Hire Tough, Manage Easy… and 25 Other Workplace Truisms

Truism, according to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, is an undoubted or self-evident truth. We have all heard plenty of truisms before, haven’t we? Experience is the best teacher. You can’t win them all. Practice makes perfect. The list goes on and on and on. There are truisms for project managers, truisms for campus life, truisms for social media and Gen Yers; there are even those for pregnancy.

With the range of clever sayings and ‘life truths’ it is only fitting there be a set of truisms for the work environment. Take a look at a list of 25 workplace truisms—a compilation of both humorous and serious truths.

1. People don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.
2. When you don’t know what to do, walk fast and look worried.
3. Anger is never about the thing you think you’re angry about.
4. If you’re miserable, quit your job and do something else. If you’re still miserable, it’s you.
5. Success is based on current behavior, not past performance.
6. No one gets sick on Wednesdays.
7. People won’t perform for those they don’t respect.
8. The workplace is about business, not you.
9. If it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.
10. If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, you won’t be successful at it.
11. The customer isn’t always right, but he’s still the customer.
12. The longer the title, the less important the job.
13. Confidence comes from success, knowledge comes from failure. Experience is the combination of both.
14. All vacations and holidays create problems, except for one’s own.
15. Don’t jump ship before you hit the iceberg.
16. It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it.
17. Stay away from office romances. They always go wrong.
18. There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but there is always enough time to do it over.
19. The CEO’s secretary is almost as powerful as the CEO.
20. If you are good, you will be assigned all the work. If you are really good, you will get out of it.
21. The boss isn’t always right, but she’s still the boss.
22. You are always doing something marginal when your boss drops by.
23. Don’t gossip. The coffee machine is a minefield in the workplace.
24. You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard.
25. Hire for attitude and train for competence.

Have you heard more office truisms than the ones mentioned? Or do you have your own? Share your truths below!