Do you play "Office Politics" at work? (employment, credit, collect)

[goodtype]

Of course everyone tells you the best way to prosper in the office is to stay away from Office Politics but I am not so sure that is good advice.

If you are in a low level clerical job with little interaction or decision making, then maybe it would be possible to avoid Office Politics but if you are in a position of influence or interact with others to do your job, then a good bit of Office Politics is necessary. For example, if a group of you are meeting and trying to decide the best way to complete an assignment or solve a problem, everyone will likely have a different approach. You will need to use all your skills in Office Politics to get the boss to accept your approach and then convince other people to work with you to get things done. In many cases this can be done logically and without undue anger. But it is possible that other people whose approach was rejected will do every thing in their power to make your approach fail. Your skill in Office Politics will then be necessary. It may be necessary to discredit the naysayers or they will win. More Office Politics.

So, with this in mind, do you use Office Politics to your advantage at work?

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by goodtype

Of course everyone tells you the best way to prosper in the office is to stay away from Office Politics but I am not so sure that is good advice.

It all depends on your goals.

If you want to show up, do a job, collect a check, and go home with nobody noticing, for the rest of your life, then you should do everything you can to avoid "politics".

Otherwise, if you have any ambition, you will need to learn how to deal with the inevitable power and respect struggles that occur in any social business environment. When there are money and reputations on the line, you can either be engaged or be a bystander.

If you want to get ahead - there are a few most basic things you should learn:
- speak and present yourself with confidence, respect, authority, and dignity.
- always self-promote.
- find a mentor and stick with them.
- always protect your boss and your boss' interests.
- know when to suck it up and when to fight.
- when you do fight, persevere under fire and never roll over

If you can follow those ideas, you can play office politics with the best of em.

[christina0001]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

If you want to get ahead - there are a few most basic things you should learn:
- speak and present yourself with confidence, respect, authority, and dignity.
- always self-promote.
- find a mentor and stick with them.
- always protect your boss and your boss' interests.
- know when to suck it up and when to fight.
- when you do fight, persevere under fire and never roll over
If you can follow those ideas, you can play office politics with the best of em.

Wow, ditto, that is great. I find office politics irritating but unavoidable. I can play the game with the best of them. I do my best to play nice and get along with everyone; I know which battles are worth fighting and which ones I am better off letting go. I will always go above and beyond to help a collegue...but I am not shy about getting the favor returned to me if and when I need it.

[Huckleberry3911948]

i am aware of two thoughts in this post. one is concept of office politics other is just getting along with others social lubrication and other harmonizing things the unwritten rules of a place of employment esp office invironment.
at the level you are speaking of its probably group 2 behavior you need to focus on
if you have any social org in your office such as toastmasters softball stuff like that do join it asap there you will learn many of the behaviors you will need. becoming the coffee baron for your office too can help any and all service volunteer positions can help teach you what you need to know. at some point some kind "mentor" will teach you the rules of engagement and how to play the games.

[coldwine]

Yes, I play office politics. It's an unavoidable fact of life for all attorneys. It's just there. Especially concerning who the Master Billing Attorney is going to be, whose client this really is, who gets to bill what hours, etc. It never ends, it just goes on and on and on.

What's worse are the organizational politics someone has to play for another organization. Again, lawyer central.

[emeraldgirl]

Like death and taxes........office politics is unavoidable.

[Seaharbour]

personally, that just seems like such a sad way to live...I think I know why I never attempted to be a brown noser now or to step on others toes, I have too much respect for myself.

[emeraldgirl]

Originally Posted by Seaharbour

personally, that just seems like such a sad way to live...I think I know why I never attempted to be a brown noser now or to step on others toes, I have too much respect for myself.

I don't consider myself as someone who is a "brown noser" and I have much respect for myself.

In the legal profession office politics just goes along with the territory. I consider it more like bargaining or negotiating if it is done effectively and in a positive manner.....that's the key.

[questioner2]

I once went to a class put on by a community college on surviving office politics. First I thought the topic was kind of dumb but later I respected the class and the teacher. It was alot of case studies and discussion and the stories people told were eye opening.

Later I read a number of books on the topic and found that the learning experience made me more effective at work.

[FarNorthDallas]

The current law firm I work at has very little office politics. The last one I worked at was horrible.