I can care about doing a good job and keeping a tight ship without having to care about company politics. A job is what you make of it. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not breaking rocks apart with a hammer for 16 hours a day, and I have some bargaining power to make my lifestyle better, so why complain? I don't understand people that have to turn work into some grand quest to make the world better. I think these sorts end up making more unhappiness than they do happiness.

A job you love is a great thing. But that job is only going to last as long as the economics work, or the company wants it to last, or if you're doing the business end as well as the technical end. Once it's gone, just find another job and work out ways to love it.

> I can care about doing a good job and keeping a tight ship without having to care about company politics.

In this case, no you can't. Company politics has placed a superior of yours explicitly tasked into order you to do a bad job.

I do completely agree with the "just find another job" line. What I don't agree is with that "cheer, your job is less stressing now".

Nobody can task you to do a bad job. You do that yourself. You may find excuses for doing a bad job, but you chose to do it, they didn't hold a gun to your head.

If I find that I absolutely have to either cut corners or let the deadline slip, I let the deadline slip. I refuse to knowingly release crappy work, you can fire me for it, I don't care. But long before that deadline, I will have explored the options for changing the scope of the project so such a decision isn't necessary.

"Just find another job" isn't sufficient because every job involves making tradeoffs between personal goals and business goals. I believe in being real clear with management about what's happening so that we can work towards an equitable solution.