Work - Office Politics

Office politics.... Many cringe at these words, others love to use it in advancing their careers. According to The Brazen Careerist - Penelope Trunk, whose blog I love to read, office politics is about being nice.... huh? Her basic rationale is that no matter what you do, office politics happen and if you do not get with the game, you will die a slow and painful career death.

I personally do not like to dabble in office politics, I just want to get on with my work, collect my paycheck at the end of the month and go home early (whenever possible). However the sad truth is that no man is an island, especially in a working environment where there are lots of people around and you have to work with other people. Office politics will find you, no matter where you hide..... My personal philosophy is to become an insider, know what is going on around you in the office, keep your mouth shut and ears open, stick to your principles, treat others with respect, do not back stab others, watch out for other people trying to back stab you, have genuine interest in others.

Anyway, if we look at other aspects of our lives, politics exists everywhere, between family members, neighbours and friends, so why should work be any different? Especially when we spend a better part of the day, week, year in the office. I probably see more of my colleagues than my wife!

In my humble opinion, there are different levels of politicking, from an end of water cooler talk and gossiping to an extreme end of backstabbing to vie for a promotion. In the middle portion will be maneuvering to get others to agree with you. So we need to make up our minds on which level of politicking we want to get involved in.

So go think about it and make a stand! Good luck!