Playing corporate games - "See what you made me do"

In his insightful book, Games People Play, Eric Berne introduced the concept of "games" as a series of ulterior transactions with concealed motivations, leading to a predictable outcome or "payoff" that reinforces the players' psychological positions. While Berne's work focuses on social interactions in general, his framework is remarkably relevant to the dynamics of the corporate world. In the structured, often competitive environment of a company, individuals can unconsciously engage in these games, impacting team dynamics, productivity, and even careers.

In this blog, we will discuss about a game called See what you made me do.  In essence, this game involves a person shifting blame for their own mistakes or misfortunes onto someone else. They may do this through words or actions, often feigning innocence or helplessness to elicit sympathy and avoid responsibility. There are two degrees in see what you made me do. Berne says this game typically paves way to "I Told You So" or "See What You've Done Now."

This game is classified into three degrees - first-degree, second-degree and third-degree based on the severity of consequences and awareness of the players.

The first-degree See what you made me do when an employee seems to be deeply engaged in specific work and either unknowingly gets insulated or actively avoids colleagues. Any request / disturbance from colleagues make this employee complain about losing productive work hours by unnecessary distractions. These are usually acceptable blame-shifting versions of the game and people are not aware they are playing this game.

In second-degree of this game, an individual takes on too many tasks or agrees to unrealistic deadlines. The work faces inevitable delays and missed deadlines. Then the individual blames the team or circumstances for the delay. The team, in the long term, becomes vary of any initiatives. In this scenario, the individual may be/become aware of the unrealistic commitments made and actively seeks out situations to setup the game.

Another example is micromanaged employees. When employees are constantly scrutinized and offered unsolicited advice on how to do their work, they tend to play this game by seeking approval for even small decisions. In the long run, the employees become dependent which hinders their professional growth while feeding the managers need to control.

Third degree games are on the extreme and are colloquially termed office politics. Some of the examples can be intentional manipulation - an individual sabotaging chances of colleagues who are being considered for a promotion / hike, an element of revenge to prove superiority and wilful sabotaging of efforts to prove the other person wrong.

It is important to note that these games are passed on from generation to generation. And usually people in a corporate are drawn to others who play same games, leading to formation of "groups" or "social circles" within the company. Think of how certain departments / teams operate with unspoken dynamics of working which others may find tough to navigate or work with.