I am at the point where my lack of brown nosing will start working against me. I think you need to do more ass kissing within the "Arts" than in the study of science. Business probably involves the most ass kissing. but the respect for subjectivity in arts and the sense of historical place makes it hard for good work to be enough. My principle is that I shouldn't inflate the value of my work by patronizing superiors and making face, but that does not work when your individual work gets lost in the administrative bureaucracy.
I always saw office hours and extra study hours as options for people struggling, so I never went to them. Now I realize it is there for social gain and using that social gain for an appearance of greater self. Even knowing this, I feel dirty just thinking about using it in this way.
And being so foreign to the practice, I am not sure I would be any good at it.