Dirty Secrets

Every workplace is filled with political games, secret strategies, and internal sabotage. I struggle morally with the constant lying, blaming, and manipulation that accompanies most employees' rise to the top. It used to bother me to the extent that I would force honesty and expose fraudulent behavior, even at the expense of personal relationships.

Dirty deeds in the workplace will never disappear and I can't force others to be more open and forthcoming about their agendas. As long as there is greed in the world, there will be people pushing and shoving to increase their paycheck. There is a lot of truth in the old saying, "money is the root of all evil."

Today's Dirty Secret is that I'm participating in it to some degree. I pride myself on being brutally honest and I am...for the most part. My former manager was recently demoted, they are looking to lay someone off, and she's very unhappy in her current role. So, I'm encouraging her to be vocal about his dissatisfaction even though I know it will not be appreciated by upper management. I selfishly want it to be her laid off instead of me. She asks me advice and my advice is sometimes self-serving.

I like her as a person and respect her as a professional. I honestly believe she would be better off working somewhere else and I've convinced myself that I'm actually helping her. If she wants to make a big stink about all the issues we face, then she should. Right?