I have to chime in and completely agree. Very lucky. Most people who survive for years at companies have learned to either stay out of sight, or navigate the Treacherous Waters of Blame whenever things go wrong.

This is actually one of the things most employees who have never been managers don't understand.

Your comment makes me think. Are you implying that this is a good practice?

I mean, in fact I do something similar. At our company also a lot of stuff goes wrong. Somehow it surprises me that there was no major fuckup yet. But I do realize that I need to watch out all times that blame never concentrates on me.

It is so easy to blame individuals, it just suffices to have participated somehow in a task that fucked up. Given that all other participants keep a low profile, one needs to learn how to defend/attack in times of blame.

I absolutely do NOT think it is a good practice. I think it is what lazy companies full of people afraid to lose their jobs do. I think it's most companies.

The reality is that fear is a greater motivator than any other emotion - over anger, sorrow, happiness. So companies create cultures of fear which results in productivity (at least a baseline, 'do what I need to do or not get fired' productivity), but little innovation and often at the expense of growth.

Plus, it's just hell. You want to do great things, but know you are stepping into the abyss every time you try.

You (and the other commenters with similar strategies) are wasting productive years of your life at jobs like these. You should go on a serious job hunt for a new position, and leave these toxic wastelands before they permanently affect your ability to work in a good environment.

As soon as you find an environment where no one ever plays the blame game, let me know.

I wish I could say I have some sort of prescience about bad working environments. In reality I'm just good at getting out while the gettin' is still good.

Oh yes, I second that. Feel really, really lucky...