Navigating Office Politics When New To The Workforce
With very few exceptions, office politics is a bridge that most employees will have to cross one day, regardless of the industry they work in. Also known as organizational politics or corporate politics, office politics is simply the strategies that people employ in corporate settings to gain an advantage either personally or for an initiative they believe in. By that definition, you would expect the topic of office politics to be discussed at a collegiate level or during training for new employees entering the workforce. However, I personally had to learn about office politics through first-hand experience, then subsequently in B-school after working a handful of years in business settings. As I discussed this dilemma with my mentors, friends, and colleagues, I found that this seems to be the case for most young employees across the board.
The first thing to keep in mind is that office politics is not necessarily a malicious act on the part of the person playing them. While the notion comes with a negative connotation, office politics can be looked at as simple tactics to help you advance in an organization. It is up to the organization itself to ensure that politics isn’t the sole pathway to advancing one’s career and put more of an emphasis on job performance. If you find yourself in an organization where politics are the primary determinant of employee success, that is a failure on the part of the CEO and you should get out of there ASAP!
When done tastefully, office politics can have a positive effect on a young person’s career. A few positive office politics tactics are things like helping your strongest organizational allies reach their quarterly goals, diversifying your network and reaching outside of your team lines, rewarding team members that help you achieve a goal and increasing upwards communication regarding things you and your team have been able to achieve. On the other hand, some negative office politics tactics are things like taking sole credit for your team’s or colleague’s work, withholding key information from team members, playing favoritism and pushing blame onto other team members.
Studies have shown that high emotional intelligence leads to better job performance and in some cases, is more of an indicator of future success than IQ. Having a deep understanding of your emotions as well as the emotions of those around you can deeply impact your work life and help improve political standing in the office. For young people who may not have the general technical experience needed to stand out (due to lack of years working full-time), this offers another route to success. While participating in office politics is not for everyone, I wanted to share a couple of key themes that I have learned through my years analyzing office politics.
1. Don’t Ignore Office Politics
Whether you participate in office politics or not, it’s important for you to be able to identify it when it occurs. As I mentioned earlier, almost all organizations that you work with are going to have some sort of politics and understanding the politic themes of your organization will help you make better long-term career decisions. Don’t be ignorant to what is happening around you.
2. Don’t be a Jerk
I am of the mindset that office politics are not inherently malicious, however, as I discussed earlier, some bad actors tend to play dirty political games to get ahead. Don’t be one of those people. Not only from a moral perspective, but companies today are buckling down on corporate behavior specifically among their employees. Today’s corporations are being more strict on enforcing their moral responsibility and this usually means phasing out the jerks of the organization.
3. Accept That Promotions and Raises are not Always Merit Based
This was actually the hardest lesson I had to learn at a young age, but the earlier you understand it the better off you’ll be. Anger, confusion, and self-doubt are all emotions I felt the first time I experienced someone receive a huge promotion which I thought that I earned. Eventually, through conversations with other employees, I learned that said person was taking credit for a lot of our team’s work. At that point, I made the decision to leave the organization, but I used the non-promotion as a learning experience. It taught me the enormous impact that office politics could play in one’s career.
4. Never Change Who You Are
While this might sound like a given, I think its important to emphasize that employees should never have to change who they are to fit in to an organization. Utilize the hiring process as a way to gauge fit and be selfish when determining what type of company you want to work for. I know that is easier said than done, especially for those that are currently unemployed, but remember that this is where you will be spending most of your everyday life. Put in the work to ensure that your future organization’s ethics closely align with your own.
Hopefully, we will begin to see the topic of office politics discussed more, especially amongst younger employees entering the workforce. As I am not an expert on the subject by any means, I am excited to learn more as I continue to move forward in my career. What are some of your experiences with office politics?
