Christmas is a time of peace and goodwill to all men…except for those negative office politicians who would use the festive season as a time for tactics of self-interest and manipulation.

 

Here are a few of our Christmas favourites to watch out for, just in case someone is out to ruin your career this Christmas. Hopefully you’re reading this in time to save yourself!

 

Christmas Stockings – Using the alcohol fuelled environment of the Christmas Party to seduce someone so that the indiscretion can be used against them at a later date. And before you write in to complain about how improbable we are being here, it is not just women who play this game these days, and the stories people tell us assure us that this ancient game is still a very effective strategy! Tell us your horror stories by visiting www.politicsatwork.com today.

 

Christmas Time Lord – Using the festive season as a delaying tactic in the hope that the situation will have changed by the New Year, or to buy more time to plot further.  For instance, “Jerry, this is not a good time to make this decision, let’s look at it again in the New Year”. This game was originally called Time Bandit, although it has a lot in common with Byre’s Funeral.

 

Ghost of Christmas Past – Reminding people of their past Christmas indiscretions to either embarrass them or in its more sinister form as a deliberate power play. This game is played when people find ways to casually drop into social conversations (usually in the presence of the victim) all the indiscretions and crimes that the victim has committed over time. These past ghosts are usually raised as a “joke” or “just having a laugh” so that should the victim take offence, the moral high ground can be quickly seized and the victim then accused of having a sense of humour bypass. This game is a Christmas original and has not been featured on the site before.

 

Christmas Lunch – bestowing gifts on others with the express intention of attempting to manipulate people into feeling indebted. If someone gives you an unexpected gift or a surprise Christmas Box, you might well be entitled to ask yourself…why? What is in it for them? What will they be asking for in return once the season is over and the “debt” is called in? This game was originally called Free Lunch and more details are available on the site.

 

 

Twelve Days of Christmas – Pretending that the decision must be made before the New Year or the chance will never return again. Deliberately rushing the decision making process in the hope of gaining an advantage. It might sound something like this – “I know that you would normally like to take more time with this one Jerry, but we need your sign off now if we are to make it happen for the first quarter of the New Year” Of course this is all just a game and should the pressing deadline elapse the chances are that they will be back again in the New Year, but amazingly, extra time has been somehow discovered! A non-seasonal variation of this game is called Mother Hubbard.

 

There’s more. Visit www.politicsatwork.com and find –

 

• Christmas Party Bystander
• No Christmas Party
• Christmas Burial
• Pass the Parcel
• The Queens Speech
• The Christmas Martyr

 

Politics at Work increases awareness of the games that people play at work so that you can take positive action to deal authentically with the troublemakers. Visit us today and make a New Year resolution to do something about these games.

 

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