Politics may be seen as dirty in nature but office politics has become unavoidable. Love it or hate it, office politics is an inevitable part of organizational life. Many people associate political behavior with backstabbing, talking ill of a colleague, manipulation etc. — but there is a productive side to being politically savvy. Being able to negotiate, influence, engage, convince, communicate and persuade others is how things get done in organizations — and how organizations decide what’s worth doing at all. Developing political skill reduces stress and enhances performance, boost employee morale, increases motivation, reputation and career progression at work. A 2008 survey of 250 managers in the UK revealed that 90% of them believed that political skill is required to succeed and to improve one’s career prospects. While the link between political skill and career success is firmly established, there is a problem: office politics doesn’t work for everyone in the same way. People have misused office politics to their personal advantage. In the course of engaging in office politics, it has caused huge reputational damage to some employees and in some instances caused them their jobs.
Researchers have argued that women often overlook the importance of office politics and rely on task accomplishment as the primary means of advancing their careers. Many women are reluctant to engage with it, or even see it as distasteful. Employees who cannot engage in office politics are sometimes called “politically naïve” for avoiding politics. It comes at a huge cost and is often seen as emotionally draining. It is argued that training and mentoring initiatives are necessary to help employees see the value in office politics and learn to play the game. A level playing field must also be provided for everyone in the course of their employment with any establishment. Many people have rejected leadership roles because of the displeasure and the mature of office politics.
Dominant groups in organizations generally set the standards for behavior within their workplaces, and as men hold most leadership positions today, it can be argued that they set the norms for political behavior at work. Mentoring and networking are indeed critical to developing political understanding for all employees. It seems even if women and minorities groups engage in political behaviors, they may not benefit from them in the same way that men do because of the level of influence men have.
Office politics is described as an informal system that keeps power with those who have it and can use it to their benefit. The issue is not about lack of skills but how it is played at all levels of the business and its effect on people and productivity over the period. People who have not really mastered the act of office politics have seen less career progression.
As a result of how office politics is conducted, the person engaging in the behavior experiences backlash and is always seen as someway who talks his/her way to the top. In most instances they are seen to be those with excellent relationship with people in authority and can influence decision making. Some rely on old school associations, church and club affiliations amongst others. Accepting the fact that not everyone can be good at office politics will mean that, there should be some acceptable political behavior in the office. This is to make room for those who cannot engage in office politics to be seen and acknowledge by the system.
Organizations should be creating environment that supports collaborative efforts and teamwork. Creating cooperation will allow more people to thrive in their jobs. Then again creating a culture of equality will play a requisite role in ensuring fairness amongst employees. Making diversity a top leadership priority would ensure comfortability; it will generate innovation at work.
It seems that creating work environments that are less competitive and more cooperative serves to benefit everyone. Women have suffered under the office politics agenda; there are many wonderful and excellent professional women who could not rise to the top because of the nature of office politics. Issues as trivial as maternity and childbirth related concerns have been advanced to their disadvantage.
One barrier to creating a more equitable system for everyone may be the leaders in charge today. These leaders not only set the political norms but also help create and maintain the political environment that favors them at the disadvantage of everyone else. Creating cooperative work environment rather than competitive environment is one way to fix this, but that can only be achieved if today’s existing leaders are willing to give up the game.
One key political skill is drawing attention to your accomplishments; every employee must learn this act but be sure not to blow achievements out of proportion.
Most people view organizational politics as an expression of masculine culture. This is so because our culture has a way of undermining women and their achievements. Political employees try to obtain functional benefits, like access to lucrative relationships and coalitions — for these reasons they engage in political tactics even though it may not guarantee success.
Organizations may have to find out if office politics is really an outdated game that no one wants to play. An effective performance and talent management modules as well as an effective succession planning will reduce office politics.
We should be mindful that many organizations would have done better if not for office politics that did not serve any purpose. In most cases it created unnecessary tension because the fallouts were not managed well. This argument, however, is built on the assumption that people lack the political skills needed to navigate organizational life.
Source: Bright Ampadu Okyere/ hbr.org | Tel. #: 0244204664 |hrtoday@gmail.com
