The subject of Workplace Politics has been a much-debated topic for many years with opinions and advice from industry experts advocating anything from complete avoidance to full-on engagement. If the mere mention of Office Politics makes you cringe with images of backstabbing, gossip, sabotage, flattery and “cattery”, you are not alone.

Image Source: “Avoiding the Landmines of Office Politics”, Workplace Poker

“A recent survey of 1,000 US office workers by staffing firm Robert Half Accountemps found that 80% of professionals would agree that office politics is alive and well in the workplace. Only 14% said that participating in office politics wasn’t necessary at all to get ahead, compared with 42% in a similar survey in 2012.” (The Times, Article in 2016)

In the same study, the manifestation regarding the various types of office politics is categorised into five main areas as depicted in the diagram below:

Perhaps the negative connotation to this phenomenon can be eradicated to some extent, by referring to a couple of objective definitions:

• The Collins Dictionary describes Workplace Politics as “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”.
• According to the Oxford Dictionary, Office Politics refers to “actions and behaviours involving competition for status or power in a workplace”.

The fact that Office Politics will remain an important issue impacting on company culture, team dynamics and employee satisfaction levels, is undeniable. How you end up dealing with its complexity, shall determine whether the professional environment you may find yourself in, will be leaning towards Utopia or be reminiscent of the Apocalypse.

 Game On, or Benched In?

“Sigmund Freud noted that although humans are social animals, living with others does not come easy. He compared people to a group of hedgehogs during the winter: they need to get close to each other to cope with the cold, but if they get too close they end up stinging each other with their prickly spines. This very rule governs the dynamic of office politics. You can’t go at it alone, but working with others does require some discomfort.” (Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Harvard Business Review Article)

Avoiding workplace politics is unfortunately not a viable option unless you are chief, cook and bottlewasher of your own one-person show. Getting involved in this politicking game with guns blazing is not advisable either. (So now what?) Is it even possible to engage in Workplace Politics fairly and come out the other side with one’s integrity still intact?

According to Professor Robert Hogan, a well-renowned psychologist in the fields of personality assessment, leadership and organisational effectiveness, the universal dynamics influencing workplace relationships comprise of three master motives: to get along, to get ahead or to find meaning. (The American Psychologist, Article)

1. Getting along relates to people, engagement, relationships, cohesion and collaboration.

2. Getting ahead focuses on advancement, challenge, power, achievement and success.

3. Finding meaning refers to purpose, giving back, transferring knowledge, mentoring, justification and value-added.

Therefore, prior to entering the playing-field ask yourself the following question: What is my primary motive for getting into this corporate politicking game?

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Observing the political landscape within your organisation, before participating is highly advisable. You need to be aware of the negative as well as the positive politicking practices evident in the company that you work for. You will undoubtedly discover a combination of both because no organisation can adhere to a perfect compilation of only constructive Office Politics mechanisms.

1. The Good:

A balance exists in the formation of alliances between superiors and subordinates and peer to peer connections. Co-workers who excel at their jobs are being recognised by management, spurred on by teammates and still cracks an invite to the weekend braai, even if they got the promotion their colleague was gunning for as well.

Symbiotic networking is encouraged across business divisions, with the aim to assist rather than expect, resulting in favourable trade-offs to the benefit of both parties involved. Relationships display sincerity and authenticity.

Co-workers show high levels of emotional intelligence, are socially astute and understand the power of vertical and horizontal connections.

2. The Bad:

A distinct prevalence of a power imbalance leaning towards a particular group of people in the organisation, which could be management or co-workers. Power is used to exploit others and pursue selfish narratives at the detriment of team members.

The focus trends towards punishment instead of encouragement, as a motivator to achieve results.

There is a definite divide between employee groups, typically a “Us versus Them” mentality with the intention to sabotage others, or deprive them of opportunities to perform.

3. The Ugly:

Bullying of colleagues occurs, most often targeted at junior employees, support staff or employees receiving accolades and promotions. Common forms of direct bullying include abuse of power, harassment and intimidation. Also look out for indirect bullying where certain individuals are ostracised, ignored or excluded from informal team gatherings and events.

There is a recognisable display of Narcissism, taken to extreme levels of self-actualisation and manipulation to pursue own goals, with a complete lack of empathy towards colleagues.

Two Wrongs don’t make a Right

Understanding the nature of Workplace Politics is only the first step of your navigation strategy. The next challenge lies in applying the correct approach towards individuals who play Office Politics against you. Fighting fire with fire, will not solve the issue at hand and probably exponentially increase the detrimental impact thereof.

In a recent article written by Dr Isiah Hankel, an expert leadership consultant to Fortune 500 companies in the Biotechnology industry, the three most common scenarios relating to negative office politics are discussed.

1. Sand Bagging or Gloating:

Both scenarios relate to performance. Sand-bagging refers to individuals who purposefully provide misinformation, withhold information, make empty promises and refrain from performing tasks at optimal capacity. Gloating is a manipulative communication tactic where a person would passively fight against your chances of success, ridicule or diminish your achievement to promote theirs instead.

Defence Tactic: Give them praise and recognition. Sooner than later they will succumb to guilt and move on to another target.

2. Villainising, Torpedoing or Gossiping:

Some individuals are masters at diverting attention from their own lack of performance onto others by badmouthing their co-workers and creating doubts regarding their competence levels. Usually Sabotaging will follow suit, where direct actions would be taken to torpedo a colleague’s project for instance or spread false rumours about a person’s conduct or character.

Defence Tactic: Keep a record of events, email trails, meetings and collect as much information as possible, to state a proper case when the time comes. Eventually, the real villain will be identified and dealt with.

3. Playing the victim:

Every office has at least one employee who is continuously battered by seemingly unfair life events, illness, family issues or monetary problems, which they have no problem vocalising on a frequent basis to gain sympathy. This modus operandi is used to passively manipulate situations to fit their own agendas. These individuals are experts at creating feelings of guilt in others.

Defence Tactic: Stop paying attention and create a void. The less energy you spend on listening to the drama now, the less likely they are to involve you in their sob stories in future.

Play the Game, Not the Man

Taking things too personally when dealing with workplace politics creates a negative aura which may cause a detrimental spiral, limiting your professional and personal growth.

Revengeful actions should never form part of your strategy, even if you were a target of someone else’s shrewd tactics.

This may sound so corny, but being ‘’the better person’’ remains the most viable defence mechanism. Playing the game of politicking boils down to a few key strategies:

• Aim to talk less and listen more
• Observe and contemplate, don’t react and annihilate
• Influence, as opposed to enforce
• Transparency trumps secrecy
• Persuade, rather than dictate
• Seek to understand, before trying to be understood
• Keep your moral compass intact

Fight, flight or play it right……the choice is yours.