He Said - She Said

Anyone who has ever worked in a corporate environment knows the "He Said - She Said" game. It's the game that takes place when people are trying to cover their butts because they are too afraid to stand by their word and work. It's a game that consists of finger-pointing, defensive statements and about a gazillion emails all about one topic!

When I worked at The Bird, there was always definite room for backstabbing and internal espionage. It all seemed rather childish and immature, like being back in high school with all of the rumors and accusations. Being confident in my own work and having my boss to back me up, I wasn't worried that it would ever come my way. My work spoke for itself, and anything anybody could've said was only out of jealousy and spite and had no bearing on my record whatsoever. Others aren't so lucky, though, when they unfortunately attract certain people that zone in on them, and it seems like a life-mission for those meanies to take them down, corporately speaking. My old boss has actually been through something like this, and from the sidelines and mildly involved, it was not something that I cared to be a part of. By the end, it got really nasty, to say the very least. I was lucky to have witnessed a situation like that so I know for the future what could happen, but I'm knocking on wood that I will never have to recall that wisdom.

Now that I am part of a new corporate culture, it has been a very interesting experience in getting comfortable in a new environment, in learning the rhythm and motion of this corporate wave, so to speak. The people here are only just starting to warm up to me, and I think that is partially because I brought in food the other day. It's almost been a situation of me walking on eggshells until I really know where I stand, and I still don't where I stand. I will officially be "the new girl" until someone else is hired. Damn that totem pole! One thing I have learned, though, is that in a smaller corporate company, the "He Said - She Said" game is ten times worse. With the amount of visibility placed on each employee, the risk of bad 'publicity' is so much more. I can receive a string of 35 emails in one afternoon alone on one issue, not mattering if it is about the stupidest, most infinitesimal item. "Should we sticker the ISBN on the lower left back corner, or the lower right back corner?" Really, people. Is this decision going to cause a tidal wave in Sri Lanka? It's not exactly the butterfly effect! And it really makes me wonder if this is what people's jobs consist of for the day, and maybe that's why I'm so unoccupied at work...I don't get involved in this bull crap, therefore I have nothing to do?! Hmmmm...