I preferred to watch a man in his nineties last night getting excited about tall trees in Tasmania than to watch a disaffected politician trying to cut down some tall poppies on the other channel. Barnaby Joyce, for it was he, was having a go at the poppies, or more precisely his colleagues the pollies. Reportedly he feels he works with the “scum of the earth” in a “mad boarding school”. It made me wonder, having not had the benefit of a boarding school education in neither mad nor sane establishments, that if Barnaby was correct in his appraisal, why on earth would anybody agree to be elected to such a place? If one was ignorant of the bonkers state of affairs that allegedly exists and had the misfortune of being elected, then why would you fight a re-election to immerse yourself for a moment longer than necessary in the scum?

It is not uncommon to hear similarly negative and graphic descriptions of workplaces and colleagues from disaffected employees. I shall never forget a colleague who was Head of School in a University department in another country, saying that all that she had learned from the experience was that all of her colleagues were, in her words “two-faced conniving bastards”. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for anyone other than a masochist.

It may seem amusing to hear such blunt appraisals of workplaces and colleagues alike, but this detracts from the dangerously emotive and inevitably exaggerated view of reality. It is often evident in those leaving a workplace and in need of a boost to their confidence that they are doing the right thing. For some it is a projection of their insecurity that they proceed to bad-mouth the people and place to all of their soon-to-be ex-colleagues. It is important for them to let you know just how batshit crazy you are to remain in this hell-hole.

Rarely is such behaviour welcomed by colleagues, as it represents a challenge to their judgement and integrity. It wipes their noses in their supine acceptance of the status quo. Generally however, the disaffected person’s view is only a small part of the story, and even that small part is likely to be distorted to help the person save face, vent spleen, and move on.

Almost certainly the reality is that most workplaces will contain a range of different characters and competences who may not all, at all times, be to one’s liking. However, getting fixated on the people or conditions you don't like serves only to make yourself unhappy, and to distort your thinking about career decisions. If all one sees are negatives, the risks of seeking a new workplace as a reaction to these perceptions, could lead one to making a decision on a limited and distorted number of criteria. In turn this could set up a similar pattern of disillusionment and disengagement.