--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you agree to work for us, half the…" description: "\"“If you agree to work for us, half the time you won't know the purpose of your duties . . . and when we do explain, we might not be telling the truth. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/james-alan-gardner-23559_espionage_if-you-agree-to-work-for-us-half-the-tim_838534.jpg" --- # If you agree to work for us, half the time you won't know… ![“If you agree to work for us, half the time you won't know the purpose of your duties . . . and when we do explain, we might not be telling the truth. But that's the real world, folks . . .” quote by James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/james-alan-gardner-23559_espionage_if-you-agree-to-work-for-us-half-the-tim_838534.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/james-alan-gardner-23559_espionage_if-you-agree-to-work-for-us-half-the-tim_838534.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/james-alan-gardner-23559_espionage_if-you-agree-to-work-for-us-half-the-tim_838534.jpg) > ““If you agree to work for us, half the time you won't know the purpose of your duties . . . and when we do explain, we might not be telling the truth. But that's the real world, folks . . .”” [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Work can be opaque, with hidden motives and possibly false explanations, reflecting real‑world uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Work often hides true purpose and may involve deception. Key Takeaway Question and verify before trusting. Themes trust uncertainty workplace truth Mood cautious inquisitive Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - job interviews - team projects - organizational change Key Concepts information asymmetry skepticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess transparency? - What steps ensure honest communication? A Different Perspective Not all workplaces are deceptive; context varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Espionage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/espionage/) [Industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [When you agree to work with a filmmaker, it's important that you accept their world. It's an adventure. I like that. I throw myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahar-rahim/when-you-agree-to-work-with-a-filmmaker-it-s-important-that-you/) [Tahar Rahim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahar-rahim/) > [I agree that we should work and prolong the functions of life as far as we can, and hope that Death may find me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-agree-that-we-should-work-and-prolong-the-functions-of-life-as-far/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [No matter what somebody thinks about your videos or whatever, everyone can agree how much work it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/no-matter-what-somebody-thinks-about-your-videos-or-whatever-everyone/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) > [“Trying to shatter peace, even if it’s not one you agree with, is the work of the mad and the wicked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-hayes/trying-to-shatter-peace-even-if-it-s-not-one-you-agree-with-is-the/) [Drew Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-hayes/) > [Even if we don't agree, we should agree to work together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-epps/even-if-we-don-t-agree-we-should-agree-to-work-together/) [Omar Epps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-epps/) > [“Know your purpose and you can climb any mountain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sascha-bosio/know-your-purpose-and-you-can-climb-any-mountain/) Sascha Bosio > [What do I believe in? All I know is that everything has a purpose and a cause. There are no accidents. Everything happens for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-do-i-believe-in-all-i-know-is-that-everything-has-a-purpose-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To have our needs met, to love, to be loved, to feel safe in this world and to each know our purpose, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-have-our-needs-met-to-love-to-be-loved-to-feel-safe-in-this-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know that if there’s a purpose for life, it was for me to hear Mozart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-know-that-if-there-s-a-purpose-for-life-it-was-for-me-to-hear-mozart/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [The earth has Fates all her own. The earth has purpose. And we can only partially know what that purpose is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-caputi/the-earth-has-fates-all-her-own-the-earth-has-purpose-and-we-can-only/) [Jane Caputi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-caputi/) > [“Never obliterate a man unthinkingly, the way an entire fief might do it through some due process of law . Always do it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/never-obliterate-a-man-unthinkingly-the-way-an-entire-fief-might-do/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Sometimes, you can't tell anybody how you really feel. Not because you don't know why; Not because you don't know your purpose; Not because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-you-can-t-tell-anybody-how-you-really-feel-not-because-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“... the only thing I was to do while living was to love everyone. That, she let me know, is the purpose of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-hanson-lasater/the-only-thing-i-was-to-do-while-living-was-to-love-everyone-that-she/) [Judith Hanson Lasater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-hanson-lasater/) > [You will never be indecisive if you know your purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/you-will-never-be-indecisive-if-you-know-your-purpose/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [Know who you are and do it on purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/know-who-you-are-and-do-it-on-purpose/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by James Alan Gardner > [“I like people thinking I'm an asshole. Being an asshole is my life's vocation; I'm a goddamned asshole professional.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/i-like-people-thinking-i-m-an-asshole-being-an-asshole-is-my-life-s/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [“Given time, a ship's crew will attach sexual innuendo to anything. It makes their jobs more exciting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/given-time-a-ship-s-crew-will-attach-sexual-innuendo-to-anything-it/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [Some see the glass half full, some see it half empty, and some see it crawling with toxic alien parasites who want to devour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/some-see-the-glass-half-full-some-see-it-half-empty-and-some-see-it/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [I do not care about the greatest good for the greatest number . . . Most people are poop-heads I do not care about them at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/i-do-not-care-about-the-greatest-good-for-the-greatest-number-most/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [“My home is in Banff, Alberta, up in the Rockies. Waterloo is two time zones east, nine hundred kilometers farther south, and more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/my-home-is-in-banff-alberta-up-in-the-rockies-waterloo-is-two-time/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [“The council is a place where everyone schemes against everyone else, and people talk incessantly about Power with a capital "Pow".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/the-council-is-a-place-where-everyone-schemes-against-everyone-else/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [“That's the first rule of command; be consistent! You can be sadistic, you can be lazy, you can be stupid, but if you're consistent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/that-s-the-first-rule-of-command-be-consistent-you-can-be-sadistic/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [“You clutch your comfortable excuses, saying, Someday I'll be brave, it won't take a lot, just give me one more chance and this time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/you-clutch-your-comfortable-excuses-saying-someday-i-ll-be-brave-it/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [“We're ruthless bastards and we always play dirty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/we-re-ruthless-bastards-and-we-always-play-dirty/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [The way past despair and false hope is just letting go. It doesn't improve your odds of survival, but it doesn't waste mental energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/the-way-past-despair-and-false-hope-is-just-letting-go-it-doesn-t/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [Ah, but I am more perceptive than most of the universe. Especially the parts of the universe that are vacuum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/ah-but-i-am-more-perceptive-than-most-of-the-universe-especially-the/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [Fate does not invite ugly boring people to save the world; and if you do try to save the world (without being beautiful, strong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/fate-does-not-invite-ugly-boring-people-to-save-the-world-and-if-you/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [It is strange how the presence of additional people can make you feel more alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/it-is-strange-how-the-presence-of-additional-people-can-make-you-feel/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [Having a perilous adventure is always better than comatose safety. Always, always, always, always, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/having-a-perilous-adventure-is-always-better-than-comatose-safety/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) > [I hated relying on luck. When it worked, it made me feel so damned eerie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/i-hated-relying-on-luck-when-it-worked-it-made-me-feel-so-damned-eerie/) [James Alan Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) [Explore all 25 James Alan Gardner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/) ## More Espionage quotes > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [“Havens turned again. Someone else passed between the trucks. That someone walked with less purpose than the other workers near the stalls. To Havens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-patten/havens-turned-again-someone-else-passed-between-the-trucks-that/) J.T. Patten > [There are serious and legitimate concerns about academic espionage at our universities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikie-sherrill/there-are-serious-and-legitimate-concerns-about-academic-espionage-at/) [Mikie Sherrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikie-sherrill/) > [The neighbourhood is a place of...intrigue and emotional espionage, where when two people stop to talk on the street their tongues are like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadeem-aslam/the-neighbourhood-is-a-place-of-intrigue-and-emotional-espionage/) [Nadeem Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadeem-aslam/) > [“Langley bred a certain type of person with great intention. The human resources department required nearly as sophisticated of analysts as the foreign intelligence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-blackmar/langley-bred-a-certain-type-of-person-with-great-intention-the-human/) [Lynn Blackmar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-blackmar/) > [There was an intervention of the foreign states in the Russian Far East, Archangel of the West border of Russia. The foreign troops were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-semichastny/there-was-an-intervention-of-the-foreign-states-in-the-russian-far/) Vladimir Semichastny > [“We have to live without sympathy, don't we? That's impossible of course. We act it to one another, all this hardness; but we aren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/we-have-to-live-without-sympathy-don-t-we-that-s-impossible-of-course/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“The Intelligence Services of East and West have given Europe over fifty years of peace - the longest the Continent has ever known. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-wolf/the-intelligence-services-of-east-and-west-have-given-europe-over/) [Markus Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-wolf/) > [“Believing in a conspiracy theory is one strategy people use to regain a sense of control, even if the conspiracy theory is unrelated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-auliq-ice-junior/believing-in-a-conspiracy-theory-is-one-strategy-people-use-to-regain/) Oscar Auliq-Ice Junior > [The majority of terrorist attacks that have been disrupted in the United States have been disrupted due to things like the Time Square bomber,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-majority-of-terrorist-attacks-that-have-been-disrupted-in-the/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [“espionage—against countries as diverse as Belgium, Japan, Brazil, and Germany—in stark terms:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/espionage-against-countries-as-diverse-as-belgium-japan-brazil-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Their conversation ceased abruptly with the entry of an oddly-shaped man whose body resembled a certain vegetable. He was a thickset fellow with calloused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-phillips/their-conversation-ceased-abruptly-with-the-entry-of-an-oddly-shaped/) Jeff Phillips > [Generally speaking, espionage offers each spy an opportunity to go crazy in a way he finds irresistible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/generally-speaking-espionage-offers-each-spy-an-opportunity-to-go/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [The Iraqi regime was supporting terrorist cells all over the world. We had to expel three Iraqi diplomats from the Philippines because of evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-iraqi-regime-was-supporting-terrorist-cells-all-over-the-world-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The sensation was an explosion of feelings, leaving in its place a pleasured memory of that moment. That, thought Seth, was pure heaven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-eade/the-sensation-was-an-explosion-of-feelings-leaving-in-its-place-a/) [Kenneth Eade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-eade/) [Browse all 211 Espionage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/espionage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you agree to work for us, half the time you won't know the purpose of your duties . . . and when we do explain, we might not be telling the truth. But that's the real world, folks . . .”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Alan Gardner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/if-you-agree-to-work-for-us-half-the-time-you-won-t-know-the-purpose/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Espionage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/if-you-agree-to-work-for-us-half-the-time-you-won-t-know-the-purpose/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/james-alan-gardner-23559_espionage_if-you-agree-to-work-for-us-half-the-tim_838534.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/james-alan-gardner-23559_espionage_if-you-agree-to-work-for-us-half-the-tim_838534.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/james-alan-gardner-23559_espionage_if-you-agree-to-work-for-us-half-the-tim_838534.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you agree to work for us, half the time you won't know the purpose of your duties . . . and when we do…” — James Alan Gardner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Alan Gardner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alan-gardner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If you agree to work for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/if-you-agree-to-work-for-us-half-the-time-you-won-t-know-the-purpose/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alan-gardner/if-you-agree-to-work-for-us-half-the-time-you-won-t-know-the-purpose/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```