Backstabbing is the new office norm: Employees say blame-shifting, snitching, and setting others up to fail are rampant

Two women whispering behind an office colleague's back (Credit: kzenon—Getty Images)

• Office politics are back—and they’re nastier than ever. It’s not just commutes and watercooler chats that have made a comeback thanks to RTO mandates. Backdoor tactics and quiet takedowns are also experiencing a revival. While Gen Z and millennials are most guilty of sabotaging their colleagues' careers to get ahead, even bosses are at it.

Safe behind screens and Slack threads, we forgot what the office was really like. Now, thanks to return-to-office mandates, many workers are being reacquainted with a less nostalgic part of office life: backstabbing.