Kicked upstairs?_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Kicked upstairs?

And that’s exactly what being “kicked upstairs” feels like – a promotion in appearance, but a demotion in disguise. In other words, to kick someone upstairs is to remove them from their current position, usually as punishment for incompetence or wrongdoing.

Once “upstairs”, they’re usually given a ceremonial post, i.e. a bureaucratic job, or a sinecure position. In other words, they’re given a prestigious title but are deprived of any real power or, worse still, subordinates to bully. Essentially, they’re asked to do nothing – obviously under the presumption that if they do nothing, nothing will go wrong. In the words of Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert strip:

“The most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage - Management.”

An article from TVTropes.org says kicked upstairs “comes from British politics, where the ‘Upstairs’ in question is the House of Lords.”

“Being given a title like ‘Lord’ or ‘Baroness’ sounds a great reward for a career in politics – until you realize that it disqualifies you permanently from sitting in the House of Commons, where all the real decisions are made.”

The same article points out that the Japanese even have a word for people who are kicked upstairs, called madogiwazoku, or the “window gazing tribe” – meaning they have nothing to do but gaze out the window during office hours, “and wait to retire or die”.