Title: The Office Politics Game

Hello everyone! Today, I want to share a new life experience, one that many of you may be familiar with if you’ve ever worked in a corporate environment: office politics.

My name is Karan, and I work as a software engineer in HCL at their Chandigarh office. Before this, the office was known as BD (Becton Dickinson), a company famous for its technical roles. I hope by sharing my story, you’ll understand what office politics can look like, and maybe even relate to some of my experiences.

Starting Out in a Dream Role

When I joined BD, I was thrilled! This was my chance to switch from core development to automation—a field I’d been eager to explore. With six years of development experience, I was ready to dive into tools like Selenium and build my automation skills.

On my first day, I met my manager, Gurmeet. She welcomed me with warm wishes and had this perfect English accent that made her sound very professional. She introduced me to the team, and I started my training.

Now, I’ll be honest: training was a bit boring. But it was essential for getting familiar with our project and workflows. Slowly, I connected with my teammates and started making friends. I’m a friendly guy by nature, and within no time, I’d made five friends. There were six of us on the team, including Gurmeet. We hung out outside work, went for drinks, and shared a lot of laughs together.

I felt like I’d found a group I could rely on. But then, the real story began.

The Rumors Start Rolling

One day, during a casual conversation, my friend Loval shared his experience working with our manager, Gurmeet. He’d joined as an Engineer Level 2, but despite his hard work, he hadn’t been promoted, while others around him had. Frustrated, he confronted Gurmeet, asking for a promotion. She assured him she’d bring up his case in the next quarter and even encouraged him to apply for a Level 3 position that had opened up.

But there was a catch. Gurmeet was also planning to bring in someone she knew from outside for the same role, ignoring Loval’s potential even though he was qualified and already familiar with the product. It became clear that she had other plans and was just playing games with him.

A Series of Manipulations

Still, Loval applied for the Level 3 position as Gurmeet suggested. To his surprise, he aced the first interview round, then the second. He was selected for the position. This didn’t sit well with Gurmeet; she couldn’t stand the idea that he succeeded despite her intentions.

In a strange twist, she nominated him for the “Champion of the Quarter” award, making it seem like she was his biggest supporter. She hinted to him that she had helped him get promoted. But internally, she knew he wouldn’t win the award.

But life had other plans. Not only did Loval get the promotion, but he also won the “Champion of the Quarter” award. He thought things were finally looking up. But Gurmeet had one last trick. When he got his promotion, he only received a 10% salary hike, while everyone else got around 25%.

Feeling Betrayed

Loval was left feeling betrayed and disappointed. Hearing his story, I was shocked. I started to wonder if I had stepped into a bad situation. I couldn’t believe Gurmeet could go to such lengths to manipulate outcomes and control her team.

Realizing the Reality of Office Politics

Until this point, I had no issues with Gurmeet and thought maybe the team had misunderstood her. But soon enough, I began noticing subtle things—small manipulations, side comments, little moves to control the team’s perception of her. I realized she was indeed a “Lady Boss” with a sharp political mind.

I knew I had to protect myself, to learn the rules of the game. I’m not someone who likes office politics, but I also know how to hold my own. So, I started observing closely, learning who I could trust and who I couldn’t.

The Takeaway

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that office politics are real and can affect anyone, no matter how skilled or hardworking they are. But we can also learn to navigate these tricky waters. Instead of letting it bring us down, we can use these experiences to grow stronger and smarter.

So, that’s my story! What do you think? Have you faced similar situations? Let me know if I handled this well or if you would have done something differently.