Oh I have travelled these trails before....and full of pot holes, rocks, and mudholes they are. The Highwaymen and Desparadoes will dry gulch, back shoot, and ambush you in an instant. Make like a crab boys...keep your eyes open and your claws ready to parry the sudden blow....hopefully the wound will only be slight when it lands.
Rule One...They do not want to hear what you have to say...no matter how many times They say they value your opinion. The unwritten rule is show up for work on time...and do not argue with the Chief Pilot.
Rule Two...They know better or They would not be in the position of authority They are in. The concept that They got there by other than cream rising to the top is not something They care about beyond They being at the top.
Rule Three...Unless you set a finite goal for yourself before taking the King's Shilling and stick to it.....and leave upon reaching it it....you are headed down the grease covered slope. Only Gravity and surface friction controls your rate of slide.
Rule Four...They do not care about how many people like you come and go...so long as you go quietly....if you are not quiet....you shall surely go.
Rule Five....You have to be alive to enjoy the fruits of your labor such as they might be...at some point it is time to submit a homemade copy of Johnny Paychecks most famous song...."Take This Job and Shove It! ( I ain't working here no more!)".
Rule Six....They will not speak highly of you after you leave...for They are right or They would not still be there . Therefore you are wrong for leaving and They are right for still being there.
Word of advice...for those who remain for long periods of time in these kinds of places....remember the frog in the boiling water concept.
Throw a frog into a roiling boil of water and he will hope out in a flash without being burned. Put him into a nice cool pot of water and ignite the gas ring....and in time you will have a boiled frog.