What is office politics, and how to deal with office politics?

 

What is office politics, and how to deal with office politics?

 

Office politics or workplace politics is real, and we all have to face it as an employee. Office politics exist in almost all organizations. From the private sector, the non-profit sector to the government sector, it is everywhere. 

Employees often use workplace politics to enhance their status and promote their personal agenda. But it becomes dangerous when it is done at the expense of others. And office politics is detrimental to the workplace and the employees, as people often misuse power to promote their own vested interests. Most of the workers admit that they had in some form or other engaged in power play at the office. 

 

Let us understand what do we mean by office politics? When employees have a difference of opinion related to work, promotions, or processes, it leads to conflicts of interest. People define workplaces, and they bring along with them a lot of expectations, ambitions, hopes, and emotions to work. And it exactly leads to workplace politics.  

 

Office gossip, blame games, passing the buck, sycophancy, criticism, power tussles, and tarnishing the reputation of other employees to have competitive advantages over others defines office politics. 

 

Considering that most of the organizations are political, what as an employee can we do about it? Shall we succumb to workplace political pressure, or shall we fight it back and learn how to deal with office politics. If we want to be successful, learning how to deal with office politics is the only option. But how can we do so?

 

Learn how to deal with office politics without getting dirty. Here is what you can do to deal with workplace politics and survive it successfully:

• Analyse the organizational hierarchy and understand where does the power centre lie. It may have nothing to do with rank or position. Determine if it with someone you have access to? If yes, you may want to align with that person. Understand who all are the people who are the brain behind the business. Look out for people running the show, and who exercise the real power in your office and keep them close. 
• Do not underestimate the power of informal networks.  Now that you know where the power or real influence lies try to understand the informal social networks and analyse people's interactions and relationships. Notice if connections are made up of friendship, romance, mutual respect or anything else. 
• It is time to correlate and build connections. Now that you are quite aware of your office dynamics, it is time to form your social network. Build a high-quality connection with people across the hierarchy, teams, departments, or even politically powerful people. The idea is to form positive relationships at work and avoid sheer flattery.  
• Develop sturdy interpersonal acumen. You should exercise tact, diplomacy and high emotional intelligence. It will help you tide past all the troubles. Also, keep your enemies closer to you while avoiding dark people, toxic people, or people who scheme or plot at all times.  
• Counterbalance the negative politics. Do not fuel the fire and avoid negative politics or avoid being a part of it. Avoid rumours, gossips, powerplays, and remain professional at all times. Also, do not take sides. Whenever there is a conflict, do not take sides, instead, try to find a solution.