10 Ways to Survive Office Politics, Part 1

I know this is a surprising topic for Wendistry, but being on-site in my clients’ offices and having to work alongside their existing staffs cause me to examine this issue more closely.  Office politics will never go away.  However, destructive office politics can demoralize an organization, hamper productivity, and increase turnover.  Here are some tips, applicable for both staff and management, on dealing with office politics.

1.  Live at peace with others.  The easiest way to avoid problems with politics is to get along with people.  I’m not saying you need to hug everyone and sing songs, and I’m not saying you have to be a pushover for everyone.  You can be pleasant and professional, while at the same time being assertive when necessary.  If you have a concern, focus on the issue, not on the person.  If you have to refuse a request, explain why and try to create alternative solutions.

Living at peace with others also means being careful about choosing sides during office power struggles.  Aligning yourself with one faction or the other will prevent you from working effectively with people from the “other” side which will hamper your productivity and thus your performance.  Instead, focus on your tasks, dealing with people in either faction on the basis of tasks alone and avoid talk on the issue that separates the groups.

2.  Don’t talk out of school.  Have people told you things in confidence?  Then, keep those matters to yourself.  Talking to outsiders about issues within your organization makes all of you look bad to that outsider.  Furthermore, your boss or your boss’s boss will not appreciate that behavior.  People will find out that you spoke about what they told you, and they’ll lose confidence in you and respect for you.

3.  Be helpful.  We all have responsibilities and objectives, and yes, those things should receive priority.  Nonetheless, if it doesn’t take too much time, being helpful to others can reap benefits for you.  Did your co-worker leave headlights on in the parking lot?  Is someone having trouble building an Excel macro?  If you can help that person, especially if you can do so without taking too much of your time, you benefit yourself as well as the other person.  By doing these things, you’re building political capital and loyalty. 

4.  Stay away from gossip.  “I never repeat gossip, so listen carefully.”   Nothing destroys the dynamics of an office more than gossip.  Just be sure you avoid the “holier than thou” attitude of lecturing your co-workers on the evils of gossip.  You’ll make them lose face, and they’ll resent you.  Instead, try subtly changing the subject.  Example:  Someone is talking about Jane’s problems with her child, of course, Jane is absent from the group.  Do some free association and try to come up with some topic that’s related to Jane or her child, but won’t involve gossip.  Then, make a comment about that new topic.

5.  Stay out of the “talk-down-the-boss” sessions.  Suppose your co-workers start complaining about the boss.  If you join in, it makes you look disloyal to the boss.  If you don’t, it looks awkward in the group.  What do you do?  As with the situation of gossip, try changing the subject by linking the boss to another topic, then talking about that topic instead.  Or, you could simply respond to your co-workers with a smile and a tongue-in-cheek, “Come on, aren’t we exaggerating?  (Name of Boss) really isn’t THAT bad.”  Be careful, though, because it could be taken as an admission by you that the boss IS bad.

Part 2 tomorrow…