Unfolding the mystery of Snobby Employees (Old Seafood)

Imagine going to office every day and dealing with snobbish colleagues who readily settle without contributing any new ideas in the workplace. They get in the way of the more ambitious team members and thwart the progress of ongoing projects. Obnoxious, right? But the truth is that “Old Seafood” exists almost in every office, whose entire existence depends on the ends (getting the paycheck) rather than the means (streamlining productivity or making breakthroughs).

What is the reason behind this deep-rooted phenomenon? And whose fault is it?

  • It’s about personal character, instead of age

Being “Old Seafood” isn’t necessarily linked with age. It relates to personal attributes such as unwillingness to change, lack of creativity, and being conservative.  If you are a 20-something yet you’ve already lost the passion in life, and you refuse to put yourself out there to embrace new ideas and change, you can be an “Old Seafood” as well.

The stability of a company gives rise to this kind of employees. For instance, if an employee is not commanded to learn any new skills or start a trailblazing project, why would he/she be motivated to throw out new ideas? The low likelihood to suffer any consequence is the primary foundation of “Old Seafood”. Ultimately, they just want to stay in their jobs without any erring.

  • It stems from from employer’s spoiling

“Old Seafood” is usually spoiled employee. The formation of “Old Seafood” is attributed to their boss. With a non-forward-looking employer, whose goal is to keep order and stability, a company can be replete with snobbish employees.

For instance, in the age of cloud-based system, if an employer is willing to invest and be adaptive to innovation, employees would follow suit and further equip themselves with relevant skills. On the contrary, a close-minded employer constantly questions the profitability of adopting a new technology and would rather stick with the old-fashioned physical server. This sets a bad example, prompting the breed for “Old Seafood”.

In case you forget, bosses are humans as well. Employee who side with his/her boss will invariably receive preferential treatment. For instance, a close-minded boss will naturally pick an “Old Seafood” with a similar mindset over an ambitious employee to manage a project.

Remember the day when you first started your current job with ambition and anticipation? To avoid becoming an “Old Seafood”, be ready to embrace new job opportunities if you feel like your talent is being wasted and underappreciated.