It’s impossible to avoid office politics. The capacity to network, develop relationships, and persuade others may have a negative rep, yet it is essential in any profession.
Unfortunately, research has revealed that office politics is often a white man’s game, with women and racial minorities having fewer influential networks and reaping fewer benefits from political participation than their white, male colleagues.
This makes women hate office politics. Creating an inclusive atmosphere is, of course, hard at times, but it is doable.
Tips to Have a Healthier Office Politics
The following are the strategies that have been discovered to assist organizations in fostering healthier office politics systems.
1. Be open and honest.
It’s tough to communicate about politics, but declining to do so simply enriches those who do have easy influence in the political system. It’s vital to be open about the prevalence as well as importance in politics in ensuring that all staff are included.
2. Ensure that informal individual career assets are accessible.
Many firms use formal coaching and mentoring programs to promote equality and diversity. However, as it pertains to the informal, unauthorized relationships that drive office politics, this method is ineffective. Indeed, we discovered in previous study that successful career progression necessitates a combination of internal and external resources, with minority employees having less access to crucial informal resources.
3. Contextualise politics in a more positive light.
People’s political opinions can shift dramatically as an outcome of their work experience. As a result, leaders should recast politics as a tool that can assist everyone make relationships, centralized systems, and get things done, rather than as a tool and can only be used for self-gain.