[learnstats2]

Has the parent post been edited? Because I don't see what bad advice you are referring to here.

If you are working among people you trust, then this is all the better for learning an effective communication style, including saying 'no' or standing your ground. It's a safer environment than you will encounter later.

In my experience, 'nice' and 'not guarded' people in modern academia might only be like that because they are confident that they have enough power to get their way if you hit a point of disagreement. So, it's not always a good thing for you.

[qntty]

Unless the stakes are so high that you can't afford to mess up, the best way to "learn a communication style" is to do whatever comes naturally and wait to see what kinds of problems come up. Since the stakes are as low as they can be, I think a 19 year old's energy would be better spent on the sorts of things that will naturally draw their attention, namely the challenges of doing knowledge work on demand and the learning associated with the job itself.

This is just my take. I can say for sure that trying to learn about office politics would have been a terrible way for me to spend my time at 19. YMMV.