This morning I heard that CareerBuilder recently released the results of a survey about interacting with co-workers. Their latest findings suggest that complaining about your co-workers - why is he always on Facebook?, why does she get more vacation time than me? - is a sure fire way to fall out of favor with your boss.
Intuitively, this makes sense. Few people like a whiner or a tattler.
Of course, if the person is commenting on something involving personal safety, the organization's financial well-being, etc., then bring on the commentary. Otherwise, most likely the person on the receiving end of things doesn't want to hear it.
Instead of being pulled down into office discussions, wouldn't a better route be to outshine that co-worker and make your supervisor notice you for the great things you do, rather than the squeaky wheel effect? I'm wondering why someone would opt for the latter approach - baggage from childhood? Insecurity in the job? Something else?
I'm interested to hear your thoughts. I'm sure that at some point we've all worked with someone who frustrated us.
