Did you know about work politics?

Post Reply New Topic

I told a 38 year old friend today that there is such a thing as work politics, and she not only didn't know what it was, but she also dismissed it as an unimportant thing on a job.

(note: she was fired from her hitech job yesterday)

office politics are everywhere. Of course I know about it.
You gotta play the game.

Yes I know about mine. I didn't know what an awful place my work is because of what they don't provide like the other hotels do but I stay for the money I'm making. I wouldn't leave work for another job because then I be making less money or be working less hours.

Double dose here. I not only have office politics in my office, but I work for a government agency. That's like office politics X's 25 sometimes.

She reacted some as if I was talking nonsense. I felt out of place.

I didn't really understand what it was until about two years in to my current job. I still don't understand it really, but I see what's going on now that I was moved up.

I'm in the only job I would want at my company and don't want to move up anymore. As long as I'm doing my work, I think my job is pretty secure. I was moved up based on my work, not on politics, so I'm okay.

It's can be pretty weird and underhanded though. Very jr high.

I don't know what it is. Someone wanna explain in a nutshell? At my office I get my own room and I sit here doing work and surfing the web on downtime. I say hi to people in the hallways. No politics that I can see.

I never knew what politics was (I thought I knew but turns out I didn't) and I always used to sustain that there was no politics in the places I worked. Obviously, there was a huge lot, but I was so totally clueless about the simplest of human games that of course I was living in another world while everyone else was playing the politics real hard.

Some people think politics is ass-kissing. Well, it is. But it's knowing who's and how and what for. It's like playing pool, you hit to the guy on the right so he'll hit the ball to his left, etc. and in the end the goodies come your way.

work politics for me is worse because there are lots of women in my office and they never say what they mean. in the kitchen a few weeks ago one of them was angry toward me becuase apparently I used the dishwashing liquid and I shouldn't have because i didn't buy it (neither did she). I went to my desk and told the bloke who sits opposite me about it and he shook his head saying 'she wasn't angry about the washing up liquid' and I had no clue what he meant. she should about washing up liquid so that is what she was angry about.
thing is in my environment i am one of the bosses so i don't engage in office politics i have the excuse of having to be above it all, and it works like a charm. i watch them all oblivious to what is going on and not getting involved and they all seem to think i am inpartial and trustworthy becuase of it, which is equally as confusing.
but the women are the worst, whole days can go by and some of them won't talk to others and everyone seems to know why except me, and its worse cause I am one but clearly not noticing who said what to who about the shoes she had just bought or something equally trivial.

Yep. Politics are everywhere. It sucks.

Basically, the corporation has a hierarchy and a set of rules. There is also a social aspect, and clique of sorts. Going outside of protocol can cause a reprimand or even bankrupt a company! It is often GARBAGE stuff! I have been reprimanded because I didn't tell some jerk what I was doing. An uncle of mine once couldn't do his work because he had to wait for a guy to replace the fuse on a machine for him. HE could easily have done it but, if he had, the electricians might have gone on strike.

BTW I was basically ignored and passed up because some idiot wasn't aware of me. FAR less capable people chatted with him, and got recognition for nothing really, etc... If they had been employees, they might be making 50% more than I am SIMPLY because they LITERALLY gave a person the time of day.

SO, what greentea said is right, common(HECK, I am in the US, she is in israel, and my uncle is in denmark!! !!), well known, in movies, etc... I would love to know how much it increases the price of the average product. The NAZIs probably lost the war, in good part, due to such politics.

poli - Many
tics - blood sucking creatures



Politics are everywhere it's just something you have to deal with.

There is in my office, though I don't really get it at times.

I guess I'm possibly just lucky that everyone in my office - which has 2 different 'groups' within the organisation based in it, and is nice and open-plan - gets on reeeally well. Like, I get on with everyone, so it's ok.

But then I hear about people not getting on, and lots of things that go on really snidely and subtley... exactly the kind of thing I don't pick up on very quickly. I'll get it eventually, just not right away. I know certain people don't like other certain people. I know there's a woman who's like the prefect, always telling tales and trying to make everyone stick to the rules as a kind of power game. Other than that, I don't really get it too much.

Though that could well be because we all get on pretty well really, and I tend to get on with people anyway... all bright and bubbly and smiley. Funnily enough, I'm a real extrovert and love people so it's all good!!

Example that I have seen:

One person in the group gets chummy with a team lead. Really chummy. New team lead position opens. Current team lead moves to a different team lead position and the chummy person gets her old position. Did she have the most experience? Nope. Two people who had been there longer and knew more. She was just personable. Not only that, but since the position that was sort of "created" for the chummy person, the job was vacated, but not advertised for...many people got screwed since no one knew about the open position. How much does that suck?

Another:

Team lead has issue with employee. Trumps up a long list of things the employee is doing wrong and sends emails about her to new boss who does not know her or past work experience. Has new boss write employee up for it. Team lead keeps tally of everything she's doing wrong (that wouldn't be a big deal if someone else did). Eventually both new boss and team lead convinces the woman to quit because the job isn't a good "fit for her." Then team lead sets sights on another employee that she had an issue with. When this employee saw the emails going out about by her (she was slipped one by someone who she was friends with), she just got annoyed and quit. b***h of it, this employee was one of the BEST there.

Here's another:

One person pretends to be a "friend" to another co-worker. He does not (that I see) correct him on how he could be doing his job more effectively. He complains instead to people higher up. I then hear him complain about the co-worker in an informal lunch we had with our boss, who is two bosses above the co-worker. This guy is going to get canned and has not been told how to effectively do his job even though he's repeatedly asked for training. Even the guy that is complain about his has stated to me many times that he's been screwed. And yet...he's helping get the guy canned.

Does any of those situations make sense or seem fair?

Nope. It's all office politics.

LOL-- the managers in my office are all ticks. hee hee They deal in retail... bleaaaahk!

I fly low on the radar because I have no management interest and am seen as the "funny, quirky one who can't be expected to play by the rules because she's so darn quirky". AS does have its advantages. =)