Are You A Victim of Office Politics?

Office politics are a common occurrence in firms. They are the actions people do to promote their own agendas and raise their prestige, often at the expense of others. These unofficial or informal acts of self-interest may be the cause of the bad connotation that politics in the workplace has.

Causes of Office Politics:
A person could get involved in office politics for a variety of reasons, including to market their views, to accomplish a certain goal, to influence the organization, or to gain more authority. Politically driven individuals will establish alliances, bargain, and negotiate to obtain their desired outcomes for themselves and/or for their organization in order to accomplish these aims.

Avoiding Bad Office Politics:
The following actions can be taken when facing bad office politics at work-

1. Develop a large number of friends:
We must participate if we want to change the toxic politics at work. A colleague abusing their position of authority to oppress and threaten others is a fairly frequent occurrence. Getting along with our coworkers is one thing we can do.

2. Record your work in a journal:
We shouldn't immediately confront the offender in front of everyone at work if we discover that they are unfairly claiming credit for our effort. Instead, meticulously documenting your work is the most professional course of action. Inform your bosses and coworkers on a regular basis of your accomplishments and job production. This can shield you from anyone who contests your value to the business or disputes your abilities.

3. Avoid taking the same sort of revenge:
We may carry ill will against a coworker who makes an effort to harm our reputation and consider taking revenge. That is a very normal reaction, but you must exercise caution to keep your composure and professionalism. The best course of action is to try to stop the individual from acting that way in the future rather than exacting retribution.

In short, we should not practice office politics. Many people are getting harassed because of this. Some workers also leave their job due to bad office politics. This makes serious problems in their livelihood. So, wherever we operate, we must ensure that (1) we are aware of the political situation, (2) we have a plan in place to effectively handle it and (3) try not to harm other colleagues through office politics.

A cup of tea & a book, always a fantastic combination!