Corporate miscers, is being too nice in the workplace seen as a bad weakness? (srs)

[AimForPeace]

At my last corporate environment I worked in, I felt like I was being overtly too nice to everyone I met and worked with.
But because my coworkers and boss were chill and we were friends outside of work they didn't take advantage of me or try to pin
more work on me. But when I was there I heard rumors and gossiping about how bad the office politics was in the finance department
and the other departments, and I was glad our technical team didn't have to deal with all that bs.

While I'm currently looking for work, I was wondering if I should consider changing my behavior/personality while in the workplace
or even during interviews so I don't come off as too nice/gullible/naive or a doormat. I definitely don't want to be taken advantage of
or get stabbed in the back. But basically is being overtly nice in a corporate environment always seen as a bad thing? Will it prevent
me from moving up the ladder? Does it make me look weak? I'm still fresh out of college (<= 2 years experience) and inexperienced.

I appreciate any advice or stories y'all have from your experiences.

[lllEZRAlll]

You and your co workers are called in for a meeting with the CEO. Everyone is suffering from malnutrition.

They place one steak dinner on the table... who is going to eat? There's your answer son.

[NsaneOne]

My dad's friend who works in construction said that you can never be too nice because they will run over you.

[bluedream2]

People will try and get you to do THEIR job if you are too nice.


Be proffessional, always.



Remember brah- you're not at work to make friends, you are their to make money.

[blissful88]

Keep it 110% professional


Co workers are not your friends

Be professional at all times

Becoming personal with your work or the people involved is the #1 fastest way to lose a job




Say that daily until it sinks in

[bluedream2]

My dad's friend who works in construction said that you can never be too nice because they will run over you.

True, especially with construction

[DizzySmalls]

But basically is being overtly nice in a corporate environment always seen as a bad thing? Will it prevent
me from moving up the ladder? Does it make me look weak? I'm still fresh out of college (<= 2 years experience) and inexperienced.

I appreciate any advice or stories y'all have from your experiences.

I think if you are genuine and not a complete template of a personality at work, people will like you more. If you seem like you are scared to be anything other than a good work boy to please master, you aren't going to command a lot of respect from your coworkers and direct reports.

Be fair, don't be a complete ******* or be too unprofessional, but engage with people on a personal level. If they want to gossip at you about the job or tell you about their football pool or their vacation, then engage with them at that level.

[AimForPeace]

You and your co workers are called in for a meeting with the CEO. Everyone is suffering from malnutrition.

They place one steak dinner on the table... who is going to eat? There's your answer son.

Damn that analogy felt so real lol. I guess I'm really out here in the real world swimming with sharks now. Dog eat dog world. But damn I really hate myself for being a softie irl. In the social/professional moments I don't think clearly and the pussy nice guy inside takes over immediately. It's bad lol.

[Wh1teDyn0mite]

This is 100 percent correct

From legit personal experience from a guy who lost his job because of this

I was literally one of the most liked/popular guys in the office but revealed too much, acted out of control when out with colleagues and things like and while some of them were close friends and even are until this day after I’ve left, not all of them were.

You can be the likeable, good guy in the office that gets along with everyone and is the first guy everyone invites to drinks etc but it doesn’t mean you’ll keep your job.

Bingo

[GuineaDago585]

People will try and get you to do THEIR job if you are too nice.


Be proffessional, always.



Remember brah- you're not at work to make friends, you are their to make money.

This. Being a nice reliable employee is a double edged sword. On the one hand, it can set you up for a promotion/raise. On the other, you’ll get piles of work thrown at you and expectations of you will rise, possibly leading to your sabotage later on.

I used to perform my job to the absolute best of my ability. I would genuinely go above and beyond, learning more about the industry than my position required. I would take on new projects and meet deadlines early. Then I started to notice a pattern of more unnecessary work getting assigned to me. I was doing other people’s jobs while getting paid the same as coworkers who bullchitted around all day.

Once I stopped working so hard, occasionally fuking up on purpose and doing only the minimum requirements, my job became 100x easier.

Do that.

[DizzySmalls]

This is 100 percent correct

From legit personal experience from a guy who lost his job because of this

I was literally one of the most liked/popular guys in the office but revealed too much, acted out of control when out with colleagues and things like that and while some of them were close friends and even are until this day after I’ve left, not all of them were “friends.”

You can be the likeable, good guy in the office that gets along with everyone and is the first guy everyone invites to drinks etc but it doesn’t mean you’ll keep your job.

Don't dance around important fking variables like you doing narcotics and getting blackout drunk surrounding work functions. If memory serves...

[orangetide]

think for a second about being nice.

there is nothing real about it. you are basically being an insincere, sneaky fuk.

everyone knows you are putting on a facade.

[BothellBarbell]

It is 100% dependent on the company culture and environment.

In a cutthroat, high attrition, competitive company culture that doesn’t care about employee satisfaction, yeah don’t go out of your way to be nice as it doesn’t benefit you at all.

In a well run, high EQ, positive company culture built on team members supporting each other, ass holes get “laid off” real fast.

Adapt and thrive...

[AdamSMW]

Despite what most people here are saying, there's no straight answer because it will always depend on the job, the team you work with and mostly YOU, you will get ahead faster being nice and an enjoyable company whereas at others you will have to stay more professional, this "you will always have to be professional or you will lose your job" is straight up BULL.

You will get better faster at most jobs being nice without letting others run over you obviously.

[LovePollution]

"You can't be a nice guy living in a world of savages" - Mike Tyson

[AimForPeace]

That was an issue yeah and is all very accurate and I did that 100 percent.

But it’s not like I was the only one doing that stuff and it’s not like I was the only guy that was let go. They wanted to change the culture at the firm from what I’ve been told from people still there because we had a reputation for having a very wolf of Wall Street like reputation among the industry and its a small industry.

Those who went out for drinks, but called it a night at 10-11pm on a Thursday and didn’t go out until 4am doing drugs with their peers are the ones that kept their jobs. There were some guys who acted like degenerates but they kept it on the down lo unlike myself who’d stroll into the office in the same suit announcing he’s lost his wallet and keys.

Just be smart is my advice and if you do make friends and want to act crazy make sure you can trust them.

There was one example where 3 of us got called into a meeting with our boss once and our boss said he doesn’t care what we do but to be more discreet about it because there were rumours about us doing some fuked up chit. You never want to be known as the office party animal.

Damn you must've had some crazy lit experiences lol. Thanks for sharing. I'll definitely keep your advice in mind. While I've never gone out to happy hours or drinking (alcohol) with coworkers previously, I'm sure those opportunities will come up again in my future sometime, since I'm all about that party/drinking lifestyle as well. I'll remember not to ever get too comfortable and reveal too much. I agree blending social life and professional life has its limits for sure.

[tunafishha]

Just non executive problems.

[rectifryer]

Definitely.

[meanstringbean]

This is 100 percent correct

From legit personal experience from a guy who lost his job because of this

I was literally one of the most liked/popular guys in the office but revealed too much, acted out of control when out with colleagues and things like that and while some of them were close friends and even are until this day after I’ve left, not all of them were “friends.”

You can be the likeable, good guy in the office that gets along with everyone and is the first guy everyone invites to drinks etc but it doesn’t mean you’ll keep your job.

This is a tough balance for many people and companies though, especially ones that hire college grads or other people in their 20s in 'classes'. You immediately will hang out with these people the most, especially in a new city, and they can quickly become your friends. It's easy to keep work separate when you have a family or your own group of friends, but I know a ton of people who's only social circle are those from the company.


Which is definitely better than having no circle at all. But in my experience work friends are work friends. People you get drinks at happy hours with, maybe occaisionally see during a weekend, but that's it. I never transitioned those to my real friends. Sometimes it sucks because when hanging out with them you can't really be yourself or let your guard down completely, but it's worth it not to be compromised

[blissful88]

In light of some comments here I'll add;

Being nice isn't what gets you promoted(if you're a girl just suck your superior's cock ez)

It's your work that does. Be professional.


Feeling emotional? Be professional.

Getting angry & frustrated over a work deadline? Be professional.



Professional is a mindset, an entire demeanor, personable is part of it.