Navigating Office Politics: How Do You Keep It Professional and Positive?

Hi all, request you to share your views on the subject.

---

Overall, your message is clear and concise. I made formatting adjustments to ensure proper paragraph breaks and removed the extra line breaks. If you need any further assistance, feel free to ask!

Article from Naukri Hub

Workplace Politics: A Necessary Evil

Again, the question arises about the employees who do not become a part of this politics at their workplace. Experts say that giving in to the politics without being a part of it and fighting it, especially when it is unfair, is not advisable either. Sometimes, politics becomes a necessary evil simply for self-defense. Often, people staying away are seen as a threat and become victims of workplace politics, leading to their elimination.

As it has become unavoidable to avoid politics in today's workplace, it has become necessary for every employee to:
- Connect with people,
- Try to identify the sources of power,
- Observe and be aware of the happenings around them, people's strengths and weaknesses, and their emotional intelligence.

Avoiding Politics at the Workplace

Although it is practically impossible to make your workplace free from politics, the organization and employees can follow certain ethics to make their workplace healthier:
- Avoid distorting or manipulating the truth and facts.
- Be yourself. Don't have different faces to suit different people and situations.
- Be fair in your dealings. Make decisions based on others' performance, not on your relationships with them.
- Be flexible, approachable, and accessible to others. Rigidity can isolate you.
- Communicate – Lack of proper communication is the root cause of most problems. Ensure timely and open communication. Hiding information, rumors, or distorted information can worsen the situation. Proper communication can combat the effects of gossip.
- Have a broader perspective. Don't work solely to satisfy your ego. Give everyone a fair chance to express their thoughts.
- Last but not least, be clear in your conscience. Don't compromise your morals and ethics, and don't hesitate to apologize if you realize you are wrong.

In conclusion, being a part of interpersonal relations, workplace politics is prevalent everywhere and is unavoidable in most cases. However, it's more important to play the game right. Understand the rules, stay true to yourself, avoid harming someone personally or professionally, and refrain from taking grudges home. Strive to create a win-win situation for yourself, others, and the organization. Politics in the workplace – can be good or bad – depends on how people handle it and make it!

Hi all,

Politics - A Universal Truth

Let's face it, politics is and will always be present in an organization, albeit in various degrees.

As a team member, be yourself and accept the fact that you just can't please everyone in your team. There are bound to be differences, but as long as you are well aware of your responsibilities and understand the company policies well, there's nothing to worry about.

Learn to say no. The word 'NO' is the most difficult to say, but if mastered well, it can save you a lot of hassles later on.

As a leader, an insecure and scared leader will encourage politics among his/her team members. Remember, there are no competitors for your subordinates. In fact, put on a teacher's/guide's hat and see the transparency and sincere indulgence within your team. Motivate the average/low performers regularly.

As an employee, avoid passing on distorted information to others, never badmouth seniors/colleagues anywhere, avoid spreading rumors especially during the appraisal time, maintain a dignified personality even if something hasn't gone your way, keep good company, i.e., spend most of your time among the achievers/best performers.

The modern definition of Politics - Poly means many and Ticks refers to the bloodsuckers. Indeed, politics in the workplace is a curse, especially for the one who doesn't want to be a part of it. Ironically, there are times when you don't need politics, but other times, politics needs you.

Regards, Rahul Chhabra

Greetings to All,

Politics is somewhat good in the workplace. It shows live action, which can be a lesson for all. This way, one will learn from their faults and hopefully not repeat them.

To a large extent, it can spoil humanity in a person. Therefore, it is better to engage in politics when and where required, rather than being involved at all times with everyone. Play it right and in the right place; judge when it is necessary.

Overall, always be humane.

hello dakhseshnaik,
your article is very motivating and inspiring but to some extent because according to me i think creating a win-win situation for yourself is not a good quality either it is considered as a bad quality....so its not acceptable everywhere......otherwise your article is very good.

Hello Daksheshnaik,

Your article is very motivating and inspiring, but to some extent... Because, according to me, I think creating a win-win situation for yourself is not a good quality; it is considered a bad quality. So, it's not acceptable everywhere. Otherwise, your article is very good.

Anyways, thanks for such a nice article.

If there is politics in the office, it means employees are not satisfied. Find out the reason first, and then we can tackle whatever the conditions are over there, according to my knowledge.

What do we mean by politics? It's a subject by itself. The reality is, it's surrounded everywhere, and the whole world is ruled by it. We can't get away with it from the workplace either! It's all about our individual personality and how well we manage it at the place we are in to make our work life comfortable. You will be part of it if you nod, and if you don't, it will be assumed that you were part of the other gang. It will take a longer time for us to establish that we were neutral all along!

Whatever the workplace scenario, being neutral and contributing consistently to the workplace's objectives is what could make a difference for us, at the same time not ignoring it completely. After all, politics is everywhere! Equally, beware of the fact that if we practice politics, there will be times wherein we will also be ruled by the opposition!

Dear All,

In my opinion, politics is generally started by employees who do not have enough work. Politics germinates out of gossips and rumors.

Generally, politics is an unhealthy culture. However, sometimes for HR professionals, it is a route to seed unpleasant information through these channels. For example, if you have decided to prepare the union office bearers before a negotiation and you have information that the union office bearers are unlikely to heed to your strategy, and you wish that it has to be known to fellow workmen, then you need to seed it indirectly through these channels without revealing yourself.

But in general, politics in organizations kills the morale of employees. Hence, you need to take it head-on.

Whenever you observe unhealthy politics, for example, if you observe that an employee is passing comments on the relationship existing between two employees (male and female), then it would be wise on your part to curtail it immediately. As this will take a nasty turn someday.

As suggested by many colleagues, dealing with politics varies from situation to situation. But you should not be drowned in the process. Beware!

M.V.KANNAN

I agree with Rohitmgulati! Come what may, professionals and politics can't be separated.

Assertive communication, win-win situation, communication models, and all the similar jazz are bookish matters; the reality is harsh and clear that politics is unavoidable! If my boss or any other HOD is playing politics against me just because I didn't favor him, how will win-win etc. come into the picture? I can apply these models; however, the other person has already decided to deal with me in his own ways! These models can be more useful if one is in management and wants to change the culture of the organization; otherwise, it's just apt to be in a book!

Regards, Rahul Chhabra

Hi everybody,

Firstly, thanks to all for sharing such valuable suggestions on the crucial topic. Yes, that's true. Moreover, to remove the dirt, firstly you have to get into it. You have to interact with co-workers often to avoid confusions at any later stage. Positive and clear communication works best.

Regards

Dear All,

Managing politics in the workplace is indeed very difficult. Be on the side of truth and justice, and strictly adhere to the company rules and regulations. Be unique and never show any sort of partiality to anyone. Keep in mind always that we are working for the company as one. Understand the management and also your colleagues.

Thank you.

What is politics? If it is influencing others and getting things done in your way, then it is very much desirable. Self-praise, showing self-importance, or self-worth is also not that bad. If your means are wrong - like gossiping, self-boasting, implicating others without reason, etc. - then it is bad; otherwise, it is an art. In any organization, one must understand the politics.

Well, I think that office politics can be pretty rotten at times. But the fact remains, where there are people, there will be politics. Also, one thing you can't deny is that getting people influenced and getting things done are all part of business. So the point is that it really depends on what and how it is being used. What I would say is that it is the behavior of the people that makes politics rotten or good. I will further illustrate my point with a simple example.

Let's say part of what you need to do in your organization is to push new initiatives and get people to. Now you can do this in 2 ways:

- By identifying influencers and people in your company and educating them on your initiatives regarding the benefits of the same.
- Or by stealing credit for your team's ideas and curtailing any opposing views to the initiatives proposed by you.

I don't know about others' opinions, but the first way seems OK, and the second way seems a wee bit sneaky. So I stick to my point that politics is essential to get things done (like it or not). It's the intent of the person that makes it good or bad. Also, it must be understood that politics arise out of a difference of opinion, which may be legitimate or totally without rhyme or reason (I know most of you see the second one). Also, whenever such situations arise, it's best to get these things solved through a neutral third party or someone outside the team.

So how to resolve politics? There really is no simple answer to this, unfortunately. No, it's not as easy as ticking off a checklist. Every situation demands a different approach to conflict resolution. But the things to keep in mind are identification of the problem, and the stakeholders involved.

Source: <link outdated-removed>