In the second season of "The Flash" episode 16, Dr. Wells of earth 2 said to Barry (The Flash): "You lose a chunk of your humanity every time you compromise your values."
Barry Allen was thinking of taking a shot of the chemical V9 just once to jack up his speed to beat a faster but evil opponent inducing Dr. Welsh to give him that advice. You should consider that counsel if you are being influenced by your competitive workmates to do things contrary to honest and ethical business practices.
A remark that is often cited by honest journalists and social activists attributed to Edmund Burke, a Dublin statesman and author that lived in the 16th century goes like this: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
The lesson is: if your coworkers are doing something wrong and it seems that nearly everybody is doing it, it will not be right for you to go along just so you won't be left out.
So, what do you do if you have difficult workmates? Here are some suggestions:
1. Accept the reality
If you're only an employee, you don't have any control on who will populate your workplace. You need to accept this reality and therefore be prepared to react correctly. Sure, you won't get to the first place but what good is it to be number one if you used underhanded schemes to be there?
2. Do reparative things that won't compromise your integrity
You need to protect yourself and your integrity from the wrong things that are happening around you. Pick your mind and think about concrete steps you can do to get ahead and still keep your integrity intact.
3. Improve the quality of your work
There is nothing that can stop a good worker. If your present workplace is not conducive to honest practices, you will be led by a higher force to a more appropriate and rewarding place. That's for sure because it is the law of the universe where your earth 1 is in.
