’ are sometimes opinions unless proven otherwise. What’s more, just because a piece of information is repeated over and over again does not necessarily make it true, just popular.

It’s also worth contemplating that different employees working in the same position at different companies or at points in time might have radically different experiences. Some industries get better over time, others get worse, while the scale of (un)ethical approaches can depend on who’s in charge at any given moment. Reliable workplace leaders will opt for transparency and will strive to do what’s right by their workers, as well as their clients.

Discussions like the one that @OneRadChee sparked can give internet users a more grounded understanding of what it’s actually like to work a particular job. Often, it seems that folks have very romantic or idealized perspectives about certain careers. For instance, working as a veterinarian may not be as wonderful as it seems.

We’ve covered on Bored Panda before just how stressful and challenging it can be for vets. They’re often overworked, underpaid, in debt, and underappreciated. "Most of us in the veterinary profession do not make enough to cover our bills, and are forced to pick up extra jobs or shifts—working overtime. [...] This field is overwhelmingly understaffed," one vet explained to us some of the challenges that people in her profession face.

"This usually means staff members staying late, being called in on their days off, and long wait times for clients. Third would be for pet owners to be understanding of the crisis we are facing in this profession, and to be patient and kind with us. The veterinary field is one of, if not the most stressful field to work in. Remembering WHY you wanted to become a veterinarian (or veterinary nurse, receptionist, etc.) in the first place, will help you stay centered on the crazier day,” she said.

"The way I manage my stress levels is by making it a priority to take time for myself away from work. This usually takes place in the form of a workout or a walk with my dog," the vet told us earlier about how she creates boundaries between her stressful job and free time. 

Which of these little-known work facts blew your minds the most, dear Pandas? Are there any professional secrets that you'd like to share because you think it's important for everyone to be aware of the information. If you'd like to share your thoughts and opinions, feel free to scroll down to the bottom of the list until you bump into the comment section.