information on survival strategies at work?

Question

I'm interested in finding out how to deal with change at work, dealing with undermining, sly or underhand tactics from colleagues, without seeming paranoid, using psychology to outwit.

Answer 1

Well this might help and I wish I had this when I worked in an office as they won in the end...........

The only way to be happy and successful; Do it Anyway

People are often unreasonable, irrational and self-centred;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you;
Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight;
Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten;
Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

-- Mother Teresa

Answer 2

As Dale Carnegie would say, be "genuinely interested" in others. This is like being kind to other employees, bosses, supervisors. But it isn't kissing a** b/c that is not genuine.

Stay away from gossips. Say "oh really?" and walk away like you're in a hurry or something.

Don't tell anyone anything personal there that you would not to be sent out in a group e-mail or told to a supervisor or manager. This includes health problems or family problems.

Say GOOD things about people behind their backs and in front of their face. Make those things genuine appreciation.

Don't tattle. Don't complain. Fix a small mistake of a coworker quietly. Don't be bossy, irritable, rude, etc. Smile, always. Don't be in the workplace with physical or mental problems unless it's minor like a cold.

Don't make waves (problems). Go to work, do your work and go home. That's it.

Don't be negative if you have to do extra work or be flexible sometimes.

Last, but not least, find out what food everybody likes, and bring it in regularly, or plan food activities if you can at times. Well-fed coworkers are nice ones. Do nice little things for them. Listen to them.

You see, all this makes them nice to you and it makes them feel good, and then you all work better together.

Answer 3

The best option is:
First move: play the fool. Act like you don't know what's going on and pretend you don't get any of their jokes/ acts. Most of the people that want to bother you will soon quit.
Second move: play the foll but do things to improve work environment or to make yourself more efficient without anyone noticing. You do your Job as good as you can and don't get mixed with their dirty work and for them you even don't get it!
Third and last move: Confront them and fight fair on the front line, don't let anything that you think is wrong get by. Good will conquer bad, even in the office atmosphere.

Answer 4

Always be polite to management, A hello in the morning,etc. Don't kiss **** although many do and get promoted but are generally crap in the job, If really bad look for another!

Answer 5

Just trust that most bosses see beyond what you think they see.
Do your job well and without complaint.
No boss wants to see the workplace turn into a *****-ground or battleground. Stay out of it, stay away from revenge.
You will do ok.
:-)

Answer 6

Do your job and ignore the gossip, and petty politics of the office.
But, one thing you should do. If you ever get a chance to take one of them down, take them down hard and merciless. It will teach the others not to mess with you.

Answer 7

welcome to the real world-people are like this ALL over the world.All you can do is treat others with respect (even if they do not) and don't step to their level. Do your job to the best of your ability and just ensure that nobody have something to say against you . All the best ! i realy hope it works out for you.

Answer 8

First of all, using psychology isn't going to outwit anyone. You have to be quick mentally, and focused on what is going on around you. If you want something useful, go buy some books on body langauge, persuasion, and sales. But, most useful of all is common sense and the ability to understand what's really going on in the work environment.
You don't need a degree in psychology to overcome a troublesome co-worker, just a little bit of creativity and a willingness to experiment. If your co-workers are trying to undermine you, or are being deceitful, maybe they perceive you as a THREAT. Try talking to them more, and pay attention to their eyes, expressions, and gestures, and tones of voice. If they are out to get you, you'll know soon enough. No man can keep a secret, betrayal oozes out of him at every pore. You just need to know where to look.
The smartest piece of psychology advice you may need is to make sure you never argue with them. Win through your actions.
Also, ingratiate your fellow workers with gifts, selective honesty, and generosity. Above all, be prepared to sabotage anyone who tries to sabotage you, even if he is higher up the ladder. If your career is important to you it is worth fighting for.
To make sure you get the respect you deserve from everyone in your workplace, always communicate clearly without slang and curse words and look them dead in the eye. Be polite and friendly, smile when appropriate, and laugh at their jokes if you like them. Never kiss ***. Never tattle on anyone. Never say anything about anyone behind their back, for any reason what-so-ever, unless it's the sweetest of compliments. Likewise, compliments can also be used to disarm your enemies. Compliment them on their excellent work at the next meeting, and make them feel like you're on their side.

When I got my first sales job, my Sales Manager was an arrogant fool. He would lie to my customers, promising one price and then once they signed on the line, this a s s hole would raise the price a couple thousand. He treated the customers like they were scum, low-life liars. He didn't believe them when they said they'd be back to buy the vehicle later that day, and wanted me to force them to buy right then and there. I understand the need for a sense of urgency when engaged in the process of selling something, but his tactics pissed off so many people and cost me ALOT of commisions. So, I decided to get rid of him. How could I do it without losing my job? I'm an automotive sales consultant.
In sales, word-of-mouth is powerful marketing. So to destroy this idiot I would make sure to direct any angry responses I got towards him. The results were fantastic, one guy shouted at the top of his voice at this moron...cussed him with every name you could imagine....the whole store stopped and watched! Another guy threatened to kick his ***, and many many more spread the word that he was NOT TO BE TRUSTED.
This got the attention of the General Sales Manager and the Owner more than once, and with all the bad word-of-mouth I had generated over this clown, he was a liability for the dealership.

I even had people follow him around town, cause I thought it was going to come down to him or me, and if I had to I'd f u c k him up. They keyed his Caddilac up one time when he went into the service station to get some gas. It was pretty funny, although I never asked them to do that.
This asshole used to sit and lecture me on how you needed to know ALOT about psychology in order to sell cars, but I was selling like 3...sometimes 5 a day....and I think I had inadvertantly threated his EGO. He viewed me as a threat. And, it was this very attitude towards me that ended up costing him his job. He may have known alot about psychology, but he didn't know anything about people. Where ever he is today I hope he is at the bottom of the ladder where he deserves to be.

Answer 9

Ignore them, make sure you do a good job (better yet, do a GREAT job)...and make your boss happy. Let the other guys bring down themselves.

Answer 10

Switchblades and shotguns.