General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: There seems to be a lot of confusion about benevolent sexism. [View all]klook
(12,153 posts)I've worked with people who are hell-bent on advancement through office politics and internecine warfare. They often don't last long, either because they're constantly changing jobs to find an edge or because they create such an aura of rancor that somebody eventually has enough of their shit and finds a way to get rid of them.
I can think of one job I had where a bully boss (not mine, thank goodness) fit this description. He was always snooping around for dirt on people, telling people different things to pit them against each other to his advantage, and so on. The standard Looking Out for Number One Machiavellian orientation. His assistant -- who was cordial to him with gritted teeth while they worked together -- stabbed him in the back, which he richly deserved, in her exit interview. He was gone within the month.
I have a few other examples from the long landscape of my work life, but I don't really feel like spelling them all out here. I'll just say that the patterns are sickeningly repetitive.
My own approach has been to be a cooperative team player, to learn all I can, and try to provide good value to every organization I'm a part of. It hasn't always worked out for the best -- shit happens sometimes -- but in most situations I've received stellar feedback about my performance, advancements and raises, and the high regard of superiors and colleagues. (No brag, just fact.) I've advised my kids to take the same approach (one I learned from my dad), and it's served them well in their scholastic and work lives as well.
I find the approach you describe akin to road rage. It's like going into the office every day as though it were a battlefield or a viper pit. I know some work environments are like that, but sometimes when we go into a situation expecting enemies on all sides, that's just what we get.
As a wise man I used to work with said once, "Some people have bad neighbors everywhere they go."