I work in an area where a manager has developed a cult of personality. They are bombastic, aggressive and delight in attention and adulation. Many people in our area now go to great lengths to show their loyalty, debasing themselves to stay in the manager’s good graces.

The situation has escalated so much in recent times that I now feel one either has to make grand displays of fidelity or become sidelined. Should I just pretend so that I can keep a job I can’t afford to lose?

Would it be tolerable to accept you’ll never be part of an inner circle filled with sycophants and hollowed people?Credit: John Shakespeare

I don’t envy you at all; this is a really difficult situation and I’m sorry to hear you face such a small and unpalatable set of options.

Before we get to the two possibilities you see – humiliating obsequiousness or resignation from a job you need – I wonder if there is any chance of remaining with the organisation but refusing........

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