Is it time to suck up to the boss?

Source: The Straits Times, 15/4/9, p.A17
Headline: Hard times = time to suck up to boss

Quote1:
NEW YORK: Experts say ingratiating behaviour is bound to be on the rise in the workplace as workers fret about keeping their jobs in tough economic times. ...

Comment1:
The phenomenon is noted: sucking up. One reason is offered: worry about keeping their jobs.

Quote2:
"They really want to make sure people are noticing what they are doing," said Mr Max Caldwell, an expert in workforce effectiveness at Towers Perrin management consultants. ... Said organisational behaviour professor Jennifer Chatman of the University of California at Berkeley: "It's what we do when we feel ourselves vulnerable or susceptible to the decisions of others." ...

Comment2:
These elaborate the same point. All are aimed at explaining the behaviour -- but do not amount to justifying it.

Quote3:
"It can be bad for business, keeping the yea-sayers around," [says Prof Chatman.]

Comment3:
This is one possible harmful consequence of sucking up.

Quote4:
But according to some researchers, sucking up works. Challenging a chief executive less, complimenting him more and doing him a personal favour increased the likelihood of being appointed to a corporate board by 64 percent, a University of Texas study found.

Comment4:
Another consequence is identified: board appointment. In this context, we can probably extend the benefit to cover job protection. Note that the harmful consequence in Comment3 accrues to the business, and that the beneficial consequence here accrues to the individual.

Quote5:
It's nothing to be ashamed of, said Ms Frances Cole Jones, a professional coach and author of How To Wow. ... "In times like these, the smart thing to do is to 'suck up' - or, perhaps, 're-commit," she added. ...

Comment5:
The phrase "nothing to be ashamed of" indicates the first evaluation in this discussion. It is a denial -- not shameful. It denies an objection to sucking up; it does not support sucking up. Note that there is no elaboration of why it is not shameful.

Quote6:
But there are others like Mr bill Hanover, author of No Sucking Up, who rule out ingratiating behaviour altogether. "If you value self-respect, the respect of your peers and leaders, then sucking up or faking your way to a promotion will leave you ashamed and wanting," he wrote. -- Reuters.

Comment6:
Here are more harmful consequences: shame and want. Note that there is no explicit elaboration of why one will feel shame. The mention of respect from self, peers and leaders only hints at a link, but does not make it explicit.

This directly contradicts Quote5's "nothing to be ashamed of". Further argument on both sides is required, but not provided.

Comment7:
Here are the undisputed consequences of sucking up:

1. can be bad for business [harm to business]
2. provides job protection [benefit to workers]

The correct decision hangs on: Whose interest should the worker serve (since it is the worker who has to decide whether to suck up or not)?

END