There is a fine line between maintaining a good working relationship with a superior and becoming an overly ambitious toady, lackey, or suck-up. The act of using excessive flattery and other shallow behavior towards a superior strictly for professional or personal gain is known as brown nosing, and it is routinely denounced as a desperate ploy for attention in business circles. Some bosses may respond well to this behavior, but others see it as a marginal employee's attempt to climb the corporate ladder ahead of more deserving candidates.
Brown nosing gets its name from a rather rude, even if appropriate, source. Kissing up or sucking up to a boss, especially in a very obvious and shallow manner, can also be called kissing the boss' butt. It quite literally refers to the remnants of fecal matter that would linger if such a degrading and humiliating act were actually performed. The term suggests a willingness to perform any act, no matter how degrading or repulsive, in order to curry favor with a superior.
No comments:
Post a Comment