Human nature vs. office politics
Ali's all 'Ima git you, sucka.' And Joe's all 'Do you wax, 'cause those brows are flawless.'
So about the title of this post: It’s not a competition, like Ali vs. Frazier, or Superargo vs. Diabolicus (a movie so friggin’ cool that it’s literally one of the few TV memories I’ve retained since childhood; the others being every episode of Abbott and Costello, including the slightly creepy The Time of Our Lives).
It’s more a matter of opinion, you know, like Nature vs. Nurture. As with that old chestnut, the question of whether people are just venal pricks at heart or if it’s the workplace that makes them that way is a source of never-ending curiosity. Well, to me, at least.
I thought about this the other day while having lunch with a friend and former colleague, who’s about year into a great gig with what for all intents and purposes seems like an amazing company (all open and friendly and creative and sh%&). He’s got a ton of responsibility—the good kind—a crackerjack team and the faith and trust of the big boss. Life’s good, right? Well, apparently, not so much.
Lately he’s run into some resistance in the firm, mostly other senior managers who, for whatever reasons, aren’t making things easy for him. Of course, this could be due to any number of factors: Poor social skills. Halitosis. Rickets.
But I know this guy, and trust me: He’s great. Smart, funny, engaging, well mannered, well groomed (something methinks Joe would appreciate (see caption, above)), and a genuine team player—the kind who’s always looking for ways to collaborate, make things better and celebrate the achievements of others.
Right about now you’re probably thinking one of two things. Either A) This guy sounds amazing; I wonder what he’s doing for the Jewish holidays, or B) It is a cosmic impossibility that such a person is friends with Leeds. Both are legitimate, but neither is germane to this post. Think of this paragraph as the textual equivalent of a musical interlude.
The point is, this guy’s a friggin’ gem. Oh, and did I mention he’s a star? Like he actually gets stuff done and proactively comes up with all these cool ways to further the business and the company’s brand? Yeah, that too.
So why, I wonder, is he catching flack?
Could it be that offices, by dint of their stark walls, common toilets and color copiers somehow cause otherwise normal people to become petty, spiteful, backstabbing a-holes? Or is it that such behavior is really just part of our makeup, like an enzyme that’s genetically triggered when more than a handful of us are gathered in the same place, collecting semi-monthly paychecks?
I’ve concluded the answer is Yes. Offices are breeding grounds for the detestable behavior of horrid people. And, by the same token, most of those horrid people are just genetically wired to be jerks—no assembly or external factors required. So, what to do…
Well, a lot of us have chosen to make another option for ourselves, i.e. create a new paradigm, in a different kind of office with fundamentally good people. Sounds like dope-smoking, free-love, kids-running-naked-around-the-commune stuff, I know, but it feels right and, for a lot of folks, actually seems to work. Go figure.
Sure beats the office version of the Thrilla in Manilla.
