Surviving office politics can be a minefield – you’re dealing with different people with different personalities and different roles within your company – some of whom may be senior to you. So how do you manage the issues surrounding office politics effectively and without putting yourself into an awkward position?
This article offers some top tips on how to survive office politics so you can prepare yourself for the battle ahead!
So what is the definition of “office politics”?
Generally speaking, office politics is defined as someone with a position of power within an organisation using their influence for their own gain, sometimes unfairly and outside the normal course of business. This could be for professional gain or simply personal gain (from as trivial as attention seeking to more serious issues).
How do office politics manifest in the workplace?
Again, there’s quite a broad spectrum here, but some key manifestations of office politics can be;
- Gossip
- Manipulating co-workers
- Bullying
- Games
There are many examples of politics at play within the workplace – indeed, many may crop up in your personal life as well. Have a read through some of these tips to prepare yourself as best you can;
Tips for surviving office politics
- Don’t fuel the flames. If you feel your company is victimising you, or even co-workers are ganging up on you, then the best thing you can do to protect yourself is to not react emotionally. If you “throw your toys out of the pram” then regardless of how justified you are, you are giving your opponents ammunition to use against you.
- Don’t stoop to the same level. If you do work in a particularly gossipy working environment and you feel this is hurting you in some way, the worst thing you can do is to respond in the same way by gossiping about others. That’s just going to come back and bite you on the ass!
- Take a breath! It can be tough if you feel you are being victimised, but you do need to proceed with a clear head. If you act rashly today, it might hurt you tomorrow.
- Don’t think you can counter cronyism on your own. Groups of people generally develop over years – as the new guy or outsider you won’t have enough of a voice to go up against a group of cronies on your own.
- Keep your friends close…there’s no shame in a bit of ass kissing if it gives you a more solid position at a later date. OK, so you might not want to play mind games to the same level as other people are, but at the same time you do need to think about your own career.
- Be the best you can. As soon as your attitude deteriorates to “can’t be bothered trying”, it’s almost game over for you. Stay positive and remember why you are there – to work. That’s what you should be doing and you should be doing it as best you can because if things do come a difficult point with managers or co-workers, your work history will be your greatest defence.
- Nepotism (favouring family over others) is a natural part of life. It doesn’t matter if the owner’s son is an idiot – it’s not your job to judge on that front. If you have to deal with him within the organisation, then do so professionally.
- Use the proper channels. If you feel you have a solid complaint to make, then use the proper channels to communicate it to your manager. Remember, a complaint is likely to bring in the other party, so be prepared to defend your stance. One key issue that is likely to be raised is, “could you have resolved this one on one?”. Could you? Did you?
One philosophy I keep in mind when things begin to annoy me is;
If you are going to fight a fight – make sure it’s either small enough to win or big enough to matter…
Keeping this in mind will give you a bit of perspective. Maybe the gossips in the corner aren’t worth bothering about – maybe the owner’s son who is wrecking the company is worth chatting to the owner about. It’s a judgement call only you can make.
Feel free to leave a comment with your own office politics stories and how (if at all) you resolved them.
