Surviving Office Politics

Office politics include not only the hierarchy of command in companies, but also the manipulative tactics people use to be more powerful at work.

Here are some examples:

• Your coworker tries to take credit for your innovative idea.

• Your boss tries to undermine your success.

• Your supervisor won’t put your important problem on the staff meeting agenda.

“Office politics plagues almost everyone, but some people are able to manage it because they have appropriate coping and problem-solving skills,” says Dina Beach Lynch, J.D., conflict management expert and CEO of WorkWellTogether.com in Boston.

The following coping and problem-solving skills can help you improve most political situations.

Assess the situation

If a coworker bad-mouths you or blames you for something that is not your fault, ask yourself, “What am I really upset about?”

“You may be more upset because you were made to look incompetent to your boss than you are about what actually happened,” says Ms. Lynch.

Your boss has seen your good work, however, so give him or her some credit for being able to see through the person who’s trying to undermine you.

Get a new perspective

When a colleague says something untrue about you, it’s easy to assume the worst.

But there could be another reason for the behavior. Was the person having a bad day? Was something going on at work or in his or her personal life that was causing a lot of tension? Did you learn something from the situation that could benefit you in the future?

Vent

Although venting isn’t problem-solving, getting things off your chest can calm your nerves, and letting off steam may help you see things more clearly.

Caution: To avoid repercussions, it may be best to vent to someone outside of work.

“Be sure to let the person know in advance that you’re just venting, so the person doesn’t think he or she has to fix your problem,” suggests Ms. Lynch.

Simply ask, “Can I have five minutes of your time to talk about a situation at work? I don’t want you to do anything. Just listening to me will help me figure things out.”

Once you can think clearly about the real dilemma, you can take some action to solve it by trying the following.

Be direct

If there’s a situation involving another employee, you can address it directly with him or her. Many times people are unaware of how their behavior affects others. If you address the situation in a positive way, you’re likely to get positive results.

First, say, “There’s something I would like to talk with you about. When would it be convenient for you to meet with me?” Try to choose a neutral location, such as a restaurant or the employee break room.

When you meet, simply state what the person did, how it affected you and what you would like him or her to do.

If you do it right, you will have asserted yourself in a way that will allow the other person to save face, and because you spoke up, the situation isn’t likely to happen again.

Get help

If someone is undermining you, you may feel like grumbling to the human resources (HR) manager. Doing so, however, can earn you a reputation as a complainer.

A better way to approach the HR staff is to ask for help devising a strategy to solve a hypothetical situation.

“Using these coping and problem-solving skills, you’ll be better able to handle the annoying and manipulative behaviors that accompany office politics,” says Ms. Lynch. “Chances are, you’re a lot more powerful than you think you are in your ability to handle problems in the workplace.”