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For anyone new to office politics, or have not experienced hostile politics before, keep those in mind: - Make sure to have some real friends at work. No, some

For anyone new to office politics, or have not experienced hostile politics before, keep those in mind: - Make sure to have some real friends at work. No, someone you work with everyday is not necessarily a real friend, you have to make real connections with them, so they are willing to defend and support you when things get tough. - Be observant and empathetic, so you can notice problems when they first arise, and resolve them before they escalate. This is hard for engineers, as we focus on computers most of the time and don't get to practice the skills of empathy a lot. - Be strong. Sometimes escalations do happen, and now you have one or more people dislike you and try to make your life hard. You need to be emotionally strong to withstand their attacks, and keep a clear mind to figure out a way to defeat them or at least reach a ceasefire. Sadly, politics happen all the time when inter-personal interactions happen, not necessarily the result of one shady colleague with agendas. This could happen to anyone, although sadly more often to minorities, because it's harder to hide the fact that we are outsiders.

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guitarbill 10y ago
Note: This comment is not based on the article, but my personal experience (in the UK - if that matters) Honestly, having a third party involved has worked well. Sometimes, misunderstandings linger and fester, and then even the most innocuous things can be construed wrongly. A third party (a good manager is ideal) saying either "you're being too sensitive" or "no, they were out of line, i'll talk to them" helps. I don't know of anybody who's refused to iron out issues, and I firmly believe most people are decent enough to help. But at the end of the day, you don't have to like everybody you work with, as long as there's respect from both parties. That's being professional. If respect isn't there, either you or your manager is going to have to make a call sooner or later. For better or worse, this is probably going to come down to team dynamics, as teams that work well together are very valuable. This might suck, but I've never seen racism or sexism being the dominant effect in a small team (<8) of people who know each other - a lot of caveats, at least there's hope. I guess it helps if it's "just" a job to you. Normally, I'd simply start looking for a job elsewhere, but if I was at Apple, I'd want to stay there.
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stevenh 10y ago
It's sad that with very few words changed, this could just as easily be a guide to surviving prison.
- gedrap 10y ago
  Well, when money and power are at question (which is true for pretty much every company), it tends to get the worst of some people.
gedrap 10y ago
Good points. I'd add that you should be careful about joining the 'negative' (can't think of a better word) social circles. You know, the kind who are talking about how something sucks or how bad some person is, for the vast majority of the time. Nothing good will come out of this.

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guitarbill 10y ago

Note: This comment is not based on the article, but my personal experience (in the UK - if that matters) Honestly, having a third party involved has worked well. Sometimes, misunderstandings linger and fester, and then even the most innocuous things can be construed wrongly. A third party (a good manager is ideal) saying either "you're being too sensitive" or "no, they were out of line, i'll talk to them" helps. I don't know of anybody who's refused to iron out issues, and I firmly believe most people are decent enough to help. But at the end of the day, you don't have to like everybody you work with, as long as there's respect from both parties. That's being professional. If respect isn't there, either you or your manager is going to have to make a call sooner or later. For better or worse, this is probably going to come down to team dynamics, as teams that work well together are very valuable. This might suck, but I've never seen racism or sexism being the dominant effect in a small team (<8) of people who know each other - a lot of caveats, at least there's hope. I guess it helps if it's "just" a job to you. Normally, I'd simply start looking for a job elsewhere, but if I was at Apple, I'd want to stay there.

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stevenh 10y ago

It's sad that with very few words changed, this could just as easily be a guide to surviving prison.

gedrap 10y ago
Well, when money and power are at question (which is true for pretty much every company), it tends to get the worst of some people.

gedrap 10y ago

Good points. I'd add that you should be careful about joining the 'negative' (can't think of a better word) social circles. You know, the kind who are talking about how something sucks or how bad some person is, for the vast majority of the time. Nothing good will come out of this.