What to Do If You Need to Cry at Work + Why You Shouldn’t Feel Bad About It

1. Warehouse Workers

Warehouse jobs, particularly those in large distribution centers for companies like Amazon, are at high risk of being replaced by automation. With the development of AI and advanced robots, companies are looking to automate tasks like order fulfillment, inventory management, and packaging.

Automation offers the advantage of 24/7 operation without the need for breaks or sleep, making it more efficient than human labor. Leaders like Elon Musk have acknowledged that making a full switch will be challenging. Nonetheless, the shift toward technology-driven warehouses is undeniable, and many traditional jobs will likely be transformed or phased out.

2. Librarians

Being a librarian was once viewed as a vital and secure profession. Now, digital tech has changed the way we access information, and with the rise of e-books, audiobooks, and online databases, fewer people are relying on physical libraries for their reading and research needs.

Plus, as books become more affordable and accessible, the traditional library model, which is centered around physical book rentals, is becoming less relevant. So, even though it's unlikely that libraries are going to disappear entirely, the role of librarians may shift toward digital management and online services.

3. Ride-Share Drivers

Drivers for taxi companies, as well as ride-share apps like Uber and Lyft, are facing an uncertain future as autonomous vehicles become more advanced. Self-driving cars, which are powered by artificial intelligence, are set to revolutionize the transportation industry and possibly eliminate the need for human drivers.

These vehicles will use apps to identify riders, calculate fares, and complete payments, all without any human intervention. This means the role of the traditional ride-share driver may no longer be necessary.

4. Customer Service Reps

AI and chatbots are increasingly replacing customer service representatives, too, as they're capable of handling a wide range of inquiries and issues. These AI-driven systems may offer faster and more efficient solutions and, in turn, eliminate long wait times for customers trying to speak to a human representative.

This, coupled with the fact that chatbots can operate 24/7, will help companies streamline their operations and cut costs. That's why many customer service roles are already being phased out.

5. Legal Secretaries

Even legal secretaries are facing threats due to AI-powered tools, which can handle tasks like legal research, document drafting, and contract management. These technologies are automating a lot of the routine work that once required humans and reducing the demand for legal secretaries in law firms.

Now, this role probably won't be completely replaced by AI. Even so, the automation of basic functions could still lead to lower overall staffing needs, particularly for paralegals and junior legal assistants.

6. Cashiers

Walk into your local supermarket, and you'll see that technology has already begun to take over traditional checkout processes. With the rise of self-checkout kiosks, mobile payment options like Apple Pay, and even cryptocurrency transactions, the need for human cashiers is steadily decreasing.

Retailers like Amazon have already introduced cashier-free convenience stores, and other companies may follow in their footsteps.

7. Referees

Not even sports fields seem to be safe from the rise of AI. In fact, referees are increasingly being sidelined as technology takes a more prominent role in officiating sports.

Systems like goal-line technology and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) have already proven that AI can make more accurate and unbiased calls than humans. Another appeal of automated officiating lies in its ability to reduce controversial decisions that spark arguments among players, coaches, and fans.

8. Translators

As AI-powered translation tools become more sophisticated, translators are facing stiff competition, too. These systems, which were once limited to basic word-for-word translation, are getting better at understanding context, tone, and nuance.

The improvement of machine learning will also allow for vast amounts of text across various languages to be processed simultaneously, increasing its accuracy. So, the demand for traditional translation services is expected to decline in the wake of faster and cheaper AI solutions.

9. Computer Programmers

AI-driven coding tools are advancing as well. Automated programming assistants and open-source AI libraries are streamlining many routine coding tasks, like debugging, code generation, and even basic software development.

Skilled developers will likely still be needed for complex problem-solving and other, more creative software design projects. But, developers whose roles focus on repetitive tasks may see reduced demand.

10. Dispatchers

Finally, human dispatchers may gradually be replaced by AI systems that can manage logistics, emergency responses, and customer inquiries. Things like advanced GPS tracking, automated scheduling, and real-time data processing allow AI to handle dispatch tasks with little human help.

Some cities have already implemented AI for non-emergency calls, slashing the need for human operators on the other end of the phone.

1. She thought a colleague was flirting. Spoiler alert: he wasn't.

"I was new to my role and attending a networking event out of state, lobbying for the first time. I thought one of the commissioners was flirting with me, so I stupidly considered leveraging that. I even gave him my hotel card, but he never came," one user said.

2. She spilled hundreds of hardware pieces down a hill.

"It was my first day with a new theater company as their master carpenter. Our shop was multiple buildings away from the theater, and we had to haul our tools and hardware over in shopping carts," a user recalled.

"I tipped over the shopping cart with all the containers of screws, bolts, and so on. Hundreds of little bits of hardware, all down the side of a hill."

3. She accidentally said "love you" to her team.

"I was multitasking on a call and, in the end, when everyone said goodbye, I blurted out, 'Bye, love you!' to the entire team. I was humiliated," another user detailed.

4. She accidentally messaged her own boss about her lackluster raise.

"I was working in customer service, and I asked my supervisor for a raise because I was 'error free' and my call time states were pretty good. I had told my coworker (we were both in our early twenties) that I had asked for the raise, too. We were very open about our salaries," remembered one user.

"A couple of weeks later, my supervisor called me over to her cubicle. I sent an IM [instant message] to my coworker and said, 'Supervisor wants to talk to me. Called me over to her desk. I think I got the raise!' Spoiler: I did. It was just like $0.75 an hour or something dumb, but still, I was happy to get a raise," she continued.

"Immediately after, I messaged my coworker again and said something like, 'Yep, I got the raise. It's not as much as I would have liked, but oh well." I sent this to my supervisor and not my coworker. I heard my supervisor laugh and immediately go talk to the manager. I was so embarrassed."

5. She had a bucket of water dumped on her.

"Something that happened to me years ago: a woman dropped a bucket of rainwater on my head," revealed a user.

"She wasn't looking down; she meant to do it to one of my coworkers who used to leave trash by her door. She apologized, but still."

6. She fell off her chair (in front of her supervisor).

"I was working at a park district part-time and I sat at the front desk. One day, I got up to get something from another room. I come back, sit on my chair, and lean back," one user explained.

"I guess I leaned too far back, so I ended up falling on my tailbone. My supervisor was right there. I was like a couple of weeks in, too."

7. She made up her own phonetic alphabet.

"I was trying to say the phonetic alphabet for a follow-up claim. I had the letter 'Y,' and the only word I could think of was, 'Yam!'" a user said.

"I laugh about it now, and I made the IT guy laugh, so win-win? But I definitely embarrassed myself at the moment."

8. She hit "reply all" while calling someone a jerk.

"I hit 'reply all' in an email calling someone out for being a jerk. Ten years later, it's a department inside joke," a final user admitted.

1. Ellie is dealing with some major trauma.

In The Last of Us season 1, episode 8 "When We Are in Need," we had the unpleasant experience of meeting a man named David, who says he's a pastor who found God. And over the course of the anxiety-inducing 51 minutes, David kidnaps Ellie, Joel attacks David's men to get her location, and, oh, Ellie realizes David has turned the group into cannibals without their knowledge.

At the end of the episode, David attempts to sexually assault Ellie while the lodge burns down around them. Ellie winds up killing him with a literal meat cleaver before stumbling outside covered in his blood. (I still think about this scene, I hate it so much).

Joel finds her, and from this moment until the end of episode 9, Ellie's a changed person (duh). She's still curious and fun, but she's definitely more closed off than she was before — and we'll have to see how much it affects her five years later.

2. ​Joel saves Ellie at the expense of the Firefly hospital.

Ellie's troubles are far from over after her run-in with David. In episode 9, "Look for the Light," Joel and Ellie arrive in Salt Lake City. After a very sweet conversation about how she helped Joel heal from his daughter Sarah's death that had me emotional, the Firefly rebels arrive and both knock Joel out and take Ellie.

Joel wakes up in a hospital room, where he learns that the Fireflies will operate on Ellie (who's immune, remember) to get the cure for the infection. The only problem? She won't make it out alive. And in a fit of pure paternal rage, he takes out the entire hospital, including both doctors and soldiers.

3. Ellie is immune thanks to her mom.

The show finally explains Ellie's immunity in the final episode during a flashback. Ellie's mom, Anna, gives birth to our leading lady right around the moment she's attacked by an immune. And since the umbilical cord still connects Ellie and Anna, the cordyceps infection enters Ellie's body, and immune system, differently than if she'd been bitten.

4. Joel and Ellie return to Jackson.

The beginning of The Last of Us saw Joel trying to find his brother Tommy, and they do reunite in episode 6, "Kin." After everything that happens at the hospital, Joel and Ellie head back to Tommy's home in Jackson to start their new lives alongside Tommy, his wife Maria, and the rest of the town (including Dina and Jesse, two new friends Ellie has in season 2).

5. Joel lies to Ellie about the cure.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about The Last of Us ending is that not only does Joel kill a dozen Fireflies, but he tells Ellie that there were multiple immune people, and that raiders had attacked the hospital. Ellie doesn't know that the cure would cost her life, but she's obviously disappointed by the fact she couldn't help — especially since it's clear she feels like her purpose as an immune is to help develop a cure.

In the final moments of the episode, she tells Joel to swear he was telling the truth. And when he does, all she says is, "Okay."