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Crap Jobs: 100 Tales of Workplace Hell
Quick -- what's the worst, most mind-numbing, humiliating, horrendous, horrific job you can think of? They're all here. The worst jobs in the world. Firsthand accounts of one hundred horrible jobs guaranteed to make you groan, laugh, and maybe, just maybe help you feel a teensy bit better about your own place in the rat race. Painstakingly assembled by the geniuses behind the British humor magazine The Idler, this collection includes the gloriously gory details of such occupations hospital launderette, gas station worker, weed sprayer, bank teller, janitor's assistant, and telemarketer. It's a hilarious romp through the stinky cesspool of employment hell, with helpful commentary from those who speak of crap jobs from hard-won personal experience. So curl up with this guide and be grateful for the job you have...or grab the want ads now!
- GenresNonfictionHumor
160 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2004
31 people want to read
About the author
Dan Kieran
23 books15 followersDan Kieran is Deputy Editor of The Idler, a bi-yearly British magazine. He is a writer, editor, and CEO and co-founder of the crowd-funding publishing platform Unbound.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 9, 2017
Questo è un testo da sfogliare in piedi in libreria, facendosi veloci risate tra uno scaffale e l'altro. L'acquisto dovrebbe essere fatto solo per scopi sociologici, o come regalo al collega d'ufficio. Perche' oltre ai lavori orrendi - e ve ne sono davvero di assurdi, tipo "impiegato di banca", "consulente di impresa" - quello che emerge è drammatico. Non solo per la grettezza e l'ignoranza di alcuni datori di lavoro (ampia, diffusa e comprovata), ma anche e soprattutto per la supponenza e il menefreghismo dei prestatori d'opera, che in moltissimi casi reagiscono alla loro totale incompetenza professionale - che li obbliga a scegliere lavori davvero nefasti perche' non possono aspirare ad altro - al classico modo dei perdenti, ovvero sentendosi "superiori" alla situazione. Ne emerge un quadro desolante del mercato del lavoro anglosassone, che senza dubbio conferma le drammatiche previsioni di Friedman circa il futuro della società occidentale.
January 20, 2020
This book had some pretty awful jobs in it. Some of them you would think would be normal but the things they went through for the pay omg. Sadly my crap job wasn’t even close to being listed. 🤣
December 3, 2009
It was a not-so-glorious Saturday morning at the DMV. So what better time to crack open Crap Jobs: 100 Tales of Workplace Hell? (Civil Servant, in case you were wondering, is ranked #9 on the list).
Remember that summer you spent as a dog walker, candy striper, groundskeeper? Well, multiply it by nine hundred and you are getting close to the hell experienced by the contributors to this book. Crap Jobs collects one hundred tales from survivors of some of the most deplorable jobs around. From the maggot farmer who needed to wear waders into the ‘worm pit’, to the rodent exterminator who had no tools to work with but a hammer, the stories collected in Crap Jobs are often gag-worthy, begging the question:
why would anyone ever want to read this book?
While not a book for the faint of heart (or probably kids under the age of 18), Crap Jobs does provide a rather unique look into workers’ battles against soul-crushing tasks, with doses of humor and unpredictability thrown in. The tales of woe are written by everyday Joes and Jills, so while the narrative is at times jolting, (and cursing is a device too often relied on), the tales are regaled in a way reminiscent of your friends’ funny party anecdotes. Intermixed with the tales of the telemarketer and tampon factory cleaner, facts are provided about how the United States is one of the worst countries to work in when it comes to vacation time, overtime, sick leave, and income. This gives the book, whose tales all occur in Britain, an odd balance (not to mention a depressing note for its American readers).
At times, it isn’t the job per se that’s the problem, more so it’s the people with whom you’re stuck working. Some of the jobs listed – Freelance Magazine Editor, Broadcast Executive, Model – are not ones you’d immediately classify as crappy. But then the sexual harassment or regular intervals of humiliation are revealed, showing that those dreams jobs often held in high esteem are not always as glamorous as they seem. Then there are just the oddities, like the factory worker whose colleagues robbed stores on the side and proposed holding up the place where she held a second job as a cashier. “But we might have to rough you up a bit to make it look believable,” they explain.
Yes, Crap Jobs has some of the worse stories you will likely ever hear. There’s no sugarcoating it, (except maybe in the tale of the Pie Hole Maker). Whatever you do, don’t read it before you go to sleep, because you will likely be haunted long into the morning and not get out of bed for work. “Your job could kill you,” one of the trivia tidbits notes, and once again, depresses you. Neither should the book be read straight through. It’s meant to live on your coffee table, to be delved into in doses. One can only take so many cringe-worthy moments at a time.
Despite these conditions, Crap Jobs might just be the perfect gift for your unemployed friend who’s down on his luck, or for that friend who is constantly complaining about the littlest things at her job. Let her see what it’s like for the Phone Sex Operators of the world (Crap Job #1).
Remember that summer you spent as a dog walker, candy striper, groundskeeper? Well, multiply it by nine hundred and you are getting close to the hell experienced by the contributors to this book. Crap Jobs collects one hundred tales from survivors of some of the most deplorable jobs around. From the maggot farmer who needed to wear waders into the ‘worm pit’, to the rodent exterminator who had no tools to work with but a hammer, the stories collected in Crap Jobs are often gag-worthy, begging the question:
why would anyone ever want to read this book?
While not a book for the faint of heart (or probably kids under the age of 18), Crap Jobs does provide a rather unique look into workers’ battles against soul-crushing tasks, with doses of humor and unpredictability thrown in. The tales of woe are written by everyday Joes and Jills, so while the narrative is at times jolting, (and cursing is a device too often relied on), the tales are regaled in a way reminiscent of your friends’ funny party anecdotes. Intermixed with the tales of the telemarketer and tampon factory cleaner, facts are provided about how the United States is one of the worst countries to work in when it comes to vacation time, overtime, sick leave, and income. This gives the book, whose tales all occur in Britain, an odd balance (not to mention a depressing note for its American readers).
At times, it isn’t the job per se that’s the problem, more so it’s the people with whom you’re stuck working. Some of the jobs listed – Freelance Magazine Editor, Broadcast Executive, Model – are not ones you’d immediately classify as crappy. But then the sexual harassment or regular intervals of humiliation are revealed, showing that those dreams jobs often held in high esteem are not always as glamorous as they seem. Then there are just the oddities, like the factory worker whose colleagues robbed stores on the side and proposed holding up the place where she held a second job as a cashier. “But we might have to rough you up a bit to make it look believable,” they explain.
Yes, Crap Jobs has some of the worse stories you will likely ever hear. There’s no sugarcoating it, (except maybe in the tale of the Pie Hole Maker). Whatever you do, don’t read it before you go to sleep, because you will likely be haunted long into the morning and not get out of bed for work. “Your job could kill you,” one of the trivia tidbits notes, and once again, depresses you. Neither should the book be read straight through. It’s meant to live on your coffee table, to be delved into in doses. One can only take so many cringe-worthy moments at a time.
Despite these conditions, Crap Jobs might just be the perfect gift for your unemployed friend who’s down on his luck, or for that friend who is constantly complaining about the littlest things at her job. Let her see what it’s like for the Phone Sex Operators of the world (Crap Job #1).
December 11, 2010
There are certainly many jobs in here that truly make me very grateful for my own jobs (mom, wife and naturopathic doctor) which I love! Also, I realize that this book is 5 years old, but still, the wages listed for many of these jobs are appalling!! How could someone have to do such sucky work and get paid such a pittance?!?
December 3, 2011
The book title says it all: it's basically accounts of what is considered the 100 worst jobs ever. You get small accounts from jobs from a 100 years ago and it shows that life and technology seemed to progress but job satsification seem to stay the same. It's gross and very funny. Read and be thankful for your own job!
October 25, 2015
An array of confessional tales of humiliation and filth, psychotic bosses, meaningless drudgery and crap pay. Told with humour but the underlying theme is very clear: work is not the panacea for all social ills that the likes of Iain Duncan smith claim.
July 10, 2007
haha!! i worked some of these jobs...
September 22, 2008
Hilarious but very inappropriate!!!
July 14, 2009
Boring!! I've had enough crap jobs in my life I have no idea why I even wanted to read this one. Nothing in here held my interest at all.
June 29, 2012
UK anni '80-'90 i lavori sono gli stessi
January 26, 2013
It reminded me of some of my jobs
May 1, 2015
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13189039
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13189039
April 4, 2016
Fortunately I've never held any of these jobs, but I do know people who have done a few of them. They were never again the same.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews