Why I take my work related advice from Megan Thee Stallion, and you should too

She always keeps me grounded on what’s important

Asides the catchy punchlines, fun beat, and generally positive demeanor of Megan’s music, one of the many reasons I love it so much is because it keeps me grounded on what’s important: the money. Say what you want about Megan but one thing’s for sure, she doesn’t want to see you broke or messing with your bag.

I read a very sad story of an employer announcing an employee’s resignation even when she didn’t resign and a bunch of other messy stuff, and it made me sad because in so many situations employees have put their employers first and given a lot, only to be spat out like trash.

I know as an employee you’re always replaceable (no matter who you are), but employers seem to conflate replaceable and disposable, people shouldn’t be disposable and people should be respected. Anyway, I don’t want want to rant about this today, this is an article of Megan lyrics to remind you perhaps you’ve forgotten, to focus on yourself and your money when it comes to work.

I wonder why people write into Dear HBR every week with their work problems when they can just listen to Megan and get the answer in 3 minutes.

On Employers

“I don’t be stressin’ ‘bout none of these niggas
When they be talkin’, I don’t even listen
Tellin’ me secrets, I probably forget it” — Cash Shit

One thing’s for sure, employers lie, A LOT! Learn to filter what you hear and don’t be swindled by sweet talk. A lot of them have a masters in sweet talk.

On leaving

“Cut a nigga off and my checks got bigger” — Realer

“Two, never let these niggas come between a check (Yeah)” — Circles

Do I need to explain this?

On dumb coworker arguments

“I ain’t finna argue with you, this ain’t how we do that” — Simon Says

“I don’t wanna argue ‘bout it, baby, I’m good” — Money Good

I stopped arguing with coworkers in 2018. If you don’t want to have a sensible conversation, I’m out of that conversation.

On doing unpaid work

“If it ain’t ‘bout money, then you know I ain’t involved” — Running Up freestyle

“If it ain’t about the money, then you know I’m gon’ ignore it” — Savage

A mantra. An ethos. A lifestyle. Unpaid work? Miss me with that.

On putting in the work

“Work, work, work, work” — Shake That

“They say I got the skills, they say I got the look (I got the look)” — Do it on the tip

“Bitch, I’m very well, on my shit as you could tell” — Body

One thing’s for sure. I always come through with the work to be done.

On respect in the workplace

“You say you want respect, well, treat me how you wanna be treated” — B.I.T.CH

Respect is reciprocal.

On coworker competition (this shouldn’t even be a thing)

“I ain’t in no competition with these hoes at all (With these hoes at all)” — Dot it on the tip

“Another bitch shining ain’t gon’ dim my light (Uh-uh)” — Ain’t Equal

“I’m too bad to be mad (Yup), I’m too sexy to be jealous” — Sugar Baby

Nothing irks me like the idea of coworker competition. Like we’re all building a company. Focus on that instead.

On Employer entitlement

“Bitch, I ain’t the one so watch your motherfucking mouth” — Running Up freesyle

“I ain’t turn into no bad bitch when you met me, boy, I been that” — B.I.T.C.H

“Thinkin’ that he Future, I’ma leave him in the past tense (Bye)” — Sugar Baby

A very paradoxical statement I make a lot is “I care about money”, and while I do care and money plays a significant role in most work decisions I make, I also don’t care about money like that and it has little weight in how I see myself in a lot of situations. The point here is, it’s easy to assume where you are is the best it can ever be, but new companies come up every day and there’s surely better out there. There’s so much more out there, you can always do better and better is a metric only you should decide on.

On workplace drama

“Hot Girl Summer, I ain’t fucking with no drama, huh (Fuckin’ with no drama)” — Captain hook

I just won’t. The responsibilities on my contract doesn’t include drama and I will not be engaging in such.

On being confident in your work

“I’m the shit, ooh” — Savage remix

“Look at how I bodied that, ate it up and gave it back (Ugh)” — Body

“Bitch, I’m the shit, and I ain’t gotta prove it” — Go Crazy

You produce results and the results are clear! Be confident in that.

At the end of the day, all you’ve got is you

“Ain’t no nigga finna stop me, independent, I got me” — B.I.T.C.H

“They tried to knock me off, but a bitch still grindin’” — Girls in the hood

At the end of the day, when you leave a job, all you’ve got is you. Your skills, the relationships built, your savings, and your experience, so focus on growing those and you’ll be fine.

PS: One of my utmost fave things about being a Megan stan is being called Hottie, it’s the cutest stan name ever! 😆