He said that in reference to coworkers at your job. Some of the women are “mean girls” who gossip about other people, some guys are bullies (obviously not in an in-your-face way), and some of the adults just act like high school students. The only difference is that some of your coworkers are in their 20s, 30s, or 40s.
Would you say thats accurate?
100% accurate. I’ve had coworkers say things to others rudely for no reason, get spoken to by the big bosses, and then somehow make the person they said it to the bad guy… People don’t actually grow up, they just become old children.
Depends on the workplace. All of them have a bit of drama, IME, but most aren’t nearly as bad as highschool. But I have had a few employees who were absolutely that bad tho.
Oh no. It’s so so much worse.
Kinda.
Mostly no but high school bullshit pops up every now and then. Just lame drama. It’s usually one person who is known to “be that way” and starts petty conflicts, or is overly controlling and not collaborative, takes everything as a personal attack on their authority, spreads gossip, whatever. It feels like high school when all I want to do is do the work and go home.
I’ve had at least one at every workplace I’ve ever had. In wildly different industries.
The strategy of ignoring them like you would in high school doesn’t work because you have to work with this person so it’s about creating paper trails, CYA files, minimizing interactions, and otherwise just dealing with frustration.
Maybe it depends on the workplace, but i would say no. Everyone in my office is pretty chill and there are no exclusive cliques; there are friend groups but they are much more permeable. Unlike my high school friends, I rarely see my colleagues after work. The people are also more homogeneous- in high school you’re lumped in with a bunch of kids from all different backgrounds: some are headed to college, others to jail, etc. At the office, everyone but the support staff might have advanced degrees (for example). The policy on harassment also makes bullying a very dangerous proposition- way stricter than any school i attended.
God, no. High school was awful. Adult life has not been. People have been largely reasonable in my experience, once out of school. I do think some people are more gossipy, sure, but not in a mean way. Some more loud, outgoing, dramatic, others more quiet, sometimes that causes friction but all seem within specs for normal adult behavior, nobody being mean to others (well, except once - there was a lady who went to HR to complain about how someone else dressed, but it’s the exception that proves the rule) Can’t say I’ve encountered bullies at work at all.
And I am not in my 20s or 30s or 40s.
i work as a float teller a a bank, and some branches are cliquier than others, and some have workers who act about as responsible as a teenager, but overall it’s far better than high school
One of the best things about maturing – which often comes with but is not guaranteed by age – is learning to be comfortable with yourself. Teenagers tend to spend a lot of their emotional energy clamoring for approval from peers, not yet aware that it’s really their own approval they need.
This unfulfilled need can lead teens to do or say all kinds of silly or even hurtful things. Some teens grow into adults without ever learning how to love themselves. I don’t think that’s the case for most people. Just a small minority but you may encounter them in the workplace from time to time.
It’s also worth noting that psychologists believe around 10% of the population suffers from some type of personality disorder, most of them undiagnosed. I’m reasonably certain that I’ve encountered at least a few of these people in my career.
Not at all.
I spent many years traveling and visiting many different companies
I can confidently say that this is totally a function of the ownership/management
thank god, no. some don’t seem to grow out of it, but thankfully most are reasonable, at least to some extent.
Really depends on the workplace I think. Even within similar sectors, I’ve been in situations where it was definitely that way, but in another similar workplace there was absolutely none of that. A lot of it has to do with leadership, I think. But also humans are prone to gossip and be judgy and not everyone grows out of that or learns to keep it to themselves, so there will always be people.
No.
The idea of growing up is broadly a lie or misconception. Some people realize they are now responsible for themselves and perhaps even others, and that is pretty much the biggest change psychologically after puberty. A lot of people don’t have that realization or much great impact from it, so yeah, a lot of “grown-ups” working jobs are not all that different from highschoolers.
There are also marked biological changes that affect behaviour though, like the development of the prefrontal cortex, but I agree: it’s a matter of personal responsibility and not everyone gets there, sadly.
I dunno about you all, but I sure as shit didn’t get paid for attending high school…
