Kissing ass doesn't always help.
Experts say ingratiating behaviour is bound to be on the rise in the workplace as workers fret about keeping their jobs in tough economic times.This could explain why so many unemployed journalists wind up on Democrat payrolls. Although if you want to salvage any self-respect and dignity, sucking up may not be the way to go.
But such behaviour can be bad for business, they said.
'People who tend to 'manage up' anyway are managing up more. They really want to make sure people are noticing what they're doing,' said Max Caldwell, an expert in workforce effectiveness at Towers Perrin management consultants.
'It's a mentality of 'I not only want to do a good job, but I want to be seen as doing a good job,'' he said.
That behaviour increases when stakes are high, said Jennifer Chatman, professor of organisational behaviour at the University of California at Berkeley.
'It's what we do when we feel ourselves vulnerable or susceptible to the decisions of others,' she said. 'I would have every expectation that if we went out and tried to collect data right now, that it was going on in a big way because people are feeling more vulnerable.'
In such an environment, underlings may be more likely to lavish praise on bad decisions or poor judgement by a boss and avoid being candid or bearing bad news, she said.
'It can be bad for business, keeping the yea-sayers around,' Chatman said. But according to some researchers, sucking up works.
Others like author Bill Hanover rule out ingratiating behaviour altogether.
'If you value self-respect, the respect of your peers and leaders, then sucking-up or faking your way to a promotion will leave you ashamed and wanting,' writes Hanover, the author of 'No Sucking Up'.
'Don't do it. And like the old drunk driving ad campaign states, 'Friends don't let friends suck-up,'' he wrote.
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