If in the frenzy of football fanaticism there is the term glory hunter, in the world of work there is also the same term. In football, a glory hunter is defined as someone who only supports the winning team, regardless of the bittersweet process the team goes through.
If the team you support starts to show a decline in performance, your support is switched. Glory hunter in football, support without loyalty.
In the workplace, the definition of a glory hunter is broader and more active. It's for people who are only focused on personal success or gain in the workplace.
In fact, it is not uncommon for a glory hunter to claim other people's achievements for himself. He may claim or take credit for other people's ideas, hard work, or success to enhance his own position.
Simply put, office glory hunters are individuals who pursue prestige and recognition, often by sticking to successful projects, taking credit for teamwork, or positioning themselves in the limelight when positive results emerge.
In a company, it can appear as a manager who is only present during the final presentation, or an employee who avoids hard work but stands out when success is celebrated.
A glory hunter in the office may not have deep loyalty to the company or work team, and will quickly look for other opportunities if they are more lucrative.
In the most general sense, an office glory hunter is a negative term to describe someone who is opportunistic, self-centered, and dishonest in their pursuit of glory in a professional environment.
In the existentialist view, the perpetrators of such practices live in dishonesty, as they reject responsibility for the process, and only want to enjoy the results. They become actors in a social scenario, not creators of meaning.
In Aristotelian ethics, true happiness(eudaimonia) is achieved through the actualization of potential and virtue. Glory hunters fail to achieve that eudaimonia or true happiness because they neglect virtues such as honesty, hard work and solidarity. They pursue pseudo-honor that is not rooted in noble values.
Glory hunters create an unhealthy work culture, where collaboration is replaced by image competition. They also undermine team trust, as contributions are no longer judged on substance, but perception. In the long run, organizations may lose their top talent to employees who feel unappreciated.
This requires a culture of process-based appreciation, not just results-based assessment. Organizations also need servant leadership rather than dominating leadership, as well as integrating spiritual and philosophical values in strengthening skills and evaluating employees.
However, the glory hunter phenomenon is not just a matter of work ethics, but also a reflection of the crisis of meaning in the professional world. Through a philosophical approach, a person is not only judged by their work, but also by understanding their existential roots.
Organizations that want to grow sustainably need to build a space where success is not something that is hunted, but rather the result of a process that is lived together, generated by an awareness of integrity and carrying out responsible duties.
