#officepolitics

Lay low don’t attach any undo attention to yourself.
Do not trust or talk to coworkers.
Under no circumstances should you help coworkers. Those that struggle stand out and will end up layoff candidate.
When its survival mode, it’s either sink or swim.

1. Never explain yourself under pressure

   • Being forced to explain yourself often places you in a submissive position.
   • If a question is framed this way, point it out directly.
   • Example: "I don't think you meant to, but that question puts me in a position where I have to justify myself, and that is not a role I am going to take right now."

2. Never argue about your motives

   • Do not engage in debates about what your intentions supposedly were.
   • Call out the framing instead.
   • Example: "The way that was said puts me in a position where I have to defend my character."

3. Never take the bait on character attacks

   • Avoid engaging with accusations about who you are as a person.
   • Do not argue over identity or character.

4. Never apologize simply to de escalate

   • With a manipulator, the apology they push for is often meant as an admission of guilt.
   • It usually does not resolve the underlying issue.

5. Never match emotional intensity to prove your point

   • Do not mirror someone else's anger or intensity.
   • Escalating emotion rarely strengthens an argument.

6. Never accept someone else's language without precision

   • Words like disrespect, abuse, or betrayal can shape the narrative.
   • Accepting those labels without clarification lets someone else define the situation.
   • Clarify what they specifically mean before engaging with the claim.

7. Never accept binary traps

   • Avoid being forced into yes or no or either or answers when the situation is more complex.
   • Seek specificity.
   • Ask clarifying questions such as:
     • "When you said that, what specifically are you referring to?"
     • "What outcome are you hoping for here?"

8. Never try to win through logic alone

   • Arguments are not always resolved through logic by itself.
   • Emotional dynamics, framing, and intentions often influence the outcome.

#gold rules

Look around at who gets ahead. It's the people who say yes to everything and know how to flatter the right folks. They can't actually do the technical work. Ask them to solve a real problem and they fall apart. Empathy? Leadership skills? Not a chance. They just know how to climb.

I've watched the same pattern for years. The people who get promoted aren't the ones doing the best work. They're the ones talking the loudest about their work. I come in, hit my numbers, solve problems, meet every deadline. I don't make a fuss about it. I just do it. And every time a project comes up or a position opens, it goes to someone who spends all their time in meetings telling everyone how great they are.

Supported you? Managed thoughtfully? Tried to understand people's strengths and assign work accordingly? Do they even fully understand what your team does?

Mine might as well be from another planet. Great at office politics, useless at the actual work, and convinced that passive-aggressive behavior equals authority. I don't think anyone would notice, or work would suffer, if they were gone tomorrow.

not so friendly reminder…

When corporate says bring your whole self to work, please do not.

Bring your professional self. The edited version. The safe version. The one that says good question even when the question made absolutely no sense.

When someone asks what did you do this weekend, you do not tell them you were dancing on bars, binge watching shows, or questioning your life choices.

You say you relaxed and recharged.

When the big boss tells a joke that completely dies in the room, you laugh. Not because it was funny. Because everyone understands the script.

Here is the truth nobody says out loud.

Corporate is theater.

Meetings are scenes. Titles are costumes. And most people are acting like they have everything under control.

That is why they call them performance reviews.

Some people think corporate sucess is purely about talent. Sometimes it is. But a lot of the time it is about knowing when to nod, when to stay quiet, and when to say great point.

so if you want to survive corporate…

work on your acting.

because the people winning the game are not always the most qualified.

They are the ones who understand the stage.

REALITY check??

Am I wrong, or just saying the quiet part out loud?

A few questions regarding 3M's mascot, Scotty: Who watches him all day? What does it cost to have people watch him? Where does he go at night? How much did it cost to trademark his name: The Science Lab? How much time and money went into this decision (legal, PR cost, etc) to acquire him? Was he a rescue dog/puppy mill/legitimate breeder?
Is there any chance he will get laid off or spun-off?
Maybe a better mascot would be a black widow spider or a preying mantis, you know, one's that eat their own.

"Silliness" LOL

…knock it off! I know it su-ks always being worried about losing your job every Tuesday after payday, but you really don’t want to lose your job, especially with so many industries laying off in the last year or so. It sounds good to have a break from all the cr-p that goes on in office (I totally get that), but being freshly unemployed is NOT fun and I do not wish that upon anyone! It is hard to find a job in 2025/2026, especially when you don’t already have a job. A lot of posts for the last week or so saying March 3rd was going to be a huge day for layoffs and it was no worse than any other day. Stop creating unnecessary drama and fear for people saying the sky is falling when it’s not. Yes, I know some people lost their jobs yesterday and that su-ks, but be a good person and don’t post rumors…only post facts!

Just like so many other sites, they were given a feel good speech and feel all safe and sound. It’s all nice weather before the storm hits. The layoffs are a roving spot light. Sometimes it quickly passes over, sometimes it stops and stays for a while focusing on one area only. Right now the Belfast office feels safe but so does the docks before the ocean swells. Oh, there’s plans for Belfast alright, they’ve just not manifested yet.

So apparently, throwing darts are the new operating model. Town hall highlight of the year: Head of IT + CFO confidently announce that “No other companies have figured out AI governance… but we will.”

The silence afterward? You could hear a budget being cut in real time. This is coming from leadership that still treats basic project tracking like it’s emerging technology. But wait, it gets better.
Our fearless IT leader sends the brand-new “Head of Data” out of the country to “vet options” we aren’t even authorized to implement. Bold strategy.

Minor detail: this individual’s experience in data and technology appears to be limited to creatively rearranging LinkedIn buzzwords. If résumé fiction were a programming language, we’d finally have expertise. Because promoting someone with no clue in the space worked out so well last time… why not run it back? Now the plot twist: they’re stuck abroad due to regional conflicts and travel disruptions. You truly cannot script this level of tragic corporate comedy. We can’t align on reporting standards, but we’re about to solve global AI governance. Sure.

Next town hall prediction:
“We’ve decided to skip governance and move straight to vibes.”

Every time I walk around the office and see anyone with Eliza on their screen I just shake my head. Beside the fact that it’s not very good, I think it would be quite amazing to see the EC crash out if they saw a fat 0% use rate when they obsessively check the stats. I know our wonderful pals in Pune would never cooperate though

Who gets Blocked? Or should I say who gets Jacked?

EVERY DAY

We have to deal with extremely poor management, and you have to belong to their circle, or they turn your life into a living he-l! Don't get me started on so many gossips going on behind the close door. You're expected to know everything and do everything but if you want to be recognized for your work, tough luck. Horrible, horrible place.

How does one deal with managers pets who are super annoying????

Maybe I'm new to the corporate culture but this individual has been annoyingly pushing themselves into everything just to show off and have their "fingerprint" on everything.

And since I'm not in same location as my snake of a manager, all of my work is being showed by this annoying credit stealer.

You can at this point guess our BU.

No show at the sales kickoff, sorry commercial summit in Orlando. Nasser Khodri doing all the talking. Stephanie relegated to a 2 minute video measage at the end of the keynote session. Apparently she really wanted to be here but it wasn’t possible because she has to do the earnings call tomorrow. I guess the FIS private jet must be out of service, along with all motorised transport between here and Jacksonville…

Does anyone know what’s going on today? Executives are all onsite and leaders have hinted to fires going on

They are easy to identify. Don’t trust those who immediately jump to liking and commenting on a LinkedIn PR / propaganda post by a powerful someone. Keep your distance. They are the backstabbers, guaranteed.

I've heard of folks being let go for not staying the full day at the office and leaving early... supposedly HR is checking as of the past 6 months. Any truth to this? Has any managers heard of this?

How true is this? My manager reminded me to make sure I'm staying the whole day when I go to the office, supposedly he's heard of 40 people being fired due to just swiping their badge and leaving. Anyone hear something similar?

The PayPal crew is getty cocky, I hope any tenured VZ svp has ba--s to stand up to the new non talented telephony additions.

Show what you know!!!

Who's going to confess to being the joker who asked if we can have a MORE flexible 60/40 policy....

Or better still the one who asked if they should include their commute on their timesheet.

Anyone else notice how they avoided answering questions related to layoffs vs. C-suite compensation, offshoring, etc. in the latest TDO town hall? I’m disgusted but not surprised in the least that these cowards don’t have the ba--s to answer questions associates care about.

Nothing about how EJ is run makes sense anymore. It's all reactive panic moves and politics. If you're not buddies with someone in charge, good luck getting anywhere. Meanwhile the actual work gets ignored and benefits keep shrinking. It's exhausting.

Dell just held its field readiness submit (FRS). In principle, it’s a great idea. It’s essentially a sales kick off, with one distinct difference… no individual contributors (account executives and presales) are in attendance at all - only managers. The last time we checked, managers don’t sell.. what an absolute joke! Instead, individual contributors watch online / virtual contact. Wake up dell leadership!!!!

@SB
“What you've just said is one of the most insanely id--tic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now d-mber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”

― Billy Madison (movie)

Okay I was never a fan of hans... But

What's up with all these tough guy avp and directors now just out and open sh-----g on hans ..

Big tough guys now, where were you a year ago tough guy...

I understand in the vz world bootlicking is part of the game. But JFC these jokers are so gd obvious.

Where the credo about owning problems and not passing the buck...

Do the needful and quit already. They are moving the RTO goal post again because they aren’t seeing as much attrition as they hoped with the 8 hour tracking.

They don’t like that we use 1/2 days pto to avoid the office.

mgmt will decide who to lay off based on complex factors such as personal disputes, retaliation, preserving dominance and status, rivalries, and internal power struggles, often arising from cycles of poor judgment, limited opportunity, trauma, and loyalty, with layoffs frequently intensifying through social contagion and misidentification within social networks.

#rant #gold #layoffs #layoffselectioncriteria #oracle

Anything I can do about this? I was told by the new manager that she wanted to hire me and was going to speak with my current manager to talk about transition plan while they find someone to backfill my role. Now I'm being told that I can no longer transfer since what I support is critical and they wouldn't be able to hire someone fast enough.

Now I feel stuck- any recourse or am I SOL and just need to apply externally at this point? From what I've read here seems like current manager can't block/stop you from applying /accepting other roles but seems like it depends on your situation/which team you would be leaving, I guess if it's critical and you have no backup it's not possible.

Naming the new Webex devices after himself, G2, is next level trolling. Congrats

A notable portion of self-proclaimed "leaders" are, in fact, insecure and intellectually limited, and they actively suppress genuine talent due to feeling threatened. These managers frequently enforce strict hierarchical adherence and exhibit extreme anxiety when their direct reports communicate with individuals outside their BUs or with higher-ranking personnel.

Is it true that director and higher level executives get paid on demand but front line and managers get paid by shipped?

How can someone like Tracy K sc--ws up big time and stay? Doesn’t make any sense.

Nothing enrages me more than those mo-rons wearing the Eliza jacket.
You’d have to be a new level of 1diot

My AD manages 2 people and owns one product . No working level duties .. No delivery pressure or resolving ground level problems

Keep making decks and spreadsheets. Attending meetings where they are not even required.. Taking status from us passing it to leaders as if she is making great progress