SUMMARY POINTS
Dave, Jen and Chris are all vying for the open position. It’d be a promotion and a step up for them in their careers. And all three are qualified but only one will get it. The others will get passed up for promotion.
In most normal offices, all three would do their best to prove their worth and fit for the position by going above and beyond their responsibilities. It’d show and prove to the hiring manager and folks in upper management that they’d be the ideal candidate for the job.
But this isn’t a normal office - fuck, no.
Dave, Jen and Chris are the epitomai of office assholes working in a cutthroat office environment. All three will do just about anything to get ahead, no matter who it hurts. And, it seems like the work culture promotes it.
Over the course of several months, you witness some real bat-shit crazy tactics that all three have been using to undermine one another. It’s the same kind of shit you see in reality TV survivor shows but in a corporate environment.
It’s things like talking shit about the other person behind their back, throwing others under the bus, sabotaging meetings and presentations, playing office politics the dirty way, etc. It goes on and on.
As bad as that is, it gets worse because the damage isn’t limited to those in the ring. There are all sorts of collateral damage that gets spread all across the organization.
And unfortunately, it negatively affects all of the honest and good people who get impacted by the side effects or get hit by the crossfire and suffer casualties from the battles.
Working in a cutthroat work culture when you’re not a cutthroat kinda person can really fuck up your mental health and happiness and derail your career.
In most normal offices, all three would do their best to prove their worth and fit for the position by going above and beyond their responsibilities. It’d show and prove to the hiring manager and folks in upper management that they’d be the ideal candidate for the job.
But this isn’t a normal office - fuck, no.
Dave, Jen and Chris are the epitomai of office assholes working in a cutthroat office environment. All three will do just about anything to get ahead, no matter who it hurts. And, it seems like the work culture promotes it.
Over the course of several months, you witness some real bat-shit crazy tactics that all three have been using to undermine one another. It’s the same kind of shit you see in reality TV survivor shows but in a corporate environment.
It’s things like talking shit about the other person behind their back, throwing others under the bus, sabotaging meetings and presentations, playing office politics the dirty way, etc. It goes on and on.
As bad as that is, it gets worse because the damage isn’t limited to those in the ring. There are all sorts of collateral damage that gets spread all across the organization.
And unfortunately, it negatively affects all of the honest and good people who get impacted by the side effects or get hit by the crossfire and suffer casualties from the battles.
Working in a cutthroat work culture when you’re not a cutthroat kinda person can really fuck up your mental health and happiness and derail your career.
About Cutthroat Work Cultures
There are way too many asshole bosses that truly believe that high-pressure work environments are the best way to get results. They create and foster pressure-cooker cultures that promote ruthlessness.
You see it all the time. It’s become a cliche in countless movies and TV series. And it continues over into the real world. It’s art imitating life and vice versa. It’s a self-feeding cycle of epic shittiness.
While this tactic can work in the short term and for some very specific situations (like military training), most of the time, it does much more harm than good.
Cutthroat work cultures have substantially higher rates of physical and mental health issues ranging from high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, depression, anxiety, etc.
Plus, according to this academic study, these kinds of high-stress environments become an ideal breeding ground for workplace bullying because the ruthless culture is like a petri dish for more assholes to be grown.
Here’s how these kinds of cutthroat office environments fuck you up.
You see it all the time. It’s become a cliche in countless movies and TV series. And it continues over into the real world. It’s art imitating life and vice versa. It’s a self-feeding cycle of epic shittiness.
While this tactic can work in the short term and for some very specific situations (like military training), most of the time, it does much more harm than good.
Cutthroat work cultures have substantially higher rates of physical and mental health issues ranging from high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, depression, anxiety, etc.
Plus, according to this academic study, these kinds of high-stress environments become an ideal breeding ground for workplace bullying because the ruthless culture is like a petri dish for more assholes to be grown.
Here’s how these kinds of cutthroat office environments fuck you up.
1) Overworked Way Past Limits
It’s well accepted that during crunch time, with an upcoming deadline on a major project, you and your colleagues may have to put in some late nights or weekends. The team pulls together, gets in the zone and gets it done.
But this isn’t something that happens constantly week in and week out. It’s only during those critical milestones.
However, when you’re getting the whip cracked on you 24x7 to get more done, you get overwhelmed as fuck and burned out. When this happens, your health goes downhill fast. You need downtime to manage work stress and recharge yourself.
But this isn’t something that happens constantly week in and week out. It’s only during those critical milestones.
However, when you’re getting the whip cracked on you 24x7 to get more done, you get overwhelmed as fuck and burned out. When this happens, your health goes downhill fast. You need downtime to manage work stress and recharge yourself.
2) Don’t Give A Shit About You
Cutthroat cultures have very little in the way of empathy. You’re just another cubicle slave that is only there to produce results and that’s it. No bones about it.
That bitchy boss doesn’t give a rat’s ass about you as a person. She only cares about the results you produce. If you can’t crank out work fast and hard, then you’ll get chewed up and spit out like old bubble gum.
When your boss doesn’t give a shit and the company doesn’t care about you as a person, then you’ll just become more disconnected and less engaged with your work. If this goes on long enough, you’re no longer sharpening your skills. You’ll be short-changing your career development and progress.
That bitchy boss doesn’t give a rat’s ass about you as a person. She only cares about the results you produce. If you can’t crank out work fast and hard, then you’ll get chewed up and spit out like old bubble gum.
When your boss doesn’t give a shit and the company doesn’t care about you as a person, then you’ll just become more disconnected and less engaged with your work. If this goes on long enough, you’re no longer sharpening your skills. You’ll be short-changing your career development and progress.
3) No Recognition For Your Contributions
Ruthless office cultures will only recognize the winner of the battle. And in a winner-take-all environment, everyone except the winner doesn’t get any recognition for their contributions.
It doesn’t matter if you were in second place, last place or no place at all. You don’t get the fucking recognition you deserve for the work you put in.
When you don’t feel valued by the organization, you feel like a worthless piece of shit. Like, what’s the point in all of this?
This often leads to depression and big drops in your motivation to keep the momentum going when things get fucking hard. Then, the drop in productivity leads to more punishment from above. It’s a downward spiral and you feel like quitting.
It doesn’t matter if you were in second place, last place or no place at all. You don’t get the fucking recognition you deserve for the work you put in.
When you don’t feel valued by the organization, you feel like a worthless piece of shit. Like, what’s the point in all of this?
This often leads to depression and big drops in your motivation to keep the momentum going when things get fucking hard. Then, the drop in productivity leads to more punishment from above. It’s a downward spiral and you feel like quitting.
4) Zero Office Fun & Happiness
Another common trait in cutthroat office cultures is that there’s no such thing as having fun at work - because when you’re at work, you’re only supposed to be working and that’s it.
However, having fun at work matters even when work sucks because it’s the perfect antidote to offset the high stress. It’s a great way to balance things out.
It doesn’t mean ping pong tables and bean bags. It’s just about letting happiness happen at work more often by allowing fun to flourish.
And when you can laugh and smile more often at work, you’ll be much happier to be there and consequently, your work quality goes up and your career prospects improve from that.
When it’s the opposite, you’ll become that bitchy person that nobody wants to be around.
However, having fun at work matters even when work sucks because it’s the perfect antidote to offset the high stress. It’s a great way to balance things out.
It doesn’t mean ping pong tables and bean bags. It’s just about letting happiness happen at work more often by allowing fun to flourish.
And when you can laugh and smile more often at work, you’ll be much happier to be there and consequently, your work quality goes up and your career prospects improve from that.
When it’s the opposite, you’ll become that bitchy person that nobody wants to be around.
5) No Help Or Support
It’s unrealistic to expect someone to succeed without some guidance, coaching and/or support. Everyone needs some help to get going, learn the ropes and receive assistance when they get stuck.
But in cutthroat offices, there’s no such thing as help or support. It’s a sink or swim mentality. It’s up to you and you only to figure things out and get it done.
People don’t help each other out here. Everybody is fending for themselves. There’s no sense of teamwork.
This leaves you feeling isolated and in times of need, you’ll get ignored and it’ll feel like you’re dying inside. This is when your confidence hits rock bottom and it becomes nearly impossible to keep a positive attitude when work life sucks.
What happens next is that you take these negative vibes back with you into your personal and home life and it starts to fucks things up there too. It just spreads.
But in cutthroat offices, there’s no such thing as help or support. It’s a sink or swim mentality. It’s up to you and you only to figure things out and get it done.
People don’t help each other out here. Everybody is fending for themselves. There’s no sense of teamwork.
This leaves you feeling isolated and in times of need, you’ll get ignored and it’ll feel like you’re dying inside. This is when your confidence hits rock bottom and it becomes nearly impossible to keep a positive attitude when work life sucks.
What happens next is that you take these negative vibes back with you into your personal and home life and it starts to fucks things up there too. It just spreads.
Leave Cutthroat Cultures ASAP
Working in a ruthless office culture is not good. You gotta leave a toxic work environment that allows cutthroat behavior to go unchecked. Because, if you don’t, you’ll end up suffering the consequences of all sorts of mental, physical and relationship issues.
You definitely don’t want to be dealing with backstabbers all the time or be in the target and crossfire of any bad situations. And furthermore, you also can’t be constantly suffering bystander casualties either. You’re the innocent one.
No job is worth that.
So when you see trouble brewing ahead with office assholes and the skies are getting dark, steer clear of them and the situation and head for safe shelter.
Keep your head down, get your work done and start making real plans to get another job elsewhere - to a place where people work hard as a team, help each other out and have fun while doing it.
Life is too short to be spending any more time in shitty workplaces.
Your health and happiness are first priority.
Feel Better,
[Cubicle|Therapy]
You definitely don’t want to be dealing with backstabbers all the time or be in the target and crossfire of any bad situations. And furthermore, you also can’t be constantly suffering bystander casualties either. You’re the innocent one.
No job is worth that.
So when you see trouble brewing ahead with office assholes and the skies are getting dark, steer clear of them and the situation and head for safe shelter.
Keep your head down, get your work done and start making real plans to get another job elsewhere - to a place where people work hard as a team, help each other out and have fun while doing it.
Life is too short to be spending any more time in shitty workplaces.
Your health and happiness are first priority.
Feel Better,
[Cubicle|Therapy]