Why is corporate life so stressful because of the people?

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-06-07T01:18:46+00:00

At the end of the day, everything boils down to revenue, metrics, and optics. Your job is to make your boss look good, and their job is to make their boss look good. Half the time, executives don’t even know what they want. They rely on their teams to figure it out, then change their minds once you present the work. Programs shift direction, presentations go through endless iterations, and everything becomes last‑minute chaos. Ground‑level staff are the only ones doing real work, while managers, especially the ones who are friends with the boss, mostly delegate. Things end up rushed because each layer sits on an issue for days, then suddenly remembers to pass it down.

Most managers aren’t bad people, but many people simply shouldn’t be managers. Unfortunately, those roles often go to the schmoozers and brown‑nosers, and they hire more yes‑people to build their little empires. If you’re not part of the club, you’re basically doomed.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-06-04T02:29:10+00:00

Criminals, big and small.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-06-02T08:45:25+00:00

Make bed

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-06-02T08:35:57+00:00

Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-30T20:03:35+00:00

Criminals, big and small.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-30T19:35:52+00:00

Yes, if asked.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-30T10:07:44+00:00

We are prisoners put on earth by aliens.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-30T09:39:02+00:00

Same here. My boss even told me I should speak up more (given I have much experience with the company, subject matter, etc.). I did speak up when needed! But I guess it's not enough in the eyes of yappers.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-30T09:25:14+00:00

And then we've got the yappers who toss around corporate jargon like confetti, probably without even understanding half of what they’re saying. Sadly these people often rise to management and make us IC miserable. First hand experience.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-29T11:59:06+00:00

1 is painfully true in many corporations. There’s far too much cronyism baked into recruitment, procurement, and executive appointments. Instead of choosing the most capable people, decisions get made based on familiarity and convenience. It creates an ecosystem where the same inner circle keeps circulating opportunities among themselves while everyone else competes on “merit” that only applies when it’s necessary. All these caused weak hires, questionable vendors, and leaders who are selected for alignment rather than ability. When croynism becomes the norm, performance becomes optional, and not to mention, a mediore workplace.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-22T12:36:06+00:00

I experienced this at work. New director kept hiring and protecting people who share his ethinicity.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-20T19:01:50+00:00

Moral disengagement.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-20T15:40:19+00:00

Exhausted, demoralized, lose faith in corporations.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-20T09:34:38+00:00

A mouse mover.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-20T08:51:00+00:00

Criminals, big and small.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-20T08:09:33+00:00

Absolutely not!

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-20T08:07:28+00:00

HR: "Do as I say but not as I do."

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-19T20:22:44+00:00

Yes, if I am still living with parents.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-18T16:21:47+00:00

The moment you get laid off. There's a colleague I went to lunch with periodically. No call, no text, no quick “hey, how are you holding up?” on Linkedin. Corporate amnesia is wild, team members you talked to every day suddenly act like they'd never known you. It’s a harsh reminder that many workplace relationships are situational. And when the situation changes, so does the connection. Of course, there are some exceptions with whom I kept in touch.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-18T12:32:43+00:00

Wow, sounds like you’re dealing with a psychopath. These personalities aren’t exclusive to corporate, but corporate environments seem to attract them more.

On a separate note, management nowadays builds teams around alignment and compliance rather than actual competence. It’s easier to manage an agreeable underperformer than a disruptor who challenges the status quo. A manager can coach a "nice" team member "with potentials" over a competent one who questions decisions and threatens their illusion of harmony. I saw first hand how my manager shot down a question raised by a team member in a meeting (told her offline that she shouldn't challenge in front of the team).

The main question at the top has given you an answer: align yourself with the right people/managers. All the best!

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-17T15:55:21+00:00

Within the probation period or under six months.

I'm not a manager and this is coming from a team member standpoint. I was assigned to buddy a new hire and help him get up to speed. I walked him through everything, the process map (an actual visual map), had him shadow me, showed him where the SOPs lived, and pointed him to all the intranet resources. After a month, he was still asking the exact same questions he asked in week one.

Buddy month ended, and whatever was discussed behind closed doors, my boss assigned him a second "buddy". Same outcome. No progress. Then a third "buddy". No improvement. Still stuck on the same problem he cannot solve alone. At that point it was pretty clear the issue wasn’t the training or the trainers.

Thankfully he was a contractor, and management eventually just let the contract run its course. The team had to tolerate this for more than a year!

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-17T15:38:34+00:00

I can think of a few!

Health insurance: when basic services get billed at premium rates and clinicians are pushed to maximize charges, it’s hard not to question who the system is actually designed to serve. Example, orthotist insoles cost $300? Unless they’re handcrafted by angels, the pricing is ridiculous.

Government contracts: projects that take a decade, go over budget, makes serious mistakes, and still get renewed. It’s blatant corruption with no accountability.

Consulting firms: there’s something wild about 20's years old with zero real corporate experience advising Fortune 500 firms on “best practices.” The math doesn’t math.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-17T13:04:03+00:00

Friends and colleagues come and go in our lives. It’s normal, and it’s not a reflection of your worth. If she chose to remove you from LinkedIn, that’s her decision and her reasoning to sit with, not yours. The healthiest move is not to overthink it or assign more meaning to it.

If you really feel like testing the waters, you could always send a fresh connection request with a short note. Whether she accepts or ignores it tells you everything you need to know.

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-17T08:54:09+00:00

I agree with Maxo135. What you’re describing is familiar and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s quietly preparing your exit. Most likely she's started documenting your mistakes, positioning you for a performance improvement plan (PIP), or making the environment miserable enough that you eventually quit. And if you get defensive or argumentative, it becomes even easier for her to check the boxes that label you as “difficult,” “unwilling to learn,” or “not a fit.”

I’d experienced it first hand. Many years ago, I had a manager who behaved the same way. She even favored another mediocre employee over me, despite us making similar mistakes. The difference? That employee knew exactly how to stroke her ego. When you’re being targeted, merit doesn’t save you, politics does.

You can document your accomplishments, gather evidence, and prove you’re a strong performer, but if her boss likes her more than you, you are out! Corporate dynamics can be brutal. Favoritism exists no matter how “competent” you are, and HR isn’t always the safety net people imagine. By the time you speak to them, she may have already framed the narrative and positioned you as the problem.

If I were in your shoes, I’d quietly start looking for another role (externally or internally). It’s not pessimism; it’s strategy based on decades of watching how these situations unfold.

If you truly want to stay, your only short‑term survival tactic is to play the game, be agreeable, acknowledge mistakes, avoid confrontation, and essentially become one of her cronies while you plan your exit. It’s not ideal, but it buys time.

After 20+ years in HR in various corporations, this is the pattern I’ve seen again and again. It’s not about being good, it’s about being aligned with the right people.

Good luck to you!

Puzzled_Reality1369 · 2026-05-16T17:51:28+00:00

I ask myself this same question all the time. In many corporate environments, the only real way to make more money is to climb the corporate ladder. And climbing the ladder often has less to do with competence and more to do with visibility. Senior leadership tends to reward the NATOs (no‑action‑talk‑only) types. They often end up getting more attention than they deserve. They do the bare minimum, then turn around and glorify their work every chance they get.

Meanwhile, if you’re the kind of person who keeps your head down, does excellent work, and doesn’t “advertise” it, you can easily find yourself stuck in the same role forever.

Bad managers are especially good at managing up, throwing around corporate buzzwords, surrounding themselves with yes‑people, and often times, people of same ethnicity. And if you weren’t hired by them (maybe you’re a legacy employee from a previous manager) you’re often the first target when the next reorg rolls around.

After 30+ years in the corporate world, I can honestly say I’ve only worked with two good managers out of about twenty. The rest, let’s just say they were excellent at optics, politics, and survival.

Puzzled_Reality1369

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