Jan

22

A depressing way to stay employed: Be a brownnose?

Posted by Dan

January 22, 2009 |

We all have our own strategies for staying employed. Some put in extra hours. Some turn in the best work they possibly can and hope that their bosses notice. Others work for themselves, or freelance for as many diverse clients as they can, seeing protection from the uncertainty that reigns in the job market today.

Then there are the people like my friend: He becomes a brownnose, wherever he’s working. This, he says, makes it far harder for any of his bosses to fire him.

Here’s how it works: My friend will immediately begin complimenting his superiors. He’ll buddy up to them. He’ll chat with them as often as possible. Basically, he’ll work his butt off to become their friend.

He’s not a bad worker, but he’s not necessarily the best, at any company for which he works. But he always goes out of his way to become one of the most liked.

Does this work? For him, it does. But my friend has one of those personalities: He manages to make everyone he talks to feel like the most important person in the world. For someone who’s more withdrawn, who’s not so well-graced in the ins and outs of socializing, this approach probably won’t work.

But my friend has never been fired or laid off. He’s left companies on his terms.

So — sigh — brownnosing might be the way to go, if you can pull it off.


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