Office Politics

AhhHh ... the essentials of a successful company ..... Office Politics ... It seems to be the norm everywhere I go. 9 out of 10 people I've asked said there'll be office politics whenever there are Women around. Yes it's us again .. the trouble makers .... You see ... I've been working for 5 years in 3 different companies ... and I have seen my fair share of office politics.

Why office politics? I can't give a definite answer but if you ever see one .... my advise is never to get involved. Office politics will be something some of us will never understand. The reason for them to happen could range from power struggle to plain jealousy.

There has been countless catch 22 situations I've been involved in. These Battles I entered were through my direct involvement (my own stupidity) and in-direct involvement. Either way you'll get battle scarred as you will come across new policies (that some of you never learnt in school of business) like "Either you're with them or either you're with us". Office politics brings about many negative aspects. I've seen my fair share of Sob Stories, demoralised colleagues ... Some of them rather spend energy on plotting the fall of their sworn enemy (colleague) rather than their business competitors. They can't see that what they're doing will actually lower their productivity. These cat-fights are psychological wars not many can understand. What seem like best friends in office are actually sworn enemies after office hours. I've listened to an amazing amount of back stabbing, malicious, death-threatening stories that I could never have imagine. Below are some Roles that I've identified for these participants of Office Politics.

Office Politics could be seen as a War

• The General - The initiator. The one who calls the shots .... Loves to fight the war face on (in the Boardroom) ... and will not hesitate to sacrifice it's followers if the situation occurs. The war to this person is PERSONAL!
• Platoon Leader - The Right Hand Man of the General. Will organise back stabbing sessions and meetings to plan the next course of action.
• The Bomb Squad - Made up of a group. Usually under the same Department of Their immediate Supervisor. These are the people who bear a grudge with their immediate supervisor and will provide heavy artillery to the Team.
• The Spy - The hardest to identify. They may be part of the group back-stabbing the Enemy but behind all this he/she is providing the full details of what transpires in the back-stabbing sessions. Usually Fence-Sitters .. but smart ....
• The Sniper - The quiet one. Usually not involved in the first place but very aware of it's surroundings. Knows the full details inside out. When this person is offended .. the offender will have a hard time.
• The Medical Officer - The Boss ... Will wanna patch things up but know there's no hope. Need both parties to survive. Can only save one if the situation arises.

However Office Politics I can tell you is not always negative.
Picture this scenario... everyone in the office knows the Senior Copywriter (SC) is a person who is very detailed and insists on a perfect Report and will not hesitate to create an outburst if the Juniors hands in a story that does not give impact to it's readers. However rumors among the staff are that the SC will be able to identify whether the Juniors have put in extra effort in their work and will guide them provided they are willing to bear the brunt. The Juniors will of course then put in extra effort to ensure that the finished article is newsworthy. This will improve quality of the work of the Juniors in the long run as they know they can't afford to make mistakes or they'll be subjected to a humiliating tongue-bashing by the SC.

You'll need to a high IQ to figure out who's at war with who at times. Invisible missiles will be fired from all angles. Get yourself in the way and you could be sworn enemies of both parties. How do I survive Office politics now? The key to this is to play your cards right. Stay Smart and maybe (just maybe) ... you'll survive if you get ever get involved.