What is ‘HiPPO'? Angry employee coins a term for the workplace favouritism. Internet has a field day
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A disheartened professional recently shared his thoughts on the subreddit Indian Workplace, shedding light on an all-too-common phenomenon plaguing many corporate environments: the unchecked influence of the most highly paid individual in the room, often regardless of their actual expertise or logic. In a sarcastic tone, he coined this force as the 'HiPPO'—not the animal from the wild, but the "Highest Paid Person's Opinion" that dominates boardrooms.In many organisations, decision-making is still steered not by data or experience, but by gut feelings voiced by the most senior or well-compensated person present. This misplaced confidence, once based on instinct or limited knowledge, has now been supercharged by a new source—podcasts. According to the Redditor, HiPPOs no longer just trust their gut; they now wield the inflated confidence of recent podcast episodes as gospel, treating themselves as instant experts on every subject under discussion.This shift is particularly visible at the start of the workweek. As Monday meetings begin, the air becomes thick with buzzwords and phrases lifted from trendy tech talk or self-help soundbites. Expressions like "let's not try to boil the ocean" echo through online meetings, overshadowing genuine insights. Years of professional experience or painstakingly compiled data are casually dismissed, outclassed by the latest quote from a Silicon Valley entrepreneur or the trending terminology of the week.The Redditor likened this absurdity to being a gourmet chef only to have a superior flash a viral cooking video and ask if that can be replicated instead. The reality of experience, skill, and logistical constraints is conveniently ignored in favour of flashy, untested ideas. Employees find themselves having to reintroduce practicality, feasibility, and budget constraints into grand visions that are often disconnected from real-world limitations.The role of a modern professional, the post seemed to suggest, has evolved into something bizarre—taking overambitious, podcast-inspired concepts and delicately reattaching the grounding elements of reality. The final note carried a weary plea to others who might be stuck in similar situations, asking them to signal distress if they too are burdened by HiPPOs in their workplace.Responses poured in from fellow users. While some pointed out that there's often a reason why someone reaches the top pay bracket, others challenged that logic, blaming India's hierarchical work culture for discouraging dissent and fostering unchecked ego.Some decided to be more humorous. One comment read, "Aaj achanak ye sunn ke Hippo chips ki yaad aagyi vro."Another quipped, "HIPPOBOT 9000 v 3.1 FOUND A HIPPO. 3,022,211,891 COMMENTS SEARCHED. 61,763 HIPPOS FOUND. YOUR COMMENT CONTAINS THE WORD HIPPO."
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