The "go to hell fund" we truly need.
The "go to hell fund" we truly need.
A rainy day piggy bank full of one-liners and, if needed, expletives
Here’s a riddle for you.
What’s the best part about bribery?
Everyone’s having fun.
Ok, then what’s the best part about extortion?
Everyone’s paying attention.
So, what’s the difference between bribery and extortion?
Cracking a smile, vs. cracking a bone.
Then, what’s the difference between cracking a smile vs. cracking a bone?
When your bones crack, only one of us is having fun - but at least you can be the center of attention!
Ta-da - there’s your introduction to business ethics!
Black humor aside, this is the TL;DR (too long, don’t read) of a valuable business ethics lecture from my undergrad years. Discussing how companies market their services, my professor was bringing our attention to the power we will have to decide how money is spent.
It sounded easy. Just avoid bribing government officials, and avoid threatening people with violence or damage to their business, reputation, loved ones, dog, et cetera. But, unfortunately, if you’re in a place where you’re being asked to do any of this, you already need to leave. And one of the best ways to protect your ability to leave, he said, is a go to hell fund.
Most of us know the “go to hell fund” as a savings account of a few months of expenses so if we are asked to break someone’s bones, we can quit overnight. This luxury is harder to maintain when you have more responsibilities/costs, but it is essential for being able to leave bad workplaces.
We can’t outwork or outmaneuvre or outnice anyone intent on making the workplace destructive (ranging from toxic gossip to bribing someone to ignore the toxic waste being dumped into the groundwater).
There’s another fund we need to make, though - and that’s a literal “go to hell” fund. A piggy bank full of strong statements, some expletive-laden, that we can borrow from when someone is asking us to take actions that we don’t agree with.
Because when the moment arrives, the exact second where you should stand up for yourself, it is much easier to stay silent than it is to tell them where they can stick their opinion. You need a fund of funds and fund of confidence.
So with that, here’s a smattering of gifs, quotes, and other mantras that you can revisit next time you need to channel your inner Margot Robbie in a bathtub. Best of all, they can be used anytime! Not just to quit your job, but to tell a client, a potential partner, or a toxic colleague, where they can go.
xRachel
The Nice Work Go to Hell Fund
