Typically on this blog, the posts are geared to owners of small businesses but this one is geared to the people who work for small business owners. Coworkers in a small business probably have more pressure to fit into the cliques than it would be for coworkers at larger companies. The reason being that if coworkers in a small business don't get along, it can be quite disastrous for moral and office politics than in a larger organization because the spread of negativity and toxicity takes less time in a smaller organization - usually.
One reason for that is that in larger organizations, it is easier to find other groups of coworkers to bond with and to hang out with so people don't feel so ostracized and they also have a chance of "fighting back" when they have back up from their own clique. In smaller companies, not fitting in with the established cliques can spell the end of your job because they can freeze you out, gang up, and force you to leave or get you fired.
In small businesses, not fitting in with established cliques is a zero sum game. The lesson is, get along and fit in with your coworkers, or find another job.
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