The Top Five Tips to Conquer Office Politics
Posted 1st Jul 2015
Office politics: “the ways that power is shared in an organisation or workplace, and the ways that it is affected by the personal relationships between the people who work there.” (Collins’ Dictionary) Avoid it as much as you like but office politics will steamroll its way into your working life and not always with the positive impact one would hope for.
Workplace politics can become a bit of a minefield and can land perpetrators in a sticky situation. The best way to cope with office politics is to have a plan and stick to it. Here are the Ibell Recruitment & Staffing top five tips to conquer office politics.
1. Don’t perpetuate the rumour mill
Being a party to an exceptionally juicy piece of information does not mean that you must share it! Gossip, rumours, and unsubstantiated news flies round an office at break-neck speed, do your utmost to ensure you don’t get caught up in it. Don’t forward emails, don’t take part in water cooler gossip, don’t have out-of-work conversations about news you shouldn’t be a party to. Okay, in a gossipy world this may sound difficult, but taking the high ground will help keep your focus on your work and your nose clean.
2. Talk straight, but be a diplomat
In every relationship one maintains it is vital that honesty and openness play immense parts in communication. Talking straight to colleagues will win you respect and the reputation as someone that can be relied on to give an honest opinion. There is no better way of avoiding the pitfalls of office politics than by being honest (but diplomatic) with your colleagues. Become known as the person people can turn to for a straight answer and elevate your standing in your company.
3. Be a good example
There is little point espousing the detriments of office politics if you are the heart of the office political network. Lead by example (whether you are a leader in your organisation or not), be the perfect employee/management/owner representative, don’t perpetuate rumours, don’t have a multi-faceted head (two-faced) and set the standards. In a gossipy office this can be hard, but in the long-term your moral high ground will win through.
4. Be everyone’s friend
This can be the toughest of our five tips to achieve, but being on good terms with everyone will make your working life (and the lives of your colleagues) a very pleasant experience. Yes, there will be times when tempers are frayed and people don’t see eye-to-eye on every matter, but in an adult work environment, team members should be able to talk openly, honestly, and politely to overcome differences without issues descending into political turmoil. Resolve differences quickly and don’t let them go unchecked.
5. Choose to stay out of politics
The last tip is the most obvious and most important. It is your choice to become involved in the politics of your office, so make the conscious decision to stay out of the gossip, sniping and back-biting. Be the bigger person and avoid the water cooler chit-chat for everyone else.
Some people like to gossip, some don’t - you should already know which you should be. Office politics will never go away, it is a fact of working life. It can be a huge benefit, but is can also act detrimentally to those not paying attention. It can demoralise a workforce, negatively affect productivity, bring untold stress and impact every facet of a business. Conversely, it can bring teams closer together, generate a stimulating working environment and bring about imaginative collaborations. Office politics are here to stay, just make sure you make them work to your benefit and to the benefit of your colleagues.
Recent blogs
-
My Generation…
24th Nov 2023
-
Retention is The New Recruitment…and Recruitment...
19th Oct 2023
-
A ‘Crystal Ball’ for Hiring and Retaining
20th Sep 2023
-
Why Subjective Employee Hiring Decisions Are...
5th Sep 2023
-
The Limitations of ‘Traditional’ Hiring...
21st Aug 2023
-
Best Practices for Interviewing Accounting...
18th Jul 2023
-
Interview Tips for Hiring the Best Marketing...
18th Jul 2023
-
Some Interesting Labour Market Data and How to...
5th May 2023
-
What Your Future Employees are Really Looking for...
9th Mar 2022
-
What job seekers are looking for as we move into...
23rd Nov 2021
-
Some thoughts, and facts, on the current labour...
15th Sep 2021
-
Increase Success at Securing Your Candidate of...
25th Jun 2021
-
Video Interviewing…it is here…and it is here...
18th May 2021
-
10 Great Questions to Ask When Next Interviewing a...
23rd Apr 2021
-
10 Great Questions to Ask When Next Interviewing a...
22nd Apr 2021
-
Marketing Considerations in 2021
31st Mar 2021
-
5 Challenges Faced by HR Managers In 2021
31st Mar 2021
-
10 Great Questions to Ask When Next Interviewing a...
25th Mar 2021
-
5 Challenges Faced by Finance Managers In 2021
19th Mar 2021
-
2021 - A Year of Two Halves
25th Feb 2021
-
A Look at The Labour Market
29th Jan 2021
-
Some positives from 2020…and many more to look...
18th Dec 2020
-
There’s still room for...
24th Nov 2020
-
8 Great Interview Questions…
14th Oct 2020
-
Does the increase in ‘working from...
16th Sep 2020
-
Working with a pandemic: video based communication...
17th Jul 2020
-
The Pandemic and Remote Working
20th Mar 2020
-
Big Fish, Small pond?...Small Fish, Big Pond?
15th Nov 2018
-
There’s Still Room For Tradition In Recruitment
4th Oct 2018
-
The Autumn Bank Holiday and Beyond Sporting...
22nd Aug 2018
-
AI and the Future - Where Are We Heading?
27th Jun 2018
-
How to Embrace Artificial Intelligence in Your...
30th May 2018
-
The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in Accounting...
17th Apr 2018
-
AI in Sales - the What, How and When - and is your...
20th Mar 2018
-
The Fourth Industrial Revolution: who will rule...
6th Feb 2018
-
Why The Christmas Holiday is a Good Time to Hire
27th Dec 2017
-
The World’s Weirdest Interviews
16th Nov 2017
-
Perfecting the Recruitment Process
28th Sep 2017
-
Ten Jobs You Wouldn’t Believe Exist
25th Aug 2017
-
Some Good News!
27th Jul 2017
-
The Top Five Cities in the UK for Employment in...
31st May 2017
-
Is Remote Working Really The future? (or: how...
9th May 2017
-
The Importance of Marketing Your Business
7th Mar 2017
-
5 Trends in Accounting for 2017
31st Jan 2017
-
Why Brexit Ruined Christmas
6th Dec 2016
-
The Best of the Rest: What to Expect from the Last...
13th Sep 2016
-
Brexit and the UK Job Market
4th Aug 2016
-
The Olympics - Looking Back to Look Forward
11th Jul 2016
-
Good Communication Changes Everything
7th Jun 2016
-
Blusterous Blunders
13th Apr 2016
-
Travel and Subsistence - All Change for...
26th Feb 2016
-
What Can You Expect From 2016?
25th Jan 2016
-
Ten of The Best in 2015
21st Dec 2015
-
Recruiters or Robots?
23rd Nov 2015
-
Britain and China - The New Special Relationship?
27th Oct 2015
-
Why Shopping for Christmas Cards in September is a...
24th Sep 2015
-
Home vs Office: where’s best to work?
21st Aug 2015
-
What The Conservatives Will Do For Contractors
18th May 2015
-
Now is The Time of The IT Contractor
20th Apr 2015
-
The Top Five Apps for Accountants
10th Mar 2015
-
Why The World Would End Without Contractors
21st Jan 2015
-
Santa Calls for Help
15th Dec 2014
-
6 Stories About Contractors That Will Make Your...
10th Dec 2014
-
Are Tattoos Acceptable in The Modern Workplace?
17th Nov 2014
-
Interims Can Often Be Your Best Option
7th Oct 2014
-
Different Flavours
25th Sep 2014
-
Recruitment Days Gone By
19th Aug 2014
-
Recruitment Trends 2014
24th Jul 2014
-
Candidates Matter
7th Jul 2014
-
Let’s Work Together
19th Jun 2014