Postma (2021) noted that “despite all the negative connotations, office politics are not inherently evil. They are about two things: influence and relationships...” Leadership is essentially about people and relationships. Since office politics and leadership have the same thing in common, i.e., relationships, then it is safe to conclude that they are interconnected. It is essential that leaders learn how to navigate the politics that occur in their workplace especially since it can create a toxic work environment.
Like there are two sides to every story and two sides to every coin, office politics has both its positives and negatives. As such, office politics is not always a bad thing. Mishra (n.d.) pointed out some of the pros and cons of organizational politics. Some pros include:
It helps you to focus on what's important to you. Some people do not like office politics but engage in it for strategic and hidden reasons.
Office politics can build your character and give you thick skin and the resilience needed to survive and outlast.
Office politics can provide useful information and intelligence that can positively affect the organization.
It can help expand one’s social network.
On the flip side, the negatives are:
Employees who do not have political skills and are unable to manage relationships effectively can experience high stress and low productivity issues.
It can result in wasted time and reduced production in cases where people focus on their personal lives.
It can create highly competitive and toxic work environments.
It can be a contributing factor in employee termination, resignation etc affecting the company’s turnover and retention rates.
Despite its pros and cons, it is important to focus on the bigger picture. In the end Riggio (2021) noted that it is how we play the political game that really matters.
Krista
MDE student
University of Maryland Global Campus
University of Maryland Global Campus | UMGC
References
Mishra, A. K. (2019, February 1). The Pros and Cons of Office Politics | YFS Magazine. YFS Magazine | Young, Fabulous & Self-Employed. https://yfsmagazine.com/2018/08/15/the-pros-and-cons-of-office-politics/
Postma, N. (2021, October 11). You can’t sit out office politics. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2021/07/you-cant-sit-out-office-politics