Office politics - a primer

Politics has been around in the world from the day humans started living as a group. As society formed, different personalities came together and also the need to survive or thrive in this society. This need made people do many things, both positive and negative. That's politics. However, in the current environment, the definition of politics is almost solely negative and we will stick with that. No walk of life has been left untouched by it because no matter where we go, we have to deal with people and everywhere people are trying to get on top. Some try to do it the 'right' way, some try to do it a different way. You just can't escape politics.

Office, is like a mini world. You start working there, you interact with the people and machines around you, and you exit the company at some point in time. The politics in a company is similar to politics in the world - only difference being the scale of things. You may love it, you may hate it, but you can't ignore it.

Some of the key type of people that you need to beware of in office are (credit - Henry Lee) -

1. Manipulators - Will exploit and manipulate others to achieve their ends
2. Brownnosers - Will constantly try to please the bosses in all possible ways
3. Cliques - A coterie of people who will always play their game together
4. Gossipers - 'Information carriers'
5. Backstabbers - Will use your trust in them to backstab you, sometimes using the gossipers
6. Pseudo-bosses - Will make you work as if it's their right to order you around
7. Thieves - Will take credit of your work
8. Sabotage experts - Will sabotage your work so they can look better than you

Whether you decide indulge in politics or not, these people are always a threat to you in any office. So beware of them and deal with them accordingly. While you can't always succeed, it's always good to understand what type a person is so that you can at least be careful. As it is, when you work in any organization, there are only 3 choices in front of you (politically speaking) - 

1. Play the game - Before you decide to do it, you better be fully prepared for the consequences. Once you're in it, you can't get out of it. So, do this only if you are fully committed and you have that kind a mind that will let you play it well. As Cersei Lannister says in the Game of Thrones - 'When you play the game of thrones, you either win or you die; there's no middle ground.'
2. Let others play the game while you sway in the wind based on the outcomes - This is what most people tend to do, because they do not have what it takes to play the game - and there's nothing wrong in it. They are like a lord's army in the game of thrones. They keep working away in the direction that the powers decide and change direction when told to do so. In a way it's a less stressful job since there's no constant scheming and plotting going on in the mind. So, if you want live comparatively peacefully, this is the way to go.
3. Put blinkers on and hope that others will leave you alone - Some people are like this. They want to believe that there is no politics going on or that, even if there's politics, they will not be affected by it because they are so good at their work that they will always survive. While it is a good way to feel better about yourself, it may not always work because, remember, no one is indispensable. Being good at your job, can only take you so far.

You may succeed or fail after deciding to take a particular path. But no matter what you decide to do out of the three, there's one thing that you should always do - be yourself. No one else is you and you are no one else. Always remember that and stick to what you are. Whether in the world or in office, being yourself is always beneficial for you. As Tyrion Lannister says in the Game of Thrones - 'Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.'