what I know (yes YOU, read this)

Having a rather awful time and struggling to keep my head above water.

A few things I've learnt at the workplace, about the workplace, and about the people that you deal with:

1. The biggest prize will not necessarily go to the best guy.
2. It's not about who's the smartest; it's always about who's the most acceptable.
3. Your loyalty will not necessarily be reciprocated.
4. You will not be rewarded for your contribution; you will be rewarded based on how far you are willing to dance.
5. Integrity does not matter; the road to workplace nirvana is through manipulation, apple-polishing, political manoeuvring and ass-kissing.
6. Forget about doing the right thing; do what the Boss says no matter how f***ing stupid it really is.
7. You are nothing but a small cog, so get used to being f***ed left, right and middle and then kicked into touch once they've used you.

In the end, it doesn't even matter.