Office Politics

So, I've only spent a short time of my working life in an office environment. Most of it has been recently and I just don't get office politics. I can't seem to grasp the concepts that are being thrown at me. There are people that I've worked with in this environment who do nothing but plot and scheme to accomplish whatever goal they seek to acheive. Be it to move up in the company, to get revenge because someone pissed them off, or whatever. I don't get it!!! Why should anyone have a master plan that involves spiting or hurting someone else in any way just to make their own situation better?

I thought that we were paid to do our jobs, do them well, be dedicated employees, and overall - contribute to the company as a whole. Does this thinking make me naive? Do I have to start thinking that I have to step on people, take their ideas as my own, and talk about them behind their back - not even to get ahead, just to do my job every day?

What happened to employee/employer mutual loyalty in the corporate world? What happened to being recognized for doing your job, doing it well, and efficiently? What happened to honesty as being part of personal work ethic?

I'll tell you what happened... people are greedy and selfish. All they think about is the bottom line. How does it look today? How much more money can I put in my pocket by raping my employees of their compensation and benefits? Business men today don't understand that if you take care of your people, they'll take care of you. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.

I had an HR manager once who didn't understand this concept. They thought that each and every employee was expendable. No one mattered to the company - they were just bodies. When one leaves, let's bring in the next. There was no extra thought given to wanting to keep someone who'd worked for the company for 20 years and is now leaving. It doesn't matter if they know everything about everything in their field. They can be replaced. With that thinking, why don't we just employ a computer to do everyone's job? Just program the computer to know everything and we're golden, right? People don't matter. I have a warning for that HR manager - if everyone else is replaceable, so are you!

I don't know about you, but I'm sick of feeling like I have to prove myself to someone who doesn't and never will care about how greatly I contribute to my job.