Comrades Climb, Don’t Let Them Make You Bitter

A climbing partner is one who tries to advance professionally quickly and unscrupulously at the expense of one or more third parties. It can be difficult to discover, because normally we will see what he wants us to see, defending the interpretation of his actions that best maintains his disguise. “I have done it for you”, “I did not realize it”, “Better this way, you have more work and you will be able to do more merits”.

It is important not to confuse the competition between different workers to get a position, with a practice that consists of the use of deception, lies and / or manipulation. The purpose of the climbing companions is to project a negative image of third parties and to value their own qualities, considering others as competence and / or instruments to achieve their objectives.

And there are co-workers who tend to mean themselves more than to work. We must stay away from them if we do not want to end badly.

We don’t choose our co-workers

Co-workers are rarely chosen. It is the same as with the biological family, we cannot section it to our liking. We have the one that touches us. If our relationship with co-workers is not good, this will bring us upside down throughout the working day. But, if they also create a bad environment at work, then we have a big problem.

The best thing is to be prepared so that the relationship with the climbing companions does not cause more serious problems. So, let’s think, what problems could it cause? One of them, which includes many others, is work stress.

Work stress

Work stress or stress at work is a type of stress typical of industrialized societies. The increasing pressure in the work environment can cause the physical or mental saturation of the worker. Likewise, it will generate various consequences that will not only affect your health, but also that of your immediate environment.

Work stress appears when the worker’s resources are overwhelmed by one or more work factors that he cannot cope with or thinks he cannot cope with (threats). It can manifest itself in various ways. Its symptoms range from irritability to depression, and are usually accompanied by physical and / or mental exhaustion.

According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, work-related stress is the second most frequent work-related health problem. The causes are diverse. Among the most frequent, we find: job insecurity, long working hours and feeling intimidated or harassed. And this is where the climbing companions come in.

How are the companions climbs?

Like much of the fauna in our work, climbing companions have special characteristics. The most important would be:

• The climber never shares valuable information with others : he  obtains it and keeps it for himself, unless he can derive a benefit from sharing it.
• It oozes falsehood from every pore. He has no problem lying, misrepresenting or manipulating.
• He acts in a subtle way using any comment or rumor to harm or discredit someone he considers an obstacle in his career.
• He will never value the help or achievement of his colleagues, but on the contrary, he will minimize or discredit them.
• His behavior is very different when he interacts with his colleagues than when he does it with the superiors of the company. In those moments he will do what is not written in order to gain merit.

Climbers know that they cannot ascend on their own merits. Only by sinking and stepping over others can they do it. So never underestimate a climbing partner as they are much more dangerous than typical balls. An essential characteristic of climbing companions is that they only care about the “what”. The “how” is the least for them. They will do whatever it takes, leaving whatever corpses are necessary in their wake.

To get away well, we need to be prudent and smart. Unless he is very clumsy, his behavior will be very sibylline and at first glance we can seldom detect him. In fact, that is one of its great dangers: its ability to disguise its intention.

Thus, climbing colleagues can go unnoticed for long periods of time and may even pose as your best co-workers. In this way, they gain our trust to later use us for their purposes, regardless of what we think or feel, just as if we were a computer or a stapler.

What can we do before the climbing companions?

Climbing companions do not act honestly or ethically. However, they can be professionals highly valued by bosses and the company. This gives them wings to continue with their particular carnage.

Thus, when you have detected if one of these “predators” is in your work environment, you can act intelligently to minimize the risks of battle. Here are some guidelines that may be useful:

• The climbing companions wish at all costs to disarm their prey psychologically and for this – at a certain moment – they can seek confrontation. It is best not to get into their game of destruction. Smile at them whenever you come across them. This will disorient them and they will feel confused.
• It is very important not to share information with them. You have to avoid at all costs interacting as much as possible and take great care of your comments and, why not, also your material belongings. You never know!

• In the allies is strength. Use the rest of your teammates to your advantage, taking advantage of the strength of the group. Inform honest people in your work environment that there is a wolf in sheep’s clothing in the flock. If the climber finds that he is isolated, his strength will diminish and he may even temporarily decide to change his attitude or leave.

As we have seen, climbing colleagues are toxic people  – people with a marked tendency to demonstrate or carry out behaviors that are harmful to others – in our work environment. Try to avoid interacting with them at all costs. If you follow the strategies we have pointed out, you have a lot to win in this particular battle.