Office Politics: Are They Affecting You Mentally?
Imagine this: you have a rough week with a client. You talk to your colleague in confidence about the client expressing your disappointment in how things went and how the client should have been more understanding of your schedule instead of being demanding.
The next day, another co-worker tells you that your boss wants you to hand in all information about the same client to him as they’re not pleased about how you handled things.
You are in shock!
Your colleague talked about you behind your back? Office politics didn’t work here for you. You trusted a peer and didn’t think in a million years the story would be told to the entire team.
You become cranky. You go home to your wife and kids and you just can’t stop thinking about it; you literally think about the whole ordeal for days as it puts a damper on your whole week. You don’t know what to do, who to talk to or even who to trust at work.
Has that ever happened to you?
It happened to me.
Office politics take many different forms; from backstabbing, spreading malicious rumors and sucking up to the right people who have more power.
Like it or hate it, office politics are a fact of life in any organization. If there are people, there are politics. People bring their personal emotions, needs, ambitions, and insecurities into their professional lives. The volume and magnitude is dependent upon the culture and the leaders of said organization.
There are things that create and ignite office politics; things like:
- A team re-structure
- Scarcity of resources
- Too competitive work environment
- Subjective performance standards
- Unclear job definitions, roles and responsibilities
- Emotional insecurity of some employees
- And more..
A former boss once told me: you’ll likely want to stay as far away from politics as you can and I thought that would be sufficient. Boy was I wrong!
As a savvy leader, you have to learn the game and yes, I say game because if you need to be smart enough to know how to deal with it. I am not saying you need to engage in office gossip; all I am saying is that you need to realize that offices politics are real and are unavoidable.
Here are some tips for dealing with office politics especially if they’re starting to affect your mental health and creep up to your personal life:
- Realize that decisions are made by those who have the power to make that decision- make peace with that!
It’s natural to want to use, or increase our power. Your boss has some control over your life. You need to accept that. You don’t have to like your boss but you have to realize that he has more power than you. You have to agree to the unspoken rules of engagement- your vision and values have to be aligned. If that’s not the case, it’s time for you to find another opportunity and that’s absolutely fine.
If your boss likes your brand, that’s great. If they don’t like it, that’s fine too. You only invite the people into your life who deserve to be there. You get to choose where to work and who to work with (and for).
- Be socially intelligent
The ability to get along with your peers will get you their cooperation. There are numerous employers who say that people have lost their jobs or were never considered for a promotion due to a lack of social intelligence even though they were technically capable. Why? Because companies need people to be able to work together towards a common goal, which is what a workforce is.
Reflect on your emotions, what prompts them, and how you handle them. If you can learn to self-regulate, you’ll be able to think before you act. This kind of emotional intelligence helps you to pick up on other people’s emotions, too, and to understand what kind of approach they like or dislike.
Learn to listen carefully, too. When you invest time in listening, you’ll slow down, focus, and learn. People like people who listen to them.
- Re-map the “real” organizational chart
Sit back and observe for a while, and then re-map the political power and influence in your organization, rather than people’s rank or job title.
To do this, ask yourself questions like, “Who are the real influencers?”, “Who has authority but tends not to exercise it?”, “Who is respected?”, “Who champions or mentors others?”, and “Who is the brain behind the business?”
Don’t confuse power with authority. You don’t have to be in a position of authority to have power.
- Control your story before others do
Ask others what they think of your performance and where they think you can improve. If you’re not happy about your current PR in the office then someone else is controlling your story. Take time to analyze and get to the root-case of it. Get your story straight!
- Build your network and coalitions
You should network every single day:
- Internally
- Externally
- Up
- Down
- Across
Last but not least, if you’re stuck in a workplace that’s sabotaging its success with too many political players, the chances of you getting noticed for your achievements are likely slim.
If that’s the case, it’s probably time to leave that organization. Your mental health and personal life should take precedence.
However, if you decide to quit your job, don’t EVER leave on bad terms; don’t burn any bridges with anyone. I can count the times I thought a person moved to another country only to find out they had come back and are now my new boss- shocking!
The odds are high that you will see some of these people again in your career journey.
Most importantly: don’t participate in gossip. Be known as truthful and authentic. Lift others up with you and forgive failure. After all, we are all human.
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