Office Politics

noun a person who performs menial tasks for someone else; a servant or subordinate

adjective relating to or characteristic of a flunky

• The CEO's flunky was tasked with organizing the board meeting.
• I don't want to be just a flunky, I want to have a more important role.
• He's just a flunky, he doesn't make any important decisions.
• She felt like a flunky in the grand scheme of things, always following orders without question.

noun the quality of being petty or having a narrow focus on small and insignificant details

• The pettiness of their arguments was evident during the meeting.
• I can't stand the pettiness between those two coworkers.
• Why are you being so petty about it?
• The pettiness of his actions only served to highlight his insecurities.

noun a person who causes trouble or difficulties, especially one who does so deliberately

• The troublemaker was causing disruptions in the classroom.
• That troublemaker is always up to no good.
• Don't listen to him, he's just a troublemaker.
• The storm was like a troublemaker, stirring up chaos wherever it went.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

verb a word that expresses an action or state of being

adjective a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun

adverb a word that modifies or describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence

• It is important for leaders to create a culture of respect and equality in the workplace, rather than allowing a culture of kissing up and kicking down.
• I can't stand people who kiss up to the boss but then kick down on their colleagues.
• I hate when people brown-nose the higher-ups and then throw their coworkers under the bus.
• In the world of politics, it's common to see politicians kiss up to those in power and kick down on marginalized communities.

verb to effectively communicate and build a positive relationship with one's superiors in order to advance one's career or achieve goals within an organization

• It is important for employees to learn how to manage up in order to effectively communicate with their superiors.
• If you want to get ahead in your career, you need to know how to manage up and make sure your boss knows your worth.
• Dude, you gotta learn how to manage up if you want to get that promotion.
• Learning how to manage up is like mastering the art of navigating a ship through rough waters with a skilled captain.