An unwritten expectation with any job is knowing the unspoken tricks of the trade, which largely includes having the hacks in your back pocket to fix problems as soon as they arise. Then ultimately, it becomes your silent responsibility to pass this wisdom on to others.

How would you handle working in an environment that was notorious for its unreliable technology that constantly broke? One person recently shared a wild life hack he learned in real time with Reddit at his place of work that changed how he viewed the IT Department forever. Here’s what happened.

The Coffee Stir Stick Solution

A few years ago, we had a network printer that simply refused to power on.

Its fans would whir for a moment before powering off.

I ran through every troubleshooting step I could think of as a junior analyst.

Many printers simply have a mind of their own.

Out of options, I asked my co-workers.

They all grinned.

They asked each other: “Is it time?”.

Well, that sounds pretty ominous.

My senior analyst gestured for me to follow them into the break room, where they calmly grabbed a coffee stir stick.

They led me back to the printer that was causing me grief and confidently shoved the stir stick into the back of the machine.

While having it in, they pressed and held the power button.

Curious as to who the ringleader of this operation was…

The printer sprang to life, and they pulled the stir stick out with the biggest grin I have ever seen them wear.

Apparently, it was a known issue with that model of printer that the fan may need to be interrupted to allow the printer to power on.

Anyways…if you see someone in IT walking around with a spatula or something, assume they’re gonna cook up some magical spell to fix an issue.

Ah, IT wizards, the unsung heroes of every and any workplace.

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Let’s see what the Reddit community had to say about this one.

The comments section immediately jumped to diagnose the issue.

Others jumped at the chance to share their own stories.

And anecdotes about their own malfunctioning technology.

One person offered up their own quick tips.

And another shared their own mild flex.

Modern problems require modern solutions.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who figured out how to stop his manager from constantly stealing his phone charger.