Office Politics 101

[John]

Completely untrue in my opinion. I avoid most of our company functions like softball, football games, etc. because I have my own life outside of work and I like to get away from it when I get the chance. I wake up at night dreaming about work, I spend way more than the typical 9-5 at work, I get work related calls basically 7 days of the week... I enjoy every chance I get to get away from it heh. I like the guys I work with and I definitely hit them up for happy hours sometimes, but a good company with good management like ours isn't going to discriminate against you just because you don't always hang out with your other coworkers. You should be being judged by your talent and your ability to work solo and with others in the work setting, not what you decide to do with your free time.

Not completely untrue. As somebody in a managerial position, there are certain individuals who habitually miss social functions and their comradadry is questioned (not by just management, but by team members). In no way do we expect people to be present at every event as everybody needs to have a life and maintain their unique identity. However, constantly missing social functions is an unsung rule in successful groups who embody the team mentality.

And for the record, I have never brown-nosed for my position. I have staked my own reputation by proving my merit and building productive teams. If you want to work in your own closet, be a slave to the corporate hegemon, and/or complain about your job, then it's self-deserving. I for one will never work in a job that I don't enjoy, nor work with a group that I don't fit in with. If you don't like what you do, then you should re-evaluate your career priorities unless you want to live a bitter life.