honesty Vs clever/cheat

[Lakshmipathi]

I just wanted to know your views on , does honesty and truth has any place in today's competitive world. cunning,cleverness succeeds over straight forward guy ?

I really feel , there is no respect for being honesty or sincere in work place - you need be clever and cunning.If you are a honest person,people will treat you like idiot.

huge hype and project yourself as an expert in technology,will yield you better destination and appraisal

Conclusion : Never try to be honest in your place - be clever and selfish

you are reading a Linux forum or news sites -as soon as you saw your boss coming,will you press alt+tab to hide it and reopen after your boss crosses your cabin? Why do that , why are living a fake life.

I really hate this sucking corporate life. All most all people living a fake life.someone behave as if he OS creator,these people talk a lot ..but have no skills. They get some guy - who won't talk much,then overload him with all his work. And throw him out once the job is done.

[techieMoe]

I don't work for a corporation or a for-profit entity, so I don't have to deal with much of what you speak of. Most of the people I work with are honest, hard-working people who do their job because it's their job. They aren't using this position as a foothold into a new management position (as people are very rarely promoted in my department anyway, and when they are it's because someone retired).

Working where I do, it's simply not necessary to be dishonest and underhanded to your fellow employees. It's quite significantly frowned upon, as a matter of fact. I like that I work where I do, because even if I worked in a cutthroat corporate environment, my personal integrity would keep me from "playing the game" and lying, cheating, or sleeping my way to the next rung of the ladder. I would make a poor corporate drone.

[Thrillhouse]

It sounds cliched but the best way to avoid this kind of stuff is to focus on your own responsibilities and do your job well. Unless you're in a management position, there is very little you can do to change the way things are, but if you focus on the quality of your own work rather than the office politics, it's not likely that you'll go unnoticed. A lot of it will depend on who you work for, though. In my experience, the larger companies tend to place less importance on corporate culture and a pleasant work environment (in order to keep the juggernaut moving) while the smaller companies will work hard to make those things stand out. The smaller companies use them as a means to attract good, competent people.

I work for one of the smaller companies and feel lucky to just for those reasons. If someone was being "cutthroat" in the way you describe or hurdling over their colleagues in order to further their own career/agenda, they would probably not last long here because no one would want to work with them. The work we do is too team-oriented to allow one person to behave like that.

[Hal343]

I deliberately pick and choose my jobs to be a good place to work. I'd rather work with/for ordinary, honest and hardworking people than for/with sociopaths for double the money. I only wish I'd learned years ago. Life would have been much more stress-free.

[cousinlucky]

I had problems at just about every job I ever had over the years because of my integrity. There were many places of employment that I just walked out of because I could not stand the deceit any longer.

My one government job I did not get along with my co-workers because I would not steal any money. I could be well off today if I had sacrificed my honor and integrity; but I would have problems looking at myself in the mirror, while shaving, every morning.

If your workplace makes you very uncomfortable I suggest that you get out of it before permanent damage is done to your personality or you become an alcoholic.

[Lakshmipathi]

worked in a cutthroat corporate environment, my personal integrity would keep me from "playing the game" and lying, cheating, or sleeping my way to the next rung of the ladder

I kept away from these games - that's why I'm on very bottom on corporate ladder.

If your workplace makes you very uncomfortable I suggest that you get out of it before permanent damage is done to your personality

yes,that's what i fear the most. So far I resisted any attempts to change me.
I heard works like "we are shaping up your corporate career",
"do you think you survive in IT with your C/Unix skills alone?..ha..ha",

I tried to escape from the place three months back,I thrown my resignation decided to become a freelancer or write some Linux tools.
but later withdrawn it due to financial reason. -Still exploring all options to be an Linux entrepreneur
working for some breakthrough - hopefully it will arrive soon.


But here , I used to show my frustration with college friends(working in IT) , all of them will reply "it's same here too - all companies
have same issue"
I checked with my friend (working as librarian in a college) he also said,"you can't be honest -- it applies to all work place-even in college library"
My father also said the same , work place will be like that.

I found quite interesting , all of you have completely different environment than mine.

[techieMoe]

I found quite interesting , all of you have completely different environment than mine.

Maybe it's a cultural thing. I don't know. In the USA there's plenty of shady corporations that encourage prurient ways to sleaze your way to the top, but there are also honest companies and governments that want you to do your honest best. I'm lucky enough to have had the choice, and I chose the second.

[Bemk]

The people you talk about, Laksmipathi, is what we call "konten likkers" in Dutch, (ass kissers, in English), and in Western Europe and the USA, this is more or less uncommon, and the social network will take care of it when somebody does so, but I think that in your culture it is more accepted, than in West European and American culture.

To be honest, I think that if you attempted to do such a thing here, you would move down the ladder instead of up. The employer should respect people like you who do their job and don't screw other employees when the boss walks by.

So yeah, I think it's a culture thing, you probably won't get around, and even in the best companies you'll see it, even in West Europe and the USA, but in lower amounts.

By the way, I only focussed on Western Europe and the USA, because I don't know how things are in the rest of the world.

[Jonathan183]

I've worked in a few organisations, various sizes and found some people who behave poorly in all of them. In a small business the behaviour is less obvious and extreme because they are quickly found out ... and discouraged unless it furthers the business !

Maybe you are being too open and honest for your own good ... maybe you could be less open but still honest ... just because you think someone is stupid does not mean you need to tell them they are.

There will always be someone willing to take advantage ... just what they are prepared to do changes. You need to do what you think is right ... from your posts in this thread it sounds as though you have problems with the way things are done where you are - you can swim against the tide ... but you can't do it forever

Clever is not the same as cheat ... honest and clever is possible - it's just more difficult ... my advice is find your own version of clever and honest - if it works were you are fine ... if not then move on ...

[Lakshmipathi]

Maybe it's a cultural thing. I don't know.

Yes,definitely it's a cultural thing. Since it happens all workplace .I believe it needs to be changed
people _must_ evaluated based on their work not based on how much they talk.

is what we call "konten likkers" in Dutch,

100% agree with you,there are plenty of them.They will talk one thing in front of you and completely opposite when you are not there.

honest and clever is possible - it's just more difficult

It's very difficult. I really find it hard to find a distinction between clever and cheat.

One day my mother was traveling in a bus,there was a lady with his son sat next to my mother.
The boy has a mental illness,on their way for treatment.
The lady told my son was previously working as IT professional,became like this now.

To be honest, if they find a hardworking guy with some technical skills but he is not a talkative guy-they he can _never_ survive