Ways that Work is a Lot Like Grade School

30 years ago this year, Robert Fulghum published an essay called "All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."  There is a lot of truth in that statement and it got me to thinking: it's also very true that adulthood isn't all that different from childhood.  With that in mind, here are some ways that Work is a lot like Grade School:

• You have someone telling you what to do and judging how well you do it.  In school, that "someone" is your teacher and he or she judges you via your grade on your report card.  At work, that "someone" is your boss and he or she judges you via your performance score on your annual performance review.
• There's always someone sucking up.  In school, that person is the "teacher's pet" who is always trying to help the teacher and get in good with him or her.  At work, that person is the one who is always fawning on the boss and trying to schmooze him or her.  In both cases, the others in the class/department are highly annoyed by the suck up and are talking about that person when he or she is not around.
• You spend most of your day every day doing something you really don't enjoy doing.  When you're a kid in school, you don't like most of your subjects.  Maybe you like history, but you hate math and science.  Or maybe you like math, but you hate language arts and music.  Either way, you spend most of your day doing something you don't really enjoy but you tolerate and work at it because you have to.  This same thing is true for most people at work.  There may be portions of your job that you enjoy, but it's probably a fair bet that you spend as much or more time every day doing things you don't really enjoy but that you tolerate and work at because you have to.
• There are bullies and there are people who are bullied.  In school, the bully is the mean kid who steals your milk money and maybe knocks you down during recess.  He or she gets their kicks picking on people who are smaller or weaker than them.  At work, the bully is the jerk employee who uses his or her position to dominate the people lower in the company than him or her and takes advantage of them.
• You spend your day in a room surrounded by other people with no privacy and no protection from germs.  In school, you're in a classroom with a bunch of other kids, all working almost elbow to elbow with little personal space.  When one kid comes to school sick, you can almost see that illness pass from one kid to another as it works its way around the class.  At work, especially with the recent popularity of open work environments, you're in an office with a bunch of co-workers working side-by-side at desks with little personal space.  When one employee gets sick, you can almost see that illness pass from one employee to another as it works its way around the department.
• There's always somebody whining.  In school, it's the kid whining that he didn't receive the grade he deserved or the kid complaining that she didn't get picked for the lead role in the school play.  At work, it's the employee complaining about their last performance review or the promotion they didn't get.  The whiner eventually becomes just as annoying as the aforementioned suck-up.
• Sometimes you will really like the person in charge; other times, you won't.  In school, we all have teachers that we really like and other teachers we couldn't stand.  At work, you'll have some bosses that you really like and other bosses you can't stand. 
• You hate Mondays.  I don't think this one needs any further explanation.
• You have to share the restroom with others - and the toilet paper is like sandpaper.  Seriously, I think the same toilet paper company provides the same cheap, giant industrial rolls of toilet paper at both school and work.  What's a guy gotta do to get some two-ply Charmin?
• There are custodians who come around in the afternoons and evenings to empty the trash and clean up the bathrooms.  And I feel sorry for whoever has to clean up the pee on the floor of the restroom used by the males in the building.
• The place is a ghost town between Christmas and New Year's.  Even though your company may not close down during that week, most people are off and won't be there.

What did I miss?  I'm sure there are other comparisons that would further prove that work is a lot like grade school.  I'd like to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading.