Top 4 Workplace Politics and How to Manage Them
When some people hear the word politics what goes into their mind is politicians. Politics goes way beyond vying for public offices. Politics has entered into almost all the institutions you can think about. Is it in private organizations, government establishments and agencies, voluntary organizations, and even religious organizations? Politics is now being played everywhere and most especially at workplaces. For you not to get burnt in the game of workplace politics or be at the receiving end, you must know the game of politics as well as how to play it.
Most people who always end up at the receiving end are those who think that they don’t need to play it or know about it (the holier than Moses kind of people). In my forthcoming online seminar on DISCOVERING AND MAXIMIZING WORKPLACE TALENTS, I’m going to be teaching Participants more on the game of workplace politics as bonus tips (you don’t want to miss it for any reason).
Today, I want to share with you just four out of the many workplace politics and how you can manage them so you don’t get burnt.
– The Politics of Degrees/Institution
In this kind of politics, people form cliques according to the kind of university they attended or what they graduated with. In this kind, people who graduated from private universities always move and do things together while those who studied abroad also form cliques.
Even those who graduated from government-owned institutions go as far as forming cliques according to the ranking of their institution according to National University Commission or any other recognized bodies. And when these cliques are formed, individuals tend to do things to favour members of their cliques which is why qualified staff outside cliques are robbed of things like promotion into key positions.
Recommended:
- Why You Should Utilize Your Workplace Talents
- 4 Things Nigerians Use In Discriminating Each Other At the Workplace
- Top 6 Bad People You Will Meet At Your Place Of Work
- How to be of Good Conduct at Your Workplace
- How To Get Promotions At Your Workplace
– The Politics of Numbers
You will be lying to yourself if you believe that most staff in your workplace are not engaged in company rackets or deals. Financial numbers are being changed on a daily basis and the amount depends on the size as well as the financial strength of the organization. For instance, the kind of illegal deals going on in a medium-scale company will be far different from that of an oil company or telecom company. In this politics of numbers, people form cliques according to how they connive to change company financial numbers.
Some days ago, it went viral that a so-called snake swallowed the huge sum of N36 million naira from a branch of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board. I don’t need a soothsayer to know that the money wasn’t stolen by the accountant alone (In a few cases, the accountant may not be involved). Some employees (especially newcomers) always make the mistake of trying to blow the whistle on people involved not knowing that in most cases, the head of the organization or department is the chairman of that clique.
People in these cliques always try to do things to favour members of their cliques which is why most hardworking staff don’t get promoted or enjoy other benefits because they are not members of the clique involved in distributing the company’s goodies. Oftentimes, when board members are told to recommend people buy the headquarters, they only recommend someone in their clique that can help them to steal more.
– The Politics of Information
Most times, when new staff are employed in an organization or transferred to a branch, they are often approached by the top staff of the company to help them with information. This is why it’s always advisable to mind the way you talk about your Bosses in the presence of new staff because they might be the monitoring spirits sent to monitor your activities.
In this kind of politics, who you report to will determine what will be accrued to you. Most bosses always use this method to monitor the activities of their staff. But oftentimes, some cliques always find a way to lure them into their fold.
– The Politics of Relationship
In this kind of politics, something more than money or academic institution is involved and that is blood or sex. People who play this workplace politics are more confident in their dealings compared to the aforementioned because they are either related to the boss or are in a sexual relationship with them or some influential personality in the organisation.
Haven’t you wondered that despite some company’s bosses knowing fully well that a particular employee is engaging in company racketeering, they still shield and promote them? This is to affirm the statement that “blood is thicker than water” and that sex is the second most binding tool after blood.
This game of politics is being played even in small businesses like restaurants or makeup studios. Workplace Politics can be stopped but I’m not going to teach you for free how to stop it because this post isn’t about that.
I believe you’ve learnt one or two things from this post, don’t forget to register for my forthcoming online seminar.
Succeed You Must.
By Johnspeak Uwangue (Motivator, HR Consultant, Talent Manager and Coach)
To sum up, visit the career tips category of this website, drop your comments and also subscribe for free updates from the Moden News team.