Facing Office Politics: How Do You Protect Yourself from Nasty Workplace Games?

Dealing with Office Politics

What is the method to face office politics? As we cannot escape from it, it's better to face, fight, and win it. Keeping oneself cool and ignorant— is it the best solution? If not, what else can be done to protect oneself from nasty politics if some people are trying to defame you, spoil your image, or plot conspiracies to put you in the wrong position?

Please share your own experiences on how you have overcome such cases if you have faced office politics.

Regards

Understanding Office Politics

"Office Politics," "Organization Politics," and "Workplace Politics" all refer to the same activity where individuals in an enterprise make constant and conscious efforts to gain influence, authority, and easy rewards. There cannot be any comparison among the incomparables, and so is competition. Hence, office politics prevail in peer groups. It is a calculated move, which can be conspicuous or inconspicuous depending upon the situation and people involved, to gain an edge over others in the same group.

If you are ignorant, you will automatically be cool, and that's why Thomas Gray said, "Where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise." However, the problem arises when you are aware of it, and the situation becomes like being between the deep sea and the devil. Naturally, one cannot be impervious to office politics. If you prefer to be in damage-control mode, enjoy office politics but do not become a part of it.

Regards

Dear Experts,

What is the method to face office politics? As we cannot escape from it, it's better to face, fight, and win it. Keeping oneself cool and ignorant - is it the best solution? If not, what else can be done to protect oneself from nasty politics if some people are after you trying to def.

"Office Politics," "Organizational Politics," and "Workplace Politics" are not the same or similar in all organizations. They differ from organization to organization depending on the habits, smartness, shrewdness, and modus operandi of employees working in the organization.

So, watch the attitudes of employees and how they usually behave in different situations, whether with or against each other. If they behave erratically with others, you may also not be immune from the effects of office politics. Therefore, you should be cautious, as due to their habits, they can behave similarly towards you. Adopting a cautious nature and staying devoted to your duty should be two of your guiding principles to keep yourself apart from office politics. However, a few such incidents may still occur with you due to their habitual compulsions.