Dealing With Office Politics

Politics is a serious matter. In the case of our country, an action-packed, drama-filled, mystery, thriller, and everything in-between story that we get to watch in the news at night and experience the consequences by day. There are always plot twists waiting to happen to the characters involved. It’s all fun and games for us viewers until we become part of such story in office politics.

Office politics is present in almost any workplace. There are backstabbing and bullying everywhere. If push comes to shove, some would even lead to physical altercations and terminations. Sometimes, even if you are the innocent party, you can end up badly. You can’t just resign thinking that other companies would not have such politics because most of the time, they will have some with only a difference in degree. If you want to become a full-fledged professional in your industry, you have to learn how to deal with it or prevent becoming part of it.

Here are a few tips on how to deal with office politics:

1. Learn more about the company. Before walking through a crossfire of an already existing office politics, or being caught on one side of it, get to learn your organization. Know who your supervisors are, the office policies and procedures, and the organizational structure. This way, when things get bad, you know how and when to report it formally, and to whom you should submit the complaint or report. Knowing where the fire extinguishers are in a building is always a good idea.

By learning your office policies and procedures, you can easily spot punish-able violations committed by the office bullies and report them for proper sanction. Never retaliate with your own hands as it can backfire negatively. Take it to the proper deciding authority to avoid conflict.

2. Document. In an office with a considerable number of employees, it’s almost certain that your supervisors only really remember a handful of the employees. This is why you must learn how to make your own track record. Keep a personal copy of the times you have been late (or better yet, a record of months that you have never been late or have never committed any office violation). If you are going to deliver a document to someone you have bad blood with, it’s better to have a receiving copy just in case he/she is planning something nasty.

Document your accomplishments as well. This will be beneficial when you are seeking for a promotion or combatting an accusation that you are becoming unproductive.

3. Build a network. A bully never picks on someone who has good backups. This means making friends in the office is not only healthy for your social interaction, but also strategic in avoiding being the victim in office politics. Learn how to get along with your peers. Take the time to get to know them and respect their own opinion on matters that may otherwise be controversial. Learn to accept that people will have different tastes and behavior, and just keep your cool. You’ll make friends in no time.

4. Don’t gossip. Remember the cliché value of treating others the way you want to be treated. Even if you have al-ready visited every church and recited every prayer in order to bring back your inner peace after having found out someone was backstabbing you, never start a gossip against them.

Some companies have a policy strictly stating penalties for rumor-mongering. Even after hours of work, don’t be tempted to spread false statements against a co-worker. You don’t know who will eventually turn on you. Keep it to yourself, do your job properly, and simply pray for their souls — and termination.

5. Do your job well. The tried, true, and tested method of surviving office politics is simply doing your job well. You are in the office with certain goals in mind — like achieving financial stability or to rise on the corporate ladder. By being so obviously hardworking and valuable you become harder to target. By focusing on your work, you get to be more productive, be low profile, and with a strong deterrent from office politics.

If you are busy enough to have little time to worry about what others are saying against you or if you are a productive employee and are constantly contributing tremendous effort for the company, your bosses will be the ones to save you. Still knowing how to defend yourself will go a long way in determining your success against office politics.
*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin, C-4, Sunday, July 31, 2016. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.