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A few years ago, I read where a woman had a disagreement with her supervisor. She goes on the internet and tells a coworker she is so upset and angry she could kill him or would like to. Now it was probably just rhetorical but still the coworker friend from another Dept. showed it to her supervisor and guess what?
It was sent to her, their department head. Needless to say, she got fired.
Interesting. I thought our work speaks for ourselves? I've been in the same profession for 30 plus years, 6 years at this company. And I love what I do now, just as much as when I first started. My passion for what I do reflects in my work, and I've often told about it, without having to make glib comments.
You are most likely correct though...the SMT's love lip service.
Is this a younger generation of people? It seems like they really need a near constant stream of positive reinforcement to get through the day. I found this to be true in my work with the fed.
I feel the same way you do, though. I think it's the age group.
Your co-workers are showing enthusiasm and a sense of teamwork/support. Enthusiasm and positivity are very important, the CEO and higher-ups want to see that from the staff... they'll be more likely to be promoted and/or be happy on the job (even if their comments are glib).
A few years ago, I read where a woman had a disagreement with her supervisor. She goes on the internet and tells a coworker she is so upset and angry she could kill him or would like to.
It was sent to her, their department head. Needless to say, she got fired.
Those brown-nosers aren't adding anything of value to the conversation, just stroking egos.
I see this kind of comment a lot on line, "Love!" "Great job!" "I'll pray for you!" and the original poster thanks each and every one for their kind comments.
I say, "You know, if you moved it 3 inches to the right, you'd save material," and OP never replies.
I would hope that management would be more impressed by comments that show you have thought about the issue and have something to contribute, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them just want to be told they are brilliant.
So it's not that you have zero empathy; you just don't bother with empty comments. That's not going to get you a million facebook friends, but I appreciate your attitude.
A few years ago, I read where a woman had a disagreement with her supervisor. She goes on the internet and tells a coworker she is so upset and angry she could kill him or would like to. Now it was probably just rhetorical but still the coworker friend from another Dept. showed it to her supervisor and guess what?
It was sent to her, their department head. Needless to say, she got fired.
She'd have gotten fired where I worked, too. We had two staff in our department who did not get along. One day the one was off work and for whatever reason, sent the other the message "you'd better watch your back" or something like that from her personal email. The woman did not recognize the email, so she sent it to our Inspector General's office, who got our cops to trace it to the other employee. She had almost 20 years in, and she was gone. Threw away good health benefits and a pension in a childish snit.
It's the intial meme generation. Look, bright colors, happy....vague go get them team win display and can be generated quickly. Post one quick and go about your day. Butt ikissing complete.
Most people I know also don't pay much attention to this stuff.
My interpretation of the behaviors you are describing is rather cynical, but to this day I still believe it to be accurate: a good chunk of what you perceive to be vacuous and fake enthusiasm, you perceive as such because it is exactly that. Many people have long understood that these costless gestures can actually go a long way in securing their place in a social environment. So they do it.
The same way you might attend your office's 5@7 events regularly even though there is no one you're particularly interested in that goes there. Or go to some trade shows in your field of expertise. It's a conscious, calculated effort to solidify their social position in their professional environment.
And you'd be surprised how well that works at creating the perception that someone is an important element of the company's life and culture.
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