Office politics can happen in different organizations. According to Harvard Business Review, office politics happen because of psychological reasons. First, because office work involves dealing with people. Everyone has different ideas; therefore, compromisation must happen. Second, humans are born with emotions that create unconscious needs and insecurities.
Because of how humans think and act, office politics exist to make situations in favor of the persons involved and those who made it to the inner circle. These people are recognized because they get more work done, they are competent and also have good interpersonal relationships. However, not everyone who joins the game ends up in a good position.
Here are a few habits you should practice in order to handle office politics properly:
1. Observe Your Workplace
It’s important to know and inspect your office in the Philippines. An article from Wall Street Journal stated that in order to know your organization well, you must ask these key questions: What are the core values and how are they enacted? Are short or long-term results more valued? How are decisions made? How much risk is tolerated? The answers to these questions should help you know and how to play the game.
2. Build Relationships
Trust and respect are the keys to having an effective work relationship with your workmates. Office work is teamwork; therefore, it is essential to have good relationships with them. Having a connection with people outside your department is an advantage for you to understand the system of your work.
3. Don’t Get Personal
It’s normal to get angry with some people at your work because of your differences, but you need to remember not to act impulsively. How you behave at work would not only affect your workmates but especially your performance. When a coworker tries to bring you down or blames you for something you did not do, always keep your cool. Your connections are your allies and it won’t be a good strategy to turn them against you when they see how you act at work.
4. Listen Carefully
Listening to what others are saying is a good trait and will greatly develop your interpersonal skills. It would also help you get to know more things that you could use in order to do well in your work.
5. Do Not Take Sides
Always focus on getting your job done and follow things according to your plans and objectives. Never take a side when your team or colleagues are having their misunderstandings as this would not help you and your team to progress. By not taking sides, you would gain both parties’ respect and trust, which would help solve the issue in an objective manner.
6. Be True to Yourself
There are obstacles that would be hard to overcome when you start playing the game; but, always keep in mind that you should not push yourself into your own career death. By being true to yourself, you would know and realize when it’s time to say that it’s enough. You must accept the fact that there are some games you can’t play. If you decided that you can’t play the one you are in right now, then maybe it’s time to leave and move on.
