do you try to play the corporate game?

[cursed knowledge]

basically the way i see it, the only way up for me is to suck up to the higher up ppl, shut up if i see anything wrong and try to be fake friendly with everybody

i even use the corporate accent and made up words lmao

do you try to do that or are you at the point where you say "fuck it i don't need this"

i wish i was cool enough to not care but i feel like it'll cost me opportunities and money. ugh

 

[Baji Boxer]

I don't know what a corporate accent is.

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

I'm in public service and not yet in a role that makes any executive decisions so it's just not necessary for me. I just have to be a leader within my immediate unit and it feels like at this point, it comes pretty naturally and doesn't require prep or rehearsal for me.

People doubt my sincerity all of the time for a variety of reasons but I'm okay with that.

 

[UltraMav]

I was very opposed to some major changes corporate was shoving down our throats. I was also very vocal about why what they wanted to do was extremely stupid and a bit unethical.

I was laid off a few months later and my career was completely knee-capped as I was entry level management. If I stay in the same industry I will likely have to go in as a grunt once again.

No ragerts.

 

[cursed knowledge]

I don't know what a corporate accent is.

Click to shrink...

try to imagine how a HR person speaks

The 'corporate accent' is the latest workplace fixation on TikTok, with young workers mocking their colleagues' jargon-laden speech

"Corporate Erin" is a character going viral on TikTok because of her passive aggressive professional tone and endless use of corporate jargon.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[Kraid]

My primary motivation at work is intellectual stimulation rather than constantly climbing a ladder. I plan on being an individual contributor my entire career. I'm cordial and will be friendly with people, but like, I'm not a suck up or someone who tries to show off in the interest of getting ahead.

 

[mantidor]

I was in a company like that and its literal torture, thankfully I was fired (so I got the benefits lol). When I asked why I was being fired they couldn't form a coherent sentence, it was obviously because I didn't suck up like they wanted.

 

[teruterubozu]

Only when I was working in a corporate environment. Now I work in a more chill situation.

 

[Lobster Roll]

I don't know what a corporate accent is.

Click to shrink...

View: https://www.tiktok.com/@sullyfinlay/video/7310347007216880938

 

[Kill3r7]

Jargon galore.

 

[NeverWas]

No, but I kind of wish I had. Probably would have been a director/dept head by now, making butt loads of cash while doing very little work myself.

 

[Like the hat?]

No, i already hate myself enough as is.

 

[skeezx]

while your mileage may very among certain positions and careers I think higher ups generally see through the veneer and call bullshit. that's why i just keep my head down and try and do a good job rather than striking a bunch of poses, which some people do and are higher above me, but where will they be in 5 or so years when everybody learns they can't do anything, or at least what they're alleging ?

 

[Lakeside]

I played the corporate game. Around 2000, I was a director level person in a Fortune 500 and things were rolling. I'm older so I had about 5 years in with the company and was halfway through my tenure there. They were making some questionable decisions, but I was young and hopeful. I had gotten to a position where I had a monthly meeting with a VP that was into my work and essentially sponsoring me from that point forward.

I think ~25 or so layoffs later I was gone, along with just about everyone else. They kept a very select few people in my location, and though I was offered a move, I didn't take it. The same shit was happening elsewhere and I would have had no ties to anyone. My VP guy took a golden parachute and so much fuckery happened in that last 5 years. Along with layoffs, it was a crazy bunch of forced cluster rankings, politics, just nonstop bullshit.

That was pretty much it for me and the fucking ladder. It took a lot to get there and I decided I was done with that. I had one more corporate stop and it was a mixed bag, largely because I wouldn't play the game. I latched onto a small company and started working from home ~2008 or so and haven't looked back.

 

[APizzaPie]

I'm polite to to the people I work with. I don't know if that counts as playing the game. I'm definitely not doing it to climb the ladder. It's just not in my personality to be difficult with coworkers.

 

[tim1138]

Nope, but I somehow ended up in leadership anyways

 

[Soda]

I do, I guess, but I'm also just a pretty happy / positive person in general so it's kinda my default persona. I'm quite sarcastic but it comes from a positive, humorous angle rather than a "Fuck I'm exhausted and hate this job" angle.

 

[Tan]

I wouldn't say that I do but I know who's open to feedback and who isn't and I do my business accordingly. No sense arguing with brick walls, but I'm not going to lick their boots either

 

[Reym]

My job is already miserable I don't want to climb the corporate ladder. I'm not trying to make it worse than it already is.

 

[Laephis]

I'm grateful to be in a position now where I can change the rules of the game and make life better for people.

 

[BarryFishFinger]

Yep, pretty much. In my experience it greases the wheels of advancement, in that kind of environment your face and attitude has to fit otherwise you'll get passed over. So I try to play the corporate game.

And some of it is nonsense as I "mind fart the shit out of this until the perfect bubble rises" (Train Guy aka Bob Mortimer) but the rewards for playing this particular game mostly successfully have been tangible for me.

 

[Lumination]

Played it until I had enough clout to say it like it is. And I made it my niche. To call shit out.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

no, I have no interest in any of that.

 

[gaugebozo]

try to imagine how a HR person speaks

The 'corporate accent' is the latest workplace fixation on TikTok, with young workers mocking their colleagues' jargon-laden speech

"Corporate Erin" is a character going viral on TikTok because of her passive aggressive professional tone and endless use of corporate jargon.

www.businessinsider.com

Click to shrink...

Oh my god the corporate accent. When I started at my company it was still smaller and thankfully had none of that, but we grew quickly. We recently brought in a new exec who uses it constantly and it's starting to rub off on people. He's the sort of guy who endlessly reads biographies of billionaires and like, "Inside Apple" garbage.

 

[Surakian]

Nah, I don't work in corporate and it is unlikely I ever will due to my own lack of interest in it. Don't need to do things that way where I work. Just do your shit, don't get in trouble, apply for your promotions, and hope the math is in your favor after being graded and ranked.

 

[pioneer]

No, I try to work for smaller companies

 

[fade]

If shaking the rungs from below is considered part of the game then yes.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

No I set in my office and try to make the olds feel uncomfortable with outdated pro wrestling references.

 

[Lunchbox-]

in my early 20's after graduation, i sucked up, worked extra hours, sacrificed my personal life …..in the end got shafted for promotions and raises. cause i became the loyal work horse

now i do the bare minimum and invest in real estate and stocks to retire as early as possible


you can't win that game, do you

 

[TaySan]

Never worked in a corporate environment tbh

 

[balohna]

I set some things aside in the name of professionalism and keeping my job, but I basically act like myself and give honest feedback. I have not climbed the corporate ladder though, lol. I guess I don't necessarily value that, outside of lightly resenting the people that do "play the game" and get promoted over people I feel deserve it more. Basically holding onto some optimism that management cares about more than that and then always getting disappointed.

 

[BabyShams]

try to imagine how a HR person speaks

The 'corporate accent' is the latest workplace fixation on TikTok, with young workers mocking their colleagues' jargon-laden speech

"Corporate Erin" is a character going viral on TikTok because of her passive aggressive professional tone and endless use of corporate jargon.

www.businessinsider.com

Click to shrink...

https://www.businessinsider.com/cor...es-workplace-gen-z-2023-10#4-ducks-in-a-row-4

referenced in that article...

How can they not know what some of these phrases mean?
"4. Ducks in a row

Getting your ducks in a row is all about making sure that you're properly prepared and organized for a task or project. It's also a popular jargon phrase used at work.

But Gen Z isn't on board with it – it's one of the most frequently used phrases in the workplace that this generation can get confused with, per LinkedIn."

Thats not even corpo speak, its just a common idiom.

"6. Low-hanging fruit

Another offender, "low-hanging fruit," refers to tasks that are the easiest to accomplish. The fruit that hangs lowest on the tree is easiest to pick, after all. But 55% of those surveyed by LinkedIn say they don't understand what it means."

HALF the people surveyed don't understand low hanging fruit? explaining it to them would be such low hanging fruit.

 

[squeakywheel]

Nope. I know I'll never get promoted beyond manager and that's ok. I keep my head down and work and the few reports I have seem to be in good spirits. At this point in my career, I don't really care for the ladder and the endless meetings. I loathe meetings that could be easily covered in a Teams Channel or an email.

 

[MIMIC]

At my old corporate job everyone was a lot more relaxed and I got promoted without being a kiss ass bullshitter.

Typical corporate? I would not last long lol

 

[Tavernade]

No, there's a line of jobs between me and the people who can do jack shit all day for $$$ and that line of jobs is getting screamed at by customers on one end and those richly paid do-nothings on the other.

 

[fulltimepanda]

nope, I got a taste for it super early on in my career and saw what it turned people into. Hell bent shot taking over petty shit and lording achievements over others was wild.

 

[Revoltoftheunique]

Hell no! I just do my job and if they don't like it or me, they can tell me to fuck off and I will say fuck you too.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

I don't know what a corporate accent is.

Click to shrink...

let's circle back to this post later Baji.

 

[Derbel McDillet]

I'm incapable of fake laughing and at least at all my jobs, the managers have tried to seem relatively down to earth.

Don't blame the people who play the game tho, life is expensive and the job market is not pretty.

 

[MrNewVegas]

I did it for a year post graduation and it was terrible.

I've worked in a unionized auto assembly plant for 15ish years now. You wouldn't believe the amount of people who try to "get ahead" lol. They can't earn raises nor better positions. All they get is pissed off coworkers and happy managers with bigger productivity bonuses lmao.

 

[Lexad]

Started a new job last month so absolutely. Stumbled into a meeting with several VPs to present some program management techniques they haven't used before tomorrow.

 

[thesoapster]

In my line of work (software dev), I usually just have to filter my own thoughts on some stuff. If I'm not getting promoted as needed, I leave.

 

[TheXbox]

Physically impossible for me to do so. I work hard and I'm polite, but I will never buy into the ratrace mentality.

 

[AvianAviator]

I'm interested in growing my career and forming positive relationships with higher-ups, yes. But you can do that without kissing ass or losing your morals. (If I have to do either to advance in a job, I'll leave and go somewhere else.)

 

[Gavalanche]

It's not a bad thing really. We have short lives and so long as it doesn't compromise your morality, a bit of suck ass and political dancing doesn't hurt anyone. Get yourself into a position where you can give people opportunities below you who don't need to do that.

 

[Doug Dimmadome]

I don't find it difficult to get along with my coworkers really. All anybody does is bitch about how much they hate their job. Basically I just need to keep my head down until somebody quits then slide into their role because our company is hell bent on not hiring outside talent

 

[Jakisthe]

100%

I mean, I don't get into much of the politicking if I can help it, and I hate feeling obsequious. But networking, the jargon, very much so. I'm guessing it's a little different since there's not much in the way of jira board, or screen sharing, or Happy Friday whatevers, but I am definitely a creature of my work environment at work.

 

[King Fossil]

It's annoying that I can check all the boxes for being an exemplary employee but I can't get promoted because I am not "vocal" or "visible" enough. Really demotivates me from going as hard at work.

 

[Bizkit Krueger]

no, never been equipped for this kinda stuff

 

[Pirateluigi]

I've been very successful in the corporate world, but I refuse to play those kinds of games and have little patience for those who do. If you end up in one of my departments, playing politics is a pretty quick way to ensure you won't advance.

But so is complaining about office politics. That bothers me just as much. Just do your dang job and be pleasant to work with. That's all I ask.