Thursday, October 19, 2006

Office Politics

Nope, not gonna share my own dull office politics since honestly there isn't all that much here to talk about. Sure we do have our little squabbles at work ( that honestly are far from work related ) but there's very little jostling for position since there are only limited steps in our career ladder anyway. Certainly no need to viciously tear someone down from the rung above and fling them to the brawling masses on the way to the top.

At least I assume that's what they fight about in the office. Unless they actually argue over who skanky adulteress Meredith should have chosen in Grey's Anatomy like we do in the few seconds that we bump into each other at the pantry. Over here it's usually straight to the wards or to the clinics in the wee hours of the morning with very little time in between to pick fights since we're working working working till we drop ( some literally! ).

Since I've never actually worked in an anonymous office cubicle from the proverbial 9 to 5, I've always wondered what it's like. What do a bunch of disparate folks locked up together in an office get up to? Do they squabble over who's getting the larger accounts? Do they scheme secretly in the night over ways to discredit their colleagues ( possibly burying them in the trunk of the company car )? Do they catfight over petty trifles like coveted parking lots and company bonuses?

Scrum!
What an ideal office dogfight should look like...

From what I overheard from a bunch of libellious ladies who lunch the other day, it sounds absolutely fascinating. Ever the good old boy, Charming Calvin always chides me for listening intently to other people's conversations - but honestly you do hear the most interesting things! Not only did they bitch about their inherently evil superior - and his overly superior, tackily dressed assistant, they also tore the already tattered reputations of their sadly absent colleagues into tiny shreds. Not even the way they walked or talked was safe from their caustic disparagements. A particularly obsequious associate - after being pilloried and reviled for her fawning behaviour - had her pathetically limited wardrobe dissected, discussed and denounced by her fellow judgmental peers.

Sounds deliciously wicked. Miranda Priestley would have been proud. Would have loved to stay on as they panned the miserable love lives of their workaholic colleagues but unfortunately I had to go back for an afternoon at work.

Wonder whether anyone's casting animadversions over here.

13 comments:

William said...

I'm glad to say that politics is nearly non-existant in my office since everyone is scattered around in various project sites and the organizational structure is quite flat. But we do get kicks out of listening to how some managers posture and have cat-fights just to get a cubicle at the office. Heh. No sordid office affairs... yet.

Anonymous said...

You would have loved it where I worked. It was a regular Peyton Place meets Capitol Hill. Affairs, cat fights, politics and all kinds of hoo ha were going on at all levels. Folks would back stab for issues such as one little inch of cubicle space to who gets to fly on the helicopter. I suppose it was amusing, but don't miss it at all.

thompsonboy said...

Nope, no politics here. *deluded*

Anonymous said...

Well there are no office politics where I am right now since my only boss is The Boss and all executive positions in three departments outside of admin and accounts are currently occuppied by me and only me.

My first job, now that was another matter. A colleague badmouthed me to someone who later came and told me all about it. I wasn't surprised, considering he badmouthed his "bestest buddy" in the whole organisation on my very first day of work.

Anonymous said...

Thankfully, office politics was non-existent in my past jobs. Instead (in my 1st job), we play foozball, Upwords, talk about clothes and movies and reality shows, sneak out to shop after some client presentation, (in my 2nd job) share afternoon snacks, share mp3s and play DJs on schedules, (in my last job) play Word Factory, share gossips - from magazines and otherwise, conspire to lunch out 'til 2, conspire to watch a movie in the middle of the day, drive ourselves crazy doing crazy things. And we cover up each other's antics. Crazy, huh?

Matt. K. said...

How vicious!

Anonymous said...

Thank god you are spared of office politics of any sort. I'm in TV, and even still I have office politics at work, especially when some dude bitches how he should be on the production team when he obviously doesn't look like a team player.

Anonymous said...

Rantings are common when you have superiors who makes you dread going to work. There are not really office politics going on here, but an organisation lacking in systematic modus operandi is bound to get everyone in trouble. And it is usually the one in the lower levels who gets to bite the bullet... Saddening...

Annie said...

I am proud to wear the t-shirt entitled "Survivor of multiple office politics stabbings"

You're either the stabber or the one getting stabbed. What it essentially amounts to is:
SOME people have WAY too much time on their hands and need to get back to work.

Jason said...

huh.. that's office politics huh? Well I can tell you now that it probably didn't learn to bitch like that from the office. Heck, guys and girls in university/school are already bitching about each other like that. Nothing better than a sweet bitching on a hot afternoon.

Joel said...

by the way, i really this pic....HOT

sushi anyone? :-)

ENVY said...

If my colleagues were like the ones in the photo i would have started the fights almost all the time...but then agin they are so calm around here...and though the political issues are very important in this side of the owrld and in this country...we tend not to bring things up or at least i tend not to share political opinions...mmmi would wanna get witht those guys in the picture indeed..would they let me in?

savante said...

Seriously william. Nonexistent? Wouldn't that be a bore? Surely I wouldn't want daily catfights but...

I think I would have liked to work with sue :P

Liar, thompsonboy!

Whoa, you are an important man, drownedglass!

Think I like your last job, mark! Where was that and are they hiring?

The workplace is a bad place, matt.

See. Even Sam and Ian agree.

Good God. Why stabbed? You should have been the one with the bloodied hands, anniieieie...

Ah, university life, jase. Unfortunately my uni was full of serious non gossipping med types.

sushi, joel?

If my classmates looked like that, we'd have daily brawls .. I'd provide the mud.

Paul