# What were you THINKING?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [October 13, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532 "2023-10-13T19:36:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 5763

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**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5763 "2025-10-20T13:51:56Z")

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> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> I think you both hit the head on the root cause, which is what I call “everyday, low-level corruption.” Which, in-turn, is rooted in politics and favoritism. Due to this, some people are not held accountable because they’re friends with management.
> 
> My previous job became toxic because of this. If you were drinking buddies with management, you were completely “protected,” and you literally did not have to do any work. Zip. Zero. I blew the whistle on one person (who reported to me!) for being _completely_ useless, and I almost lost my job over it.
> 
> Employees who are No Value Added (NVA) aren’t the problem. The problem is when management won’t deal with the NVAs, either due to fear or politics. This hurts team morale, which means it drags down _everyone_.

Much like @puzzlegal 's BIL, I also do some kind of “MBA management something or other”. I have no idea if I’m “any good at it”. If I create a lot of threads about working in corporate America, quite frankly it’s because I don’t REALLY understand it and I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.

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