Formula One drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg just proved that sometimes, team work doesn’t pay. If you follow this sport, you probably know about these Mercedes teammates’ well documented rivalry, with last week’s much talked about “accidentally on purpose” collision, the latest in a string of incidents between the two in their continued race for the championship. In April, both were in Bahrain for the third race of the season when Hamilton cut across Rosberg, narrowly avoiding his front wing and causing a crash. Despite Rosberg’s appeal, Hamilton went on to win the race, with Rosberg settling for second place. Nearly a month later, in Spain, Hamilton switched engine modes without the team’s permission to hold off Rosberg and again, he won. That same month, on May 24, during qualifications for the Monaco Grand Prix, the two again fell out after Rosberg crashed while on course for pole position, denying Hamilton the chance to set a quicker time. Hamilton thought the crash was deliberate but Rosberg was cleared of any wrongdoing. Once again, he won from pole position. Then this past weekend, the two drivers collided during the Belgian Grand Prix, after Rosberg’s right wing endplate hit and punctured Hamilton’s left rear tyre as the former attempted to overtake, forcing Hamilton out of the race. The aggressor not only finished second but extended his lead to 29 points. Hamilton is furious, especially after Rosberg allegedly bragged about his stunt. I don’t see these two making peace any time soon and one of them may have to leave and join another team. Feuds are not uncommon at workplaces and many have even escalated into verbal and physical fights. Where I work, disagreements are usually about money and women. Once someone learns that someone else earns more, they attempt to get the same and if they fail, battle lines are drawn. But it wasn’t always like this. There was a time we all got along and money wasn’t such a big deal. However, after top and senior management changed a couple of times, things changed at the bottom too. I mentioned in a previous article that one of our former bosses was “soft” and while he wanted the job done at the end of the day, he would never breathe down anyone’s neck. Even those who failed to meet their targets month after month somehow survived the sack. Then he left and we got a no-nonsense boss who didn’t have time for sloppiness. He made it his business to know who was doing what, when and how and within days of joining the company, he ordered a performance review of all staff. He later called a meeting and basically informed us that there were several redundancies and we all had two months to prove ourselves or be sent on our way. That’s when the rivalries escalated. Everybody wanted to impress the new boss and those who couldn’t do so, through their work, decided that the next best thing was to character assassinate those they perceived threats. Hard to believe some of the things people said about friends they’d been hanging out with just months before. I guess when it comes to employment, it’s survival of the meanest.
