Security Handbook - Office Survival (Survival Techniques) \ Information and training project reveals practical information on security issues. How to Survive an Office War Avoid Gossip

Regardless of the size of your company, the size of the social package and the friendliness of the team, sooner or later you will feel that you have to survive in the office. We hope that this is only a temporary phenomenon, but life is unpredictable.

Be that as it may, our 10 tips will help you get through a difficult period and move you forward if you are determined to succeed in your career. So let's get started!

Do what you gotta do

Do you have a million ideas on how to improve the work of the company? Great, but first do what you were hired to do. Consistency will always work for your reputation.

Become an expert

Constantly improve your knowledge and skills in the professional field. If you enroll in courses that will improve your skills in one way or another, you will make an excellent investment in your future.

Get a portfolio

This advice is also relevant for those who are far from creative work (just write down a list of non-standard tasks that you managed to solve). In this way, you will receive an argument for demanding an increase, and you will also be able to convince the new employer that he needs it (if something goes wrong at this point).

Be human

The team doesn't really care how good you are at estimating or writing code - goodwill and courtesy are valued higher. If you are known as “your boyfriend”, then the attitude towards your flaws will be more loyal, but loners risk becoming the object of criticism even with 100 percent progress. Communicate with colleagues at events, attend corporate courses and just try to support.

Ask your boss where you went wrong

If you have not coped with the task, ask your immediate supervisor to do a "debriefing". So you will not only get a complete layout, which will allow you to avoid mistakes in the future, but also a loyal attitude of your superiors.

Find a way to make your routine interesting

Any specialist has such tasks that are catching up with melancholy. If these are big projects, then try to “eat the elephant piece by piece”, and if the routine tasks are small, then turn them into a game and be sure to reward yourself.

Keep Deadlines

You have no idea how important meeting deadlines is in today's business world. If you learn how to manage before the deadline, you will earn a brilliant reputation. All that is required is to set deadlines, taking into account delays (and they will definitely occur) and set “reminders” 3 and 2 days before the project deadline.

Set yourself a good example

Surely in your company there is a person whom you would like to be like, and whose degree of professionalism you dream of achieving. Repeat after him. Let him be your example.

Think about asking for a raise

The reason for most refusals is an unreasonable request for a raise, expressed in the wrong tone. Write a list of your advantages, think of moves that will improve the company's work, in general, work on point 3. Reread these lists several times. Do you feel your value? Now stock up on self-confidence and go "on the carpet."

See where to grow

Professional drivers say that on the road you should always look with your eyes for an empty place where you can jump out. This skill will also come in handy for surviving in the office. Always keep in mind the prospects of horizontal or vertical growth, and then you will not miss the very opportunity!

I found my 9-year-old text for MAXIM (an ancient, paper magazine, that is, it is not on the net). Nothing has changed in that time, so let there always be Dilbert. Including here.

Is it getting harder every day for you to force yourself to go to work? Is your boss growling at you, or is your boss purring at you? Are you constantly required to report on the status of writing reports? The new secretary sharpens her nails on you? Do you have a headache from artificial plants planted in your office, watered with artificial water? You're about to quit and the only thing stopping you is that you're going to be fired so soon?
Then, alas, there is nothing we can do to help you. But Dilbert will help you.
Dilbert is a comic book about office life brought to the point of absurdity, created by American writer, cartoonist and certified hypnotist Scott Adams.
The protagonist of the comic, Dilbert, is an engineer at a large firm. It is not known which one exactly, but almost all readers can easily recognize their company in his company. Outwardly, Dilbert looks like an older and more serious Bart Simpson from the famous TV series The Simpsons. On the one hand, Dilbert's work is very pleasing, as evidenced by the unusual shape of his tie - gleefully excited. On the other hand, something stops him and does not allow him to merge with work in joyful ecstasy, as evidenced by the color of his tie - "traffic-striped".
There are elements of realism in the comic - for example, the incompetent, mean and unscrupulous "horny-haired" boss, Dilbert's cynical colleagues, who do not hide their unwillingness to work and careerism. But elements of surrealism, such as giant coffee cups, aliens, as well as talking animals, “Dogbert the consultant dog”, “Cotbert the sinister HR director”, Krysbert and the trolls living in the accounting department, fit very organically into the comic.

The first issue of Dilbert appeared in 1989, and since then it has been regularly published in 2000 central publications in 65 countries. In America, tens of millions of people read it daily. By the way, you can join them too - this does not require an American visa and a plane ticket, but it is enough to know English and have access to the Internet - new (or well-forgotten old) issues of Dilbert appear on www.dilbert.com every day.
In Russia, this comic is almost unknown, but here Dilbert is still ahead. After all, there was a time (horrible to think) when we did not know many other notable phenomena of American culture, without which it is now impossible to imagine our life - “double cheeseburger”, “rebranding” and “team building”.

After watching hundreds of issues of Dilbert and carefully studying his life principles ("The Dilbert Principle", Scott Adams), we have formulated and present here the X most useful tips that will help you not only survive, but also succeed in the office.
1. Start.
When you join a company, move to a new position, or start a new project, always prepare for the worst. Consider that you will be allocated a workplace without a computer in a closet under the stairs, they will not pay even half of the promised salary, there will be solid idiots around you ... Then the real state of affairs, whatever it may be, will only please you. A rooftop workplace with a pocket computer, two-thirds of the salary, idiots are not solid, but dotted .... what could be better?

2. Advice and Counseling.
Of course, the best way to avoid work is to become a boss. But, if this method is not available to you, then you can become a consultant. This is not very difficult. For counseling, it is enough to choose some boring area in which no one wants to understand and learn about it only 1% more than those who need advice. It is possible and more, but it is not necessary - those whose knowledge is less than yours will still not be able to adequately assess the size of your intellectual superiority over them.
The work of a consultant is an honor, great rights and almost no obligations. But, even if you are not an official consultant, it is possible that someone will come to you for advice. And this is your chance to sweep them off your career path. Your advice should look like disinterested concern for the welfare of the person who is consulting, although in reality it is only disinterested concern for yourself.

3. The truth and only the truth.
The best thing about the truth is that there are many ways to avoid it without being a liar. To do this, you just need to omit important clarifications in your proposals. For example, as it is done below
True statement .... Omitted Part
Of course, I'm part of the team ..... but not yours
Your request is next on my list... requests that I will never fulfill.
I will definitely call you back when I know ..... that you are not there
I like your new hairstyle.... ,Gorgon Medusa
In addition, the truth is often such that they still won’t believe it - you can safely say it, so that later you have the right to say “I warned you”

4. Information.
There are two main rules for working with the information you have:
1. Do not give out any information.
2. See point one.
It is not easy to do this, but it is possible. To do this, you must first insist that you do not have any information, and only a madman can believe that you have it. When you are pinned against the wall with evidence that you have information, try to refer to the fact that the information is not verified, that you are busy and that it will take a long time to explain. As a last resort, give applicants incomplete or false information - by the time they realize they didn't get what they want, you'll be able to leave your job.

5. Love
Since, as you know, there is only one step from hatred to love, in your working career full of hatred for colleagues, there must be some kind of romance that your couple will hide. Even if not from their "second halves", then certainly from colleagues at work - so as not to envy. We want to warn you against the most common mistake of office lovers - conspiracy. If you suddenly stop looking into the office of a new pretty assistant every hour and look away when you accidentally meet her in the dining room, rumors about your immoral behavior will immediately go around the office. No, you have to act openly. If you and your most valuable employee for some time spend almost the entire working day in an embrace, and before leaving in a crowded elevator, agree “meet me today at seven, I have a key to a friend’s apartment,” then no one will simply suspect anything reprehensible, everything decide that you are just going to finish the annual report together.

7. Meetings \ Meetings \ Meetings.
Contrary to the natural reflex to hide in the farthest corner of the room where the meeting takes place and sleep there, at rallies one should sit as close as possible to the boss. Firstly, then he will not look at you - he will simply be lazy and uncomfortable constantly turning his head. Secondly, it is prestigious to sit next to the boss, and, finally, thirdly, mineral water and cookies, which so brighten up any boring meeting, are usually placed next to important people and will be in your direct reach. It is better to come to the meeting late, and leave early - before it ends. This way you will show everyone that you are busy, and in general - nothing interesting happens at the beginning of the meeting, and at the end they can also distribute tasks / instructions to the participants.

8. Management by the boss.
If you don't feel like interacting with your boss, then try to load him with a bunch of nasty boring "problems" whenever he shows up around you. Without letting him open his mouth, immediately say: “Ah, I was just looking for you!” and report pressing issues, such as:
“The FTC just requested all of our documentation. But don't worry, we've already doused the cabinets with gasoline and are waiting for your signal."
“We have bad news: deadly bacteria have been found in the air conditioning system. But the good news is that we think the asbestos in the ceiling panels will poison them all.”
“There was a little misunderstanding with the design department. Our new product logo looks like a dead goat. At today's press conference, try to cover it with your thumb."
Such a strategy will cause the boss to lose interest in what you do all day. This will free up a lot of time for your important activities, such as naps or snacks.
If possible, try to get to know your boss's boss better. This will provide you with a reliable rear. For example, park your car in the same place as your boss's boss. Move to another city if necessary. It's worth it. Alternatively, start going to the same church as your boss's boss, even if it means changing religion. You can always return to the old religion as soon as you retire, without any damage to the afterlife. But just don't catch the eye of your boss's boss during work hours. This is a violation of subordination.

9. Get the job done
Be prepared for the fact that bad people will constantly come up to you and try to force you to do their job. At first, be sure to agree as if you are really going to fulfill their request, but then ask the attackers to do some of this work themselves, since you do not have enough qualifications, information, etc. Most likely, this will stop those who ask - it will be easier for them to do everything themselves. If you decide to turn down a job, refer to "efficiency." For example - I would send out this fax, but our secretary will do it more efficiently. Create a bad reputation for yourself in that which is uninteresting and dishonorable. For example, if you are instructed to buy tea for the cafeteria - buy the one that no one likes, and soon you will be removed from this duty.

10. Corporate Rules
Corporate Rules - a good thing, just great. If all of them are followed, it will be impossible to work. Especially taking into account the fact that each new boss introduces his own rules, forgetting to cancel the old ones, as a result of which the set of rules and instructions becomes a complete collection of insanity in 30 volumes. If the company's mission statement says that "our employees should be eagles soaring over the tops of the business," then you can safely refuse the boss's request to "provide a quarterly report." You are an eagle, and eagles cannot write. When asked what you did all day or all month, you can safely answer “I brought the work in line with rules 132 and 234a and ISO 9000, SEI5 standards.” It is also important to remind the authorities about the rules in time. Sometimes it may even end well.

11. Timing.
As you know, Dead-line (literally “dead line”) is a line around a military prison, beyond which prisoners should not go out alive. In office life, the deadline is the deadline for the delivery of the project, which is usually “yesterday”. Therefore, never start doing work immediately after it arrives. Wait, maybe everything will be canceled by itself "for objective reasons." It happens often. If it doesn’t cancel, we advise you to wait until the last minute, and then arrange a performance in front of your boss on the topic “how hard it is to work under the yoke of such unreasonable deadlines.”

12. Communication with colleagues.
Any professor will tell you that the purpose of business communication is clear and precise communication of information. That is why professors rarely succeed in business. The real purpose of business communication is to advance your career.

13. Promotion.
To instigate a promotion, turn to the ancient homeopathic magic - "like attracts like." That is, pretend to be the boss. Dress more expensively than your colleagues, hide all traces of competence, use the word “paradigm” several times a day, tell everyone that you are getting ready to meet the president, refer to articles from the wall street journal, no one reads them anyway.
Also use manager jargon all the time. The manager will never say "I ate potatoes with a fork", but "I used a multi-pronged tool to take the starch source".

14. Visibility of work.
As you know, no one reads documents longer than two pages, so make up just like that. Good formatting and fonts are important - they give weight and meaning to even the most stupid content. Never go out into the hall without a document in hand. Always carry documents home so that everyone can see that you are working even at home. Just don't forget to bring them back with markers (randomly done).

15. Appearance.
Of course, the company would love to dress everyone in a uniform, but it does not have the budget for this. Attractiveness matters!

16. Competence.
Achieving your goals with the help of incompetence occurs in several stages. 1. Be incompetent (the easiest step) 2. Volunteer to do the most important and difficult projects 3. Convince your boss that the project is not moving because of internal enemies 4. Demand that competent people be transferred to help you from other projects 5. Position yourself as a leader of competent people and appropriate their achievements. 6. Finally, after you've been promoted, fire competent people to get rid of the witnesses. Present the project, submit the formation about it to the authorities

17. Team.
Constantly complain about the blockage at work, let them sympathize with you. Learn to shift the blame onto others, best of all, those who are absent. There is no point in listening to others. They either agree with you or are talking nonsense. This reduces the number of questions. Learn to make baseless accusations - example "Your company website is stealing people's cursors and inserting them into your search form"

And the last tip. Do you really want to kill your boss? Then take the longest pin, go to the boss's office... and pin another Dilbert comic to the office door.

office survival

How surprised old Darwin would be if he knew that his "natural selection" is applicable not only in the bosom of wildlife ...

Broken copier? The printer does not print another document?! The secretary still hasn't brought coffee?! And, oddly enough, phone bills are going through the roof this month... The heat is unbearable. The air conditioner must have broken down again. Employees do everything but work. There are a lot of cases, but no strength, probably because of yesterday's gossip about your office romance. How to survive in these unbearable conditions?!

Boarded up barrel

Office work is one of the most common jobs today. Now imagine how many people give the best years of their lives so that someone's company succeeds and copes with all the things that have piled up on time. I think everyone imagines a standard office - walls, tables, computers, and a bunch of papers scattered in a chaotic manner. Not the best place to work, and life, especially, is not it?! Yes, what is there to hide - this is a real prototype of a boarded up barrel - no entrance, no exit, only existence inside and contentment with the last breaths of clean air.

However, this happens quite rarely. Usually real life boils in such a barrel, with its indignation, sycophancy, envy and unpredictable cynicism. And, if not for this, then the offices would have exploded long ago from the inexhaustible and nowhere invested negative energy.

The office is the same jungle, with its leaders, females, and newcomers who rake soundly, relying on someone else's prey. This is how it is in nature, and, oddly enough, we are still part of it. You apply for a higher position, get it to the fullest! And so it is everywhere, whether it be in a company with huge profits, or in a small office that barely pays for copier paper.

Newbie?! Write, it's gone...

An office terrarium teeming with poisonous individuals is especially dangerous for young employees who have just come to work, or for beginners at all. And since the enemy is not asleep, you can immediately roll up your sleeves and expose your weapons, the "Tatar raids" are already very close. There is no particular time to deal with the reasons, but we do not have the right to conceal those. And so, what did you manage to do wrong in the first five minutes spent at a new job?! Oddly enough, absolutely nothing. Particularly hardened office workers, and even those who have already got used to such an environment, may see you as a particularly dangerous applicant for their position. Competition among employees is one of the most common factors that cause numerous problems.

In this situation, it is especially necessary to immediately clarify the situation. And it is better if this is carried out by the boss, who will publicly introduce the newcomer to all the employees of the office, explain what part of the work he will do. This will allow everyone to understand that he does not pose a particular danger to colleagues. However, your samurai sword should not be hidden. Do not think that everyone immediately took it, and left their new victim alone. Office work is commonplace, so in such a situation, everyone wants to enjoy your defeat to the fullest. As they say, the enemy's failure is my victory.

It is important in the office to get accustomed to the usual rules, and God forbid, you want to make your own adjustments to them. It's better to do hara-kiri on your own! Your office life will be like a butterfly surviving in a spider's web.

Feel free to ask questions if you don't understand something, or if you want to learn more about the corporate culture. It is better to do this with the boss, otherwise you can imagine that envious people or ill-wishers can advise you. You can get into a very funny situation.

Of course, not every team is a “pack of wolves” that strove to devour you, however, you can ruin everything on your own. A manual for those who personally want to dig a hole under themselves contains the following basic rules:

· Tell employees more often that they do not know how to perform their duties.

· Your self-esteem and confidence in your abilities should skyrocket.

· Always take notice when you see someone have a wrinkled skirt or a grease stain on their tie.

· Never miss the opportunity to complain about life and express constant dissatisfaction with the events taking place.

· Snort louder when someone tells a funny joke.

· It is important to realize that collective rules and norms are not for you.

· Someone comes up with a new idea, don't be late to express your obvious indignation!

· Are you being asked for a favor? No, no, how can you agree, let them perform their duties themselves.

· And the motto should be the following - "We do not" knock "but inform!".

Yes, this might help you. The main thing is not to be shy, and use everything and as much as possible.

"Committed" team

Yes, where is it. There is no more cohesive team. One is an envious person, the other is coveting your salary, the third always strives to correct you so that you do not speak, etc. There is nothing better. However, not all is lost here. The main thing is to know who is who, in fact, and learn how to neutralize their negative impact. Sociologists identify several basic types of people who strive to spoil something. However, we can neutralize them too.

Look around the office, who do you see?! Surely, there is a person among them who at first glance seems so sweet and friendly that you think that he would become your partner in the shop. If I were you, I'd think about it! It is precisely such a contingent behind your shoulders that can beat off such gossip that you never dreamed of. And you will trust him with your secrets and punctures. Afterwards, don't forget to pick up your favorite stapler when you pack your things.

Such a person most often sees competitors in others, but he will never tell you to your face what he thinks of you. The safest thing you can do is talk to him in person. Although this is not so easy to do. Even with loose gossip, you will have to rummage hard in the trash to find the thread from which the whole ball was subsequently tied. In such cases, the culprit is the last suspect. And even in a personal conversation, he will vehemently refute everything, and you should believe him for a while. That is when he will be able to stop his machinations over you.

Oh, and you see this weirdo who, before losing his pulse, is trying to prove to everyone that he is right. This is the so-called know-it-all. Such people in the office are usually appreciated. The point is to maintain the brand, he must constantly increase the stock of knowledge that can be useful to the company itself. If you do not want problems, in no case do not try to humiliate such an employee. It is better to agree with everything with him, praise him for his inexhaustible desire to help the common cause, and then make some corrections to what you discussed with him. In this case, Mr. "I know everything" will be pleased, and you yourself.

It is quite obvious that there is also a person in the office who constantly complains about life, about those around him, about numerous unbearable problems. I can’t congratulate you, you are faced with a bore, what to do is absolutely not worth it. Since pessimism is contagious, it is better to bypass such people so that you do not suffer a similar fate.

This advice can also be used with a person who proves the inapplicability of everything new and untested before. Purely conservative ideas can also be contagious, and in some cases simply fatal for the firm itself.

Screams are heard somewhere, am I right?! These are especially furious colleagues expressing their obvious dissatisfaction with the performance of someone's duties. Psychologists call such workers - ebullient. And, true, they boil faster than a kettle, but it would be better vice versa. However, such people have a weak point that you can use to speed up the cooling - they are usually extremely insecure. And each of us knows that the best defense is an attack. This is what the ebullient ones use to become stronger on the gases of their colleagues. As they say, everyone has a different way. Do not argue with such people, it is better to listen to them calmly and quietly offer exactly your vision of the problem. In this situation, your benevolence will do its job.

Today you proposed a new solution to an existing problem in the company, which you have been thinking about for so long, and someone told you that this is complete nonsense?! Do not worry, there are cynical people in every team. Do not get angry and do not swear if at the same time you are also “friendly” patted on the shoulder with the words “do not waste your energy.” If you are absolutely confident in your idea (for this you need to objectively evaluate it), feel free to prove it to Cynic. Seeing your perseverance, he will only respect you more than drown you further along with the idea itself.

Yes, your team is clearly diverse. However, before drawing categorical conclusions, take a closer look at how the entire staff treats this or that employee. Maybe you yourself are deeply mistaken about someone, distinguish between antipathy and a real vision of things.

Office intrigues and office romances - what to choose?!

The office, being a prototype of a cardboard box, would not have been such if it were not for the constant intrigues and romances at the office. Where else to put the unclaimed energy of employees who spend most of their time at work?! No wonder if you soon begin to envy the janitor: work in the fresh air, most of the day is free, and there are acquaintances where to start. Yes, our comrades have arrived! Something else was missing. It is better to take advantage of all the opportunities right in the office.

By the way, it can be said in secret that many leaders themselves encourage intriguing urges, and even personally participate in them. Detente, it seems, is necessary even for bosses.

Intrigues and office romances, in fact, give the illusion of a hectic life. And in the absence of another such, they are the only consolation. In addition, paradoxically, they strengthen internal ties in the company itself, which, in the future, allows the team to be more cohesive. Where to go, once together and through the water, and through the fire, and copper pipes could not be bypassed.

On the other hand, intrigues in the office are encouraged in most cases because the colleagues themselves, getting involved in such a competitive struggle against each other, try to be the best, improve their abilities, be always in sight and always have time to help if required. What kind of boss, excuse me, would interfere with such a constructive process?!

As for novels, it's better to limit yourself to ordinary affairs. You will live more fun, and you will avoid numerous problems. And in the best case, the dismissal will be postponed for some time ahead.

In general, keep your hand on the hilt of the sword, be vigilant and do not succumb to the increasing provocations from the “hungry” colleagues. May the necessity of self-destruction not descend on you.

TIPS as

survive in the office

1. Are you being watched? To communicate uncontrollably by e-mail, it is enough to generate a cipher and exchange encryption keys with respondents. The main thing is not to save the key on the screw of the working computer, but to carry it with you on a floppy disk or flash drive. Resident programs for monitoring your computer are blocked by anti-Spyware programs.

2. Is your appearance being picked on? In order not to become a slave to the dress code, try the Zen method of "awakening the inner Tao." Wear a white top, a black bottom, a discreet tie, as directed by your superiors, remembering to put on your most idiotic family underpants with green polka dots first.

3. Are you forced to work overtime? Learn by heart article 99 of the Labor Code. If the office has not been attacked by armed Martians, the sewer has not broken through and the report you have not completed will not lead to the death of the chief accountant, you have no right to plow without your written consent. Along the way, find out how processing will be paid. If the company has a trade union, look there and ask if it is true that the night is not a hindrance to work?

4. Are you being denounced? To figure out a spy, tell a dubious character misinformation about an allegedly upcoming "violation of ethical standards" and watch how the authorities react.

5. Are you being zombified? If it is customary to sing a corporate anthem at the beginning of the working day, you can compose an alternative version with obscene words and perform it to yourself. When training, think about the decline of European civilizations. Try to speak in sane Russian, for example, "make a photocopy" instead of you know what word.

6. Are you sexually harassed by your superiors? It all depends on your attitude to the issue. In any case, career growth through the bed is an unreliable business. You will not demand printed paper in order to increase your salary in exchange for intimacy?

7. Are you in control of your entertainment? In mind, there are all sorts of corporate parties, picnics and trainings in the fresh air. You can pretend to be sick, preferably with a certificate, but for permanent use the topic will not work.

9. Are you not allowed to express yourself? Nothing prevents you from downloading funny pictures from the network, printing, cutting applications and
hang the resulting masterpieces over your workplace.

10. Do your colleagues dislike you? These are their problems. Most likely this
an expression of envy at the indisputable fact that you, unlike them, managed to keep uncomposted brains, a sober memory and a sound mind, which is interested in a lot of other things besides work.

Today's tense economic situation and the threat of dismissal may force previously quite respectable colleagues to start weaving intrigues and go over their heads in order to stay in their positions. However, the economic crisis did not give rise to office quarrels. This phenomenon has existed and will always exist. They are caused by the most ordinary human feelings - envy, resentment, anxiety, the struggle for power. It is enough for this or that employee to earn a little more, to be a professional in his field, so that intrigues begin to form around him. There is also such a category of people who start quarrels just for fun: for them to arrange a small mess in the team - a kind of remedy for boredom.

How to behave in such a tense atmosphere - to adapt to the behavior of intriguers or to keep a distance from them?

Blackmailers and know-it-alls

Psychologists distinguish several types of people who are prone to intrigues, which should be avoided if possible or know how to build a behavior strategy with them. The first type is the know-it-all. He can endlessly talk about what “really happens in the company”, pretending to have exclusive information, obtained from God knows where. The worst thing you can do is give a know-it-all any information about yourself and your work. You never know how he will distort them in order to use them for his own purposes.

The next type of intriguer is a lobbyist. As a rule, this is a good specialist who defends his project by any means and believes that only his ideas can benefit the company. If you disagree with him on some issues and express it openly, you can run into trouble. You can only deal with a lobbyist if you share the enthusiasm for his project.

One of the most dangerous office workers is the one who weaves behind-the-scenes intrigues. This may not be an expert in his field, but a very charming person, and therefore he easily finds an approach to colleagues and superiors. And thanks to this, he is promoted.

Almost every office has a so-called advisor, who is close to the big boss and serves as the eyes and ears for middle managers. By the way, anyone can play the role of an adviser - from a high-ranking deputy to an administrative employee. Don't suck up to this person, but don't push him away either. He has considerable influence, so a good relationship with them can come in handy.

According to a number of psychologists, a blackmailer can be added to the main office characters listed above. This is a person who notices the slightest weaknesses or miscalculations of his colleagues, and if he needs you to carry out his plans, he can put pressure on you by threatening to tell his superiors about your mistakes.

And here are the main contenders, to whom the arrows of insidious employees are most often directed. Beginners, overly active workers (because from the outside it seems that they are advancing at the expense of others) fall under the wheels of office intrigues. In addition, few people like colleagues with higher salaries. They often substitute absent-minded "idea generators" (since they are easy to deceive), middle managers (in the event that a potential schemer has "laid eyes" on the boss's place) and ambitious and conceited employees (they can be easily caught on the hook of "friendship" or "partnership" and then substitute).

How to deal with hazing

Very often, new employees fall under the pressure of the old-timers of the office. They are exposed to office hazing for a simple reason: in an era of fierce competition, colleagues who have worked for more than one year see a real or potential threat in every newcomer. Who knows what the new one is capable of? And if he works better than the representatives of the old team? It is possible that then the boss will decide to fire the veterans. Fearing for their well-being, employees try to get rid of the newcomer as quickly as possible. For this, a variety of methods are used: boycott, neglect, ridicule.
A case from one's life. Andrey came to work in a large construction company as a manager. The young man had high hopes for this job. However, they were not destined to come true, since Andrei was met very hostilely at the new place. On the first day, he was not even given a job. It got even worse when the newcomer managed to make several successful deals. His boss saw him as a serious competitor and deprived him of access to the client base. As a result, the manager was forced to resign from a promising job.

Victims of office bullying often become not only ordinary employees, but also managers who are doing their best to introduce their own methods and principles of work. Naturally, subordinates who do not want to change their usual mode of work, moreover, bearing fruit, resist radical changes. The new boss, who has not yet managed to gain authority and enlist the support of top management, runs the risk of facing a lot of problems: this is the “forgetfulness” of his subordinates, the provision of false information, and other “tricks”.

So, Victor, the new general director of a large enterprise, after his appointment decided to show everyone who is the boss in the house, and that now everything will be in a new way. He instructed the HR director to control labor discipline, fight abuses of office, and the IT director to ensure information security and implement an information system to ensure control over financial flows. It would seem that everything was in motion: at the weekly planning meetings, everyone reported on the fulfillment of the tasks set. But when Victor himself had to report, the owners of the enterprise were shocked - profitability fell sharply. The further fate of the CEO was predetermined.

If you have been subjected to office hazing, do not think that you have nothing to do with it. Yes, this phenomenon is often provoked by the problems of the company's management, but it is worth analyzing why the team took up arms against you. Of course, you don’t need to blame yourself for all mortal sins, but it won’t hurt to calculate the laws of the pack in this office and your place in it in order to avoid such a situation in the future. In addition, it can be useful to talk to those who show the most aggression towards you and find out the reasons for it. Some psychologists, in order to relieve tension in the team, advise you to smile more and express affection for the people you have come across. This does not mean that you have to please everyone, just show your friendliness and willingness to cooperate.

Office taboos

To avoid intrigue as much as possible, psychologists recommend adhering to several office taboos. Most of all, the bosses themselves do not like it when employees discuss salaries and bonuses with each other. It often happens that different employees receive different salaries for the same job. Moreover, they themselves do not understand why this is happening. Naturally, this gives rise to hostility towards each other. From this follows the rule: never tell colleagues, even with whom you are on friendly terms, the amount of your remuneration for work. Moreover, you should not share her promotion with someone. People usually react painfully to such news if their earnings remain unchanged.

A lot of conflicts in the office are caused by the tactlessness of individual employees, which they justify with their own “soul simplicity”. Such a person tends to criticize everyone and everything, both colleagues and superiors. The appearance of others, the ideas of the boss, etc. fall under his sight, etc. It is easy to guess that the employees of such an employee will make every effort to get rid of him.
Many bosses constantly tell their subordinates that they must be creative in their work. Many professions do require constant creativity. Intrigue can also be born on this soil, since in many companies cases of theft of ideas take place. It's pretty easy to deal with this situation. It is enough not to discuss your ideas with colleagues, but to convey them directly to your boss. If there is no opportunity to discuss your thoughts with the boss about the project, then you can voice them at meetings and planning meetings. Then no one will be able to encroach on your ideas: your copyrights will be fully protected and there will also be no reason for unnecessary conflict.

To avoid gossip

Of course, in any office where more than two people work, there is gossip. It is almost impossible to deal with this problem. But you can keep the discussion of your persona to a minimum. First of all, in the workplace, you need to refrain from talking about your personal life: family problems, intimate details, your health and the health of your relatives. A rare person will miss the opportunity to gossip behind your back, discuss your problems, or even begin to advise you on how to solve them, even if you do not need advice at all. If nothing is known about you, then there will be nothing to discuss, well, or almost nothing.

In addition, excessive talkativeness can turn against you. Individuals are capable of distorting the information you provide in such a way that you can appear before others in the most unexpected light.

Moreover, often gossip is born from scratch. For example, you are sitting at lunchtime with a colleague of the opposite sex, drinking coffee, and you are noticed by some kind of activist who monitors all employees, and this is present in almost all work groups. After that, she asks you: “Are we brewing an office romance?”. You laugh it off, you are embarrassed, because even this was not in your thoughts, and the gossip was already born and flew across the expanses of the office, starting to acquire more and more details, because everyone can embellish it with their “addition”. And in the end, it may turn out that your innocent conversation over a cup of coffee has already turned into preparations for the wedding, and if that same colleague is married, then you generally run the risk of being branded as a malicious homemaker.

Therefore, it is better for women not to brag about the number of their gentlemen. It has been proven more than once that the attitude towards those girls around whom a crowd of fans swarms is, to put it mildly, biased. And offended rivals compose things about her that you can’t even imagine in a nightmare.

By the way, it is a mistake to believe that men are not prone to gossip. Representatives of the stronger sex, with no less pleasure than women, discuss colleagues, work, bosses, talk about the intimate details of their family life. So, it is also advisable to keep your mouth shut with them.
You should also not inform employees about a stormy weekend, that the real reason for the absence from the workplace was not the flu, but a headache after drinking, or tell how, having taken a sick leave, you drove off to rest in a resort. It’s also better not to start a discussion with colleagues about an office romance (both someone else’s and your own), even if it seems to you that everyone already knows about it. Who will guarantee that "well-wishers" will not casually tell the management about this? If you cannot control yourself when drinking alcohol, then at corporate parties you should limit yourself to a glass of wine. The tongue will be tied, and there will be no reason to catch the condemning glances of colleagues the next day.

Of course, no one forces you to sit and be silent in the workplace. It is simply desirable to speak on neutral topics, of which, if desired, you can come up with quite a lot. For example, it is completely safe to talk about the weather, the trends of a particular fashion season, the benefits of your favorite car brand, and cooking. But psychologists do not advise discussing politics and sports. Everyone's preferences on this matter can be so different that it's not far from a major quarrel. And why would you make an extra enemy.

So, in office wars, you need to keep your eyes open. And if problems arise, then you need to solve them immediately, and not hope that they will resolve themselves.

: for them to arrange a small mess in the team - a kind of remedy for boredom.

How to behave in such a tense atmosphere - to adapt to the behavior of intriguers or to keep a distance from them?

Blackmailers and know-it-alls

Psychologists distinguish several types of people who are prone to intrigues, which should be avoided if possible or know how to build a behavior strategy with them. The first type is the know-it-all. He can endlessly talk about what “really happens in the company”, pretending to have exclusive information, obtained from God knows where. The worst thing you can do is give a know-it-all any information about yourself and your work. You never know how he will distort them in order to use them for his own purposes.

The next type of intriguer is a lobbyist. As a rule, this is a good specialist who defends his project by any means and believes that only his ideas can benefit the company. If you disagree with him on some issues and express it openly, you can run into trouble. You can only deal with a lobbyist if you share the enthusiasm for his project.

One of the most dangerous office workers is the one who weaves behind-the-scenes intrigues. This may not be an expert in his field, but a very charming person, and therefore he easily finds an approach to colleagues and superiors. And thanks to this, he is promoted.

Almost every office has a so-called advisor, who is close to the big boss and serves as the eyes and ears for middle managers. By the way, anyone can play the role of an adviser - from a high-ranking deputy to an administrative employee. Don't suck up to this person, but don't push him away either. He has considerable influence, so a good relationship with them can come in handy.

According to a number of psychologists, a blackmailer can be added to the main office characters listed above. This is a person who notices the slightest weaknesses or miscalculations of his colleagues, and if he needs you to carry out his plans, he can put pressure on you by threatening to tell his superiors about your mistakes.

And here are the main contenders, to whom the arrows of insidious employees are most often directed. Beginners, overly active workers (because from the outside it seems that they are advancing at the expense of others) fall under the wheels of office intrigues. In addition, few people like colleagues with higher salaries. They often substitute absent-minded "idea generators" (since they are easy to deceive), middle managers (in the event that a potential schemer has "laid eyes" on the boss's place) and ambitious and conceited employees (they can be easily caught on the hook of "friendship" or "partnership" and then substitute).

How to deal with hazing

Very often, new employees fall under the pressure of the old-timers of the office. They are exposed to office hazing for a simple reason: in an era of fierce competition, colleagues who have worked for more than one year see a real or potential threat in every newcomer. Who knows what the new one is capable of? And if he works better than the representatives of the old team? It is possible that then the boss will decide to fire the veterans. Fearing for their well-being, employees try to get rid of the newcomer as quickly as possible. For this, a variety of methods are used: boycott, neglect, ridicule.

A case from one's life. Andrey came to work in a large construction company as a manager. The young man had high hopes for this job. However, they were not destined to come true, since Andrei was met very hostilely at the new place. On the first day, he was not even given a job. It got even worse when the newcomer managed to make several successful deals. His boss saw him as a serious competitor and deprived him of access to the client base. As a result, the manager was forced to resign from a promising job.

Victims of office bullying often become not only ordinary employees, but also managers who are doing their best to introduce their own methods and principles of work. Naturally, subordinates who do not want to change their usual mode of work, moreover, bearing fruit, resist radical changes. The new boss, who has not yet managed to gain authority and enlist the support of top management, runs the risk of facing a lot of problems: this is the “forgetfulness” of his subordinates, the provision of false information, and other “tricks”.

So, Victor, the new general director of a large enterprise, after his appointment decided to show everyone who is the boss in the house, and that now everything will be in a new way. He instructed the HR director to control labor discipline, fight abuses of office, and the IT director to ensure information security and implement an information system to ensure control over financial flows. It would seem that everything was in motion: at the weekly planning meetings, everyone reported on the fulfillment of the tasks set. But when Victor himself had to report, the owners of the enterprise were shocked - profitability fell sharply. The further fate of the CEO was predetermined.

If you have been subjected to office hazing, do not think that you have nothing to do with it. Yes, this phenomenon is often provoked by the problems of the company's management, but it is worth analyzing why the team took up arms against you. Of course, you don’t need to blame yourself for all mortal sins, but it won’t hurt to calculate the laws of the pack in this office and your place in it in order to avoid such a situation in the future. In addition, it can be useful to talk to those who show the most aggression towards you and find out the reasons for it. Some psychologists, in order to relieve tension in the team, advise you to smile more and express affection for the people you have come across. This does not mean that you have to please everyone, just show your friendliness and willingness to cooperate.

Office taboos

To avoid intrigue as much as possible, psychologists recommend adhering to several office taboos. Most of all, the bosses themselves do not like it when employees discuss salaries and bonuses with each other. It often happens that different employees receive different salaries for the same job. Moreover, they themselves do not understand why this is happening. Naturally, this gives rise to hostility towards each other. From this follows the rule: never tell colleagues, even with whom you are on friendly terms, the amount of your remuneration for work. Moreover, you should not share her promotion with someone. People usually react painfully to such news if their earnings remain unchanged.

A lot of conflicts in the office are caused by the tactlessness of individual employees, which they justify with their own “soul simplicity”. Such a person tends to criticize everyone and everything, both colleagues and superiors. The appearance of others, the ideas of the boss, etc. fall under his sight, etc. It is easy to guess that the employees of such an employee will make every effort to get rid of him.

Many bosses constantly tell their subordinates that they must be creative in their work. Many professions do require constant creativity. Intrigue can also be born on this soil, since in many companies cases of theft of ideas take place. It's pretty easy to deal with this situation. It is enough not to discuss your ideas with colleagues, but to convey them directly to your boss. If there is no opportunity to discuss your thoughts with the boss about the project, then you can voice them at meetings and planning meetings. Then no one will be able to encroach on your ideas: your copyrights will be fully protected and there will also be no reason for unnecessary conflict.

To avoid gossip

Of course, in any office where more than two people work, there is gossip. It is almost impossible to deal with this problem. But you can keep the discussion of your persona to a minimum. First of all, in the workplace, you need to refrain from talking about your personal life: family problems, intimate details, your health and the health of your relatives. A rare person will miss the opportunity to gossip behind your back, discuss your problems, or even begin to advise you on how to solve them, even if you do not need advice at all. If nothing is known about you, then there will be nothing to discuss, well, or almost nothing.

In addition, excessive talkativeness can turn against you. Individuals are capable of distorting the information you provide in such a way that you can appear before others in the most unexpected light.

Moreover, often gossip is born from scratch. For example, you are sitting at lunchtime with a colleague of the opposite sex, drinking coffee, and you are noticed by some kind of activist who monitors all employees, and this is present in almost all work groups. After that, she asks you: “Are we brewing an office romance?”. You laugh it off, you are embarrassed, because even this was not in your thoughts, and the gossip was already born and flew across the expanses of the office, starting to acquire more and more details, because everyone can embellish it with their “addition”. And in the end, it may turn out that your innocent conversation over a cup of coffee has already turned into preparations for the wedding, and if that same colleague is married, then you generally run the risk of being branded as a malicious homemaker.

Therefore, it is better for women not to brag about the number of their gentlemen. It has been proven more than once that the attitude towards those girls around whom a crowd of fans swarms is, to put it mildly, biased. And offended rivals compose things about her that you can’t even imagine in a nightmare.

By the way, it is a mistake to believe that men are not prone to gossip. Representatives of the stronger sex, with no less pleasure than women, discuss colleagues, work, bosses, talk about the intimate details of their family life. So, it is also advisable to keep your mouth shut with them.

You should also not inform employees about a stormy weekend, that the real reason for the absence from the workplace was not the flu, but a headache after drinking, or tell how, having taken a sick leave, you drove off to rest in a resort. It’s also better not to start a discussion with colleagues about an office romance (both someone else’s and your own), even if it seems to you that everyone already knows about it. Who will guarantee that "well-wishers" will not casually tell the management about this? If you cannot control yourself when drinking alcohol, then at corporate parties you should limit yourself to a glass of wine. The tongue will be tied, and there will be no reason to catch the condemning glances of colleagues the next day.

Of course, no one forces you to sit and be silent in the workplace. It is simply desirable to speak on neutral topics, of which, if desired, you can come up with quite a lot. For example, it is completely safe to talk about the weather, the trends of a particular fashion season, the benefits of your favorite car brand, and cooking. But psychologists do not advise discussing politics and sports. Everyone's preferences on this matter can be so different that it's not far from a major quarrel. And why would you make an extra enemy.

So, in office wars, you need to keep your eyes open. And if problems arise, then you need to solve them immediately, and not hope that they will resolve themselves.