There are lots of colloquialisms and metaphors used in business today that are “reaching” to say the least. Sports analogies are very tired, and if I hear one more person talk to me about “low-hanging fruit”, there will be a Bob-shaped hole in the nearest door.
However the word, “weasel” is perfect for the type of behavior it describes in the workplace. To that end, I’ve put together a list of the similarities between a weasel found in nature, and the weasel found in the workplace:
- A weasel is a rodent. As such, they are a nuisance that needs to be weeded out and destroyed.
- When a weasel is threatened it becomes extremely aggressive, and potentially dangerous.
- They are small (in this case of the workplace weasel small-minded), but active predators.
- According to Wikipedia, weasels in nature have a reputation for cleverness and guile… not unlike the workplace weasel.
- Weasels are considered vermin because they stock poultry and rabbits used for commercial purposes. The workplace weasel also undermines commerce – usually by more insidious means than stocking poultry.
- Weasels exist on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. If there are any Wily Manager followers at the research station at Antarctica, I’d love to know if there are any workplace weasels. I lived in Australia for a while, and while they may not have weasels, they have lots of other rodent vermin, which begs the question, “what do the Aussies call their workplace weasels? Actually, I was once told that the Australian equivalent of the office-weasel was called a Kiwi, but after I visited New Zealand, I had to dismiss that as sour grapes on the part of my Aussie-informant.
- A group of weasels can be called a boogle, gang, pack, sneak, or confusion. The workplace weasel, when s/he finds a support group, could also be called “sneak” or “confusion” (but I also like boogle).
All these similarities got me to questioning whether weasel remedies would be similar between the natural and workplace varieties. Here, the parallels are a little more illusive, yet still instructive. For example, you can set traps for weasels. In nature, the bait is usually something to eat. With workplace weasels, it might be a rumored promotion, but sometimes they might respond to good catering.
Suddenly, the song “Pop Goes the Weasel” makes so much more sense to me now.