Bosses unimpressed by office 'Nasty Nicks'

"Nasty" Nick's scheming brought about his downfall

The two-faced, back-stabbing tactics embodied by "Nasty" Nick Bateman in the TV show Big Brother do not work in the office, a survey has said.

Bosses say that employees who work as a team impress them more than colleagues who are just out for themselves.

Devious tactics just don't pay

Paul Jacobs
Office Angels

The survey, by recruitment consultants Office Angels, found that 76% of executives said it left them cold when staff became competitive to try and further their careers.

Nick's scheming tactics in the Channel 4 gameshow captured the nation's imagination but ended in his eviction for breaking the rules.

Paul Jacobs, corporate communications director of Office Angels, said: "Devious tactics just don't pay, as we recently saw with Big Brother's "Nasty" Nick and his foiled competitive strategy."

"Remember, you'll always be found out in the end," he said.

Nick made a name for himself by nominating his housemates for eviction one minute, and then reassuring them that they would be his friend for life the next.

He tried to excuse his behaviour in Big Brother by saying he grew up in a competitive environment.

Devious tricks

Almost two thirds of the 1,500 people surveyed said a challenging workplace produced better results.

But employers seemed to be wise to the devious tricks workers could play.

Pollsters found that 32% of bosses thought their employees had too few scruples in taking credit for their colleagues' work.

Just under half of those surveyed thought people kept fellow workers in the dark about office matters if they thought it would help their own cause.

The survey also showed that staying late and working long hours were no guarantee of getting on at work.

Team skills prized

More than half of bosses said it would only make them think their staff could not manage their time and workload properly.

Among the skills and qualities most prized by employers were being a "team player" and steering clear of office gossip.

They also liked workers who were considerate, avoided politics in the workplace and solved problems instead of causing them.

"People want to be seen as individuals and so they are constantly thinking of ways to stand out from the crowd - though they would be naive to think that underhand tactics go unnoticed," Mr Jacobs said.