Then office politics really pick up, and it’s no longer about being a team, but playing affiliations instead. People will totally throw each other under the bus

Then office politics really pick up, and it’s no longer about being a team, but playing affiliations instead. People will totally throw each other under the bus when a promotion is up for grabs and there’s real money at stake. Power shifts between factions and people must make decisions about not only how to present themselves in the situation, but how to align themselves. People will gladly take credit for the successes while blaming others for the failures. If you think politics in real life can be a shit show, there’s times where the workplace may not be that far off, since it’s still real people afterall. People become invested for themselves (in some ways that always true with work, but there’s levels of obviousness). It’s like that with every trending “gold rush”. Opportunity arises, FOMO strikes, and hell breaks loose. A worplace that suffers 0 damage would be incredibly rare, but having the presence of mind to accept it, plan for it, and confront it in a positive way makes a huge difference is the ultimate success or failure of a place.