office politics and gossiping
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how to deal with office politics and gossipingTRANSCRIPT
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Office Politics and Gossiping
Employee Conduct and DisciplinePresented by:
Sheryl B. Satorre
TM 725 – Personnel Management1
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Pre-Test on Office Politics and Gossiping (True/False)1. Office politics takes place in nearly every business
organization.2. Many working class people are happy that office
politics exist.3. There are positive and negative effects from office
politics.4. Office grapevine occurs when you add state-of-the-
art telecommunications into the workplace.5. Managers differ with regard to what information
should be disseminated within the workplace.6. There are good and bad forms of gossip.
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Pre-Test (cont.)7. The informal communication network of an
organization is called the Grapevine Concept.
8. One of the five rules concerning office politics state that not everyone expects to get paid back.
9. Hypocrisy, secrecy, self interests, ruthlessness, and power struggles are all examples of office gossip.
10. One way to avoid office politics is to focus on the business interest at hand.
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What is Office Politics?
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Office Politics - Outline
• Overview of Office Politics• Examples of Office Politics• Detriments of Office Politics• Benefits of Office Politics• Five Rules Concerning Office Politics• How to Win at Office Politics
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“Politics: the unwritten rules of how things are done or not done.”
Pat McBride, The Black Collegian
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“Stop pretending that it doesn’t exist… Decrying the fact the system is political is like complaining that water is wet.”
Gerard Egan
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Politics \pä-lә-tiks\ noun • competition between groups or individuals
for power.• is a process by which decisions are made
within groups.
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“Twenty percent of an administrator's time -- is spent resolving conflicts among employees”
Statistics…
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Office Politics
• It is simply how power gets worked out on a practical, day-to-day basis among co-workers.
• It can be either positive or negative.• It is the use of one's individual or
assigned power within an employing organization for the purpose of obtaining advantages beyond one's legitimate authority. 10
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Should you play?
• Some experts argue that you can’t avoid the game of office politics.
• Some say it is crucial to career success.
• Many say that it causes stress.
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Is this just Office Gossip?
• Office politics has the objective of gaining an advantage.
• Office gossip is a social activity.
• Both activities are highly related to each other.
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Examples of Office Politics• “Sucking up”/”Brown-
nosing”• Being the “Yes” person• Being the office cynic • Giving someone a piece
of your mind• An e-mail war (and CC
everyone!)• Sleeping with the Boss
or coworker• Stealing credit • Gossiping coworkers• Abusive Managers
• Favoritism• Nepotism• Lazy and annoying
coworkers• Betrayal• Sex in the office• False resumes• White lies• Sneaky tricks • and much, much more.
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Sample Case: Looking Good
Pete is a supervisor who is ambitious to a fault. Everything he does is for effect. One of his ground rules is that only positive information makes its way from him to his boss. Negative news is totally ignored. He makes it clear that anyone in his group who says bad things about him or the organization risks getting fired. If an employee openly disagrees, he or she is labeled a non-supporter. Everyone who reports to Pete agrees the best practice is to fall into line and be a “yes person”.
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Sample Case: Power by AssociationMike is a young marketing manager. He sees work as a game and compulsively seeks to be a winner. He gets turned on by challenging, competitive activities where he can prove himself. He hates being pushed around. His goal is to become more powerful because power means freedom. To expand his influence and to increase his chances of advancement, he is developing very strong relationships with major customers who can make demands on his company.
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Sample Case: Favoritism
Larry was hired as the heir-apparent to the CFO. Cora, a financial analyst who had been with the company for two years, made herself indispensable to him. When Larry was placed in charge of the annual budget review, he made Cora his assistant. At a point where his views clashed with those of a Senior Auditor, Larry fired the auditor and promoted Cora to that position even though she wasn’t the most qualified person for the job. 16
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Sample Case: Copywriter’s CliqueWhen Kate became a copywriter for a newspaper in a large city, she was invited to join her group for lunch her first day on the job. She discovered the group met informally once a week to gossip, to exchange inside tips, and to get to know one another better. Kate quickly learned the value of trading information at these events. The message was clear: lunch was political. A final note: It’s important to remember that to be human is to be political. Whenever people’s priorities, values, and interests diverge, some type of politicking usually takes place.
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Detriments of Office Politics
• Initiates ruthlessness• Unwarranted power struggles• Encourages hypocrisy, secrecy, and self-
interests• Produces ineffective team work among staff
members
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Benefits of Office Politics
• Highly motivate employees• Productive employees• Employee recognition increases• Boosts employee morale
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Five Rules Concerning Office Politics
1. Nobody wins unless everybody wins.2. Don’t just ask for opinions… change
them!3. Everyone expects to be paid back.4. Success can create opposition.5. Don’t ignore the after-math of success.
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How to win at Office Politics?
Hint: It’s like a basketball.
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Get to know your teammates.• You don’t have to be best friends or go on
camping trips with them, but do try to show genuine interest in finding out more about each of them.
• Everyone is interesting if you care enough to ask the right questions.
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Don’t be a ball hog; learn how to pass.• If you’re working on a project that required a
team effort and you did a great job, don’t hog the spotlight.
• Winning at office politics means spreading the credit around and being a good team player.
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Help your teammates up after a drive to the hoop.
• If you see a co-worker struggling or know that someone could use an extra hand, help them out.
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Crash the boards.• Another fundamental of office politics is crashing
the boards.• Second chance opportunities always seem to
present themselves if you know where to find them.
• If your boss or co-workers have to miss a meeting, offer to jump right in and take their place.
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Keep your hands up at all times.• Don’t be afraid to take on
unpopular projects no one wants.
• If you volunteer for a challenging project and succeeds, you will look 10x more like an all-star.
• If you fail, no one thought it was possible anyway, and it will chalk it up as inexperience. 26
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Scout out your competition.
• Don’t think for a second that you don’t have competitors.• These workers can be above you, below you,
but more often than not they are working right beside you fighting for that same promotion. This is what office politics is all about.
• It’s a good idea to have a firm grasp on their strengths and weaknesses as well.
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Make your free throws.
• Did you know that daily 30 minute meeting that everyone hates to go to because it seems to drag on forever?
• These meetings are like free throws. They might look ordinary, but they are the single most important part of the day. Not only are you usually in a room with the people who have the most influence over your next promotion, but you are being judged on this stage everyday.
• Do yourself a favor, be prepared for these meetings because playing office politics demands it. Even if you don’t have much to say, always be prepared to say something. If you miss your shot, you can be assured your competition is waiting to pick up that rebound. 28
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Seek out a veteran to mentor you.• The easiest way to know the road ahead is to
ask those who have traveled the route before.
• Realize that everything you are about to do on the job has pretty much been done before.
• Yes, you may be smart with a college degree and all, but to “veterans” you’re really not that special (yet).
• Seek out a well respected veteran in the organization to help mentor you. • Pay attention to their communication style,
network of relationships, and the types of proposals they say "yes" to most often.
• Emulate those traits by drawing on the strengths you have.
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Don’t turn the ball over.
• One of the most overlooked fundamentals of office politics is to not turn the ball over.
• When given a special project by the boss or the boss’ boss, take this as a sign of trust that you are progressing.
• Stay late, check your work, and seek advice from your teammates and mentors. But whatever you do, don’t drop the ball or you might not get another chance for a while.
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Play hard for all 4 Quarters – even in garbage time.• Don’t let others ever see you goofing off or
taking it easy.
• If the boss is out of the office, this is actually the time you should commit to working harder.
• Don’t take advantage of the situation by taking a longer lunch or slacking off on assignments.
• Others in the office are keenly aware of your performance while the boss is away. Don’t give them any reason to throw you under the bus. 31
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Be a floor general.
• It’s never about who is in charge, but who takes charge.
• You don’t have to be team captain to be a leader.
• Winning at office politics is really about watching how you carry yourself.
• Take ownership of your mistakes and never blame anyone.
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Do post game interviews.• Control your story before others do.
• Ask others what they think of your performance and where they think you can improve. This is easy to do around review time since everyone is worried about their own situation.
• If you’re not happy with the current PR you’re receiving, then someone else is controlling your story.
• Take steps to fix it and get the story straight.
• If you want to be known as the tireless worker who is first in and last to leave, then act like it.
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Shake hands at the end of the game.
• Even if you leave an organization on bad terms, don’t burn any bridges with anyone. The odds are high that you will see some of these people again in your career.
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Winning at office politics is just like playing basketball. As with any game, it takes practice and the more you do it, the better you’ll get.
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I don’t mean to gossip, but…
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Office Gossip - Outline
• The Grapevine Concept• Detriments of Office Gossip• Benefits of Office Gossip• Three Ways to Deal with Gossip
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The Grapevine Concept
• The Grapevine Concept is the informal communication network of an organization.
• It is also…• An unofficial way of relaying
news • Personal Gossip• Informal and Unstructured
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Detriments of Office Gossip
• Incorrect information is passed along.
• Contributes to the spread of rumors
• Creates conflicting loyalties• Counteracts company values• Encourages resistance to
management plan
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Benefits of Office Gossip
• Provides an outlet for stress, tension, and anxiety
• Makes work less boring• Showcases future leaders• Provides feedback on employee
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Three Ways to Deal with Gossip
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1) Analyze the Gossip
• When your colleague comes to you with some new gossip to tell, try answering the following questions.• What are his or her motives for telling me
this?• Does this news have any basis?
• The important thing to remember is that it’s never good to cause any false speculation or slander. Dishonest news will only create negative outcomes such as resentment. 42
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2) Encourage Positive Conversation
• Always prefer to work in a healthy and positive environment than in a tense, backstabbing one.
• Try becoming a role model in the promotion of good conversation especially if you’re the team leader.
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3) Act Immediately.
• First, clarify with anyone involved.• Next, talk to the person who has been
spreading the mean gossip about you. • Try to discover and solve the source of
animosity. Clear any misunderstanding and resentment.
• Be calm and patient during the conversation.• Lastly, show how untrue the office gossip is by
acting a way that contrasts the chatter.44
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Answers to Pre-Test1. TRUE2. FALSE3. TRUE4. FALSE5. TRUE6. TRUE7. TRUE8. TRUE9. FALSE10. TRUE
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We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. --Aesop
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Instead of being concerned that you have no office, be concerned to think how you may fit yourself for office. Instead of being concerned that you are not known, seek to be worthy of being known. --Confucius
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Thank you.
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