The article discusses the relevance of Machiavelli's advice on office politics through the case of Nicholas Walker, a manager who sued his employers for unfair dismissal after being given a second-rate desk. This act, viewed as a demotion, ignited Walker's sense of lost status among peers, highlighting the psychological impact of perceived rank in the workplace. The discussion extends to the nature of office politics today, which resembles Orwell's '1984' in its brutal dynamics, centering on status, power, and the effects of social hierarchies in modern work environments.
If an injury has to be done to a man, it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared. Most of us can relate to that.
Office politics has become a ubiquitous live version of 1984's Two Minutes Hate: a brutal social event that thrills spectators and can't be avoided by the subject.
What seemingly got Walker's goat wasn't an explicit demotion. It was, in large part, the drop in his perceived rank among his peers.
Since the arrival of settled agriculture and private property around 10,000 BC, status has always been a thing, whether through pyramid size or coffee choice.
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