This morning, whilst I drank my first freshly-brewed coffee of the day, an article hit my feed from The Washington Post, ‘The pandemic was hard on office suck-ups. Now they’re back and ready to schmooze’. And it got me thinking.
The article goes on to set out a story of a guy called Daniel Distant, always cracking on under the radar, who starts to notice how they are slowly becoming more and more out of the loop because they aren’t in certain social circles – unlike their counterparts, the office suck-ups. It brings to light Distant’s attempt at doing what they had to, like vaping without tobacco during smoke breaks in order to get back in sync with those in the workplace.
Have you ever overheard a conversation by mistake, where someone has caught onto a slight similarity with someone, and they then overuse that in every moment they have with them, just to create some sort of ‘bond’. Is it just me, or does it make your skin crawl?
The article mentions that if you believe your achievements should speak for themselves, “in most cultures, you’ll be passed over for promotion.” Or if you don’t speak up in a meeting unless you’re got something useful to say, then suck-ups will grab the spotlight. This, in my eyes is a problem, not only can suck-ups be bulldozers, free riders, credit stealers or kiss up / kick downers (a few examples listed in ‘Jerks at Work: Toxic Coworkers and What to do About Them’ by Tessa West), suck-ups are moulding an environment in the workplace where those who do work their asses off, may not be getting the recognition they deserve.
This is why I don’t have time for it. So suck-ups, if you’re reading this, go suck someone else’s ass.
I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I can spot a suck-up a mile away, you get one whiff and that’s it, you know. I don’t want the people around me to re-evaluate their relationship with work, or with me. I don’t want to wake up one morning, come into work and find suck-ups eagerly staring through the window awaiting my arrival whilst I set up for the morning. What you see is what you get. I love the people I work with – we have a mutual understanding that when you work hard, you get to enjoy freedom such as longer lunches, board game nights, or a casual ice cream. It’s these moments that create that bond in the workplace, not clinging onto a similarity you have with your boss, and playing that card so much the edges are worn.
At the end of the day, you’re setting an example to those around you, even if you don’t realise it. If you’ve eased into the sucker trap and are neglecting those people who are working hard, what message do you think is being spread? Here’s to an equal workplace.
