Everyone at some point in their career has been a victim of, or intentionally and unintentionally participated in office politics. The truth is that selfish and manipulative workers are found everywhere; it is how you deal with these workers that determine the stability of your workforce.
As a manager, no one wants their team to focus on bringing each other down, or feel insecure with the successes of the other. Often, highly talented and resourceful individuals put their careers on the line due to some petty issue at the workplace. The management’s inability to tackle office politics can result in problems that are everlasting and even more challenging to deal with.
Here is a list of reasons how office politics ends up damaging the workplace if management does not take serious efforts to counter it.
1. Promotes Division
Firstly, it is crucial to realize that even with all the restrictions possible, it is still challenging to battle office politics. All the management needs to do is to ensure that the negative feelings between colleagues don’t spill out into something disastrous.
One effect of rampant office politics is that it promotes division in the office. Sides are formed, and alliances are made, each with the objective of downing the other side. This can have grave consequences because colleagues in the same department are looking for ways to degrade each other’s work, resulting in a great divide. Not only does this lower the productivity and quality of the work, but it also channels the objectives and goals of the staff in a different direction.
A company that has employees with contrasting objectives will face severe challenges in their pursuit of growth and stability.
2. Battle for Power
Once the office politics takes its toll over a workplace, the employees look for unfair means to gain an advantage over their colleagues. This starts an ugly battle for power that is never-ending and can result in the possible termination of an employee.
Leaders who get the authority look for ways to berate their colleagues with whom they have had differences in the past.
Only a valid chain of command and effective communication can hamper this battle for power. Since human beings have the tendency to fight for authority, a battle such as this is bound to happen at any workplace. The management should look for ways to limit this battle and ensure that no one is treated with injustice.
3. Productivity
So far, we have only discussed the affect office politics can have on the environment of a workplace, however, in the long run, the picture becomes even gloomier.
The productivity of the company is affected by petty differences in the workplace. This has long-lasting effects on various functions of the business and can become a source of huge losses for a company.
Given the enormous implications, owners of businesses need to look for ways to tackle office politics in a more severe yet refined manner
