Office Politics

In every social group, there will always be 'politics'; it is the human ritual where roles and responsibilities are either achieved or assigned. This is most true in an office or workplace, where understanding the social craft of politicking is important.

"Office politics" can be defined as the use of one's individual or assigned position within an organization to obtain advantages beyond one's legitimate authority.

Those who engage in office politics do it to gain financial, emotional and even physical rewards.

Those who engage the most vigorously often have significant unmet needs, a specific agenda, desire for power with the willingness to abandon ethics and integrity to get what they want.

Here are some ideas to help you best work with the politics in the office.




BE RECEPTIVE.

Accept that office politics happen in every workplace. Accept, then adapt.
When you spend time worrying about it, you'll never have time to do your job or manage projects. It's there no matter where and it's best to deal with it, positively.

BE NICE.

Courtesy, respect, politeness and office etiquette begin and end with you.
Show your coworkers kindness, and this can encourage or inspire them to do the same.

BE FAIR.

Sometimes office politics can be unpleasant; and it may come to a point that you have to enter into the fray, for the sake of peace and productivity.
Remember to focus on the issue that's the cause of it all, not the person.
Resolve behaviors, never the individual. Do  your best to handle confrontations privately, fairly and without judgment.

Add to this, never have favorites or show anyone special treatment without just cause. Treat everyone as though they are the most important person in the world, because to themselves,  they are.

BE COOL.

Whatever happens you must keep your temper and just be cool. Whatever issues, it's best not to be involved at an emotional level. Consider things carefully before you react, will the issue matter in a week? A month? A year?

As you keep things in perspective, you will also be less prone to turning incidents into disasters. Nothing that happens at the office is worth the heartache or a heart attack.

If you've been criticized or insulted, immediately and candidly address the issue at the source. Then make peace and move on.

Keeping grudges or, worse, retaliate in kind will only lead to further conflict and escalation, damaging your own reputation and even your health.

BE QUIET.

Office gossip is intriguing, it can also be cruel as well as distracting from productivity.

When people approach you with juicy details about coworkers, politely put a stop to the conversation and excuse yourself.

When gossipmongers realize that no one is listening, they'll stop and get back to what they're supposed to do, which is work.

BE SELECTIVE. 

Be selective in whose circles you spend most time with. Though you want to carefully select your associations, also do effort in being friendly and approachable to all. The maxim, "Love All, Trust Few and Hurt None" is best to keep in mind and put into practice.

If you're in authority to hire new people to the staff, examine carefully the potential new hires if they have the right attitudes and mind-sets to best fit in with the office's culture and camaraderie.

Ask candidates how they feel about workplace politics and how they might react in difficult situations.