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Photo: Jupiterimages

Are grown adults really capable of duking it out over who gets credit for a succesful project? Yes they are, say employment experts.

Office politics:
Are you a player?
BY INGRID PHANEUF

Most people have heard of the popular NBC

comedy series The Office, now in its fifth
season, which depicts in cringe-worthy detail
the ongoing power struggles of the staff of
the Dunder Mifflin corporation.
But are the situations and characters
depicted on the show just the product some
TV writers warped imagination, or do
employees really scrap over who gets to sit
by the boss at meetings? Can grown adults
at work really be that petty? The answer is,
like it or not, yes.
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MARCH 2009 jobpostings magazine

ost office politics are utter nonsense, says Dan Pink, Millennial
career guru and author of The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The last
career guide youll ever need.
But you cant just avoid them. Anytime you have more than one person
in an office, office politics will result.
Franke James, creator of the popular website officepolitics.com, agrees.
Says James who, with a team of advisers, has been dishing out advice to the
overwrought on her website for seven years now: I figure office politics is
about human relationships in the office and how you fit in and get ahead.
For young people entering the workforce, quickly developing an understanding of the relationships and procedures in their particular office
environment can be crucial.
I think a young person just finishing their studies should take a course
in anthropology before they get their first job, says Pink.
Indeed, career experts agree anyone starting a new job should start by
observing the rituals and processes of their new tribe to avoid major
gaffes that could affect their future success.

Respect the rules

For example, in Johnny Bunko, the title character makes the mistake
of going over his bosss head to present a new idea to his companys
CEO. The result is disastrous. Not only does Johnnys idea flop, he almost
gets fired.

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Company hierarchy is just one area where

workplace newcomers tend to mess up.
I remember we had a new employee who
annoyed everyone by not respecting the way
we did things, even though the way we do
things is pretty casual, says Jennifer Kushell,
CEO of YSN.com (Your success network) a
resource network for young people just starting their careers.
He was great but he would do things like
walk into management offices all the time, at
any time, without even making an appointment to speak to us. Other people in the office
started to get annoyed, because he was ignoring a process that was already in place.
Indeed, taking the time to get the lay of the
land, before just charging in like a bull in a
china shop at a new workplace is essential, says
Elizabeth Freedman, author of Work 101: Learning the Ropes of the workplace without hanging
yourself.
Your first step in any workplace should be
to zip your lip, listen and observe to see how
work really gets done, says Freedman. Resist
the urge to say a lot. Ask yourself who makes
the decisions. Check out the tone of emails.
And take the time to find out who you can
trust as an ally a mentor whos been around
the block and can give you feedback on how
things work and how your ideas and initiatives
will be received.
Pitching ten new ideas at your first meeting
is not necessarily a good idea, but getting
yourself invited to as many meetings as possible is, says Freedman.
Resist the impulse to do it all and say it all
and make it all happen for your first three
months on the job, she advises.

Where credit is due

Playing the game is about more than just
not offending your higher ups, point out career
experts. Getting along with your colleagues
can be just as important to your future success.
After all, who knows when theyll have a direct
impact on the outcome of your projects?
Young people who are new to the workforce can get particularly hung up about who
gets credit for their work, says Freedman.
Millennials can get really caught up in getting credit for what they do, but they should not
be so concerned about this. Sure there are genuine situations where someone gets all the
credit for the work youve done and nobody
knows but you but when Ive interviewed
employers theyve generally known where the
good ideas are coming from. You dont need to
be out there with a megaphone broadcasting to
the world. What you have to think about is what
your job is at the end of the day is it about making you look good? Or is it about serving your
companys best interests?

Of course, taking credit for your work isnt

the only thing colleagues can do to make your
life miserable. Put downs, offensive comments
and even offensive odors can challenge the
diplomatic skills of even the best politicians.

Dont make a fuss

For example, one recent writer to the officepolitics.com website expressed her frustration
with a superior whose perfume made her dayto-day job a living hell.
The writer was highly allergic to perfumes
and she was really struggling with how to tell
her manager, says James, who wrote back
suggesting the woman get a note from her
doctor advising her employer of her fragrance
sensitivity.
The important thing is to educate people
about the problem in a way that doesnt
offend anyone, James adds. Its important to
keep issues impersonal, on the level of the condition of the sufferer rather than the personal
hygiene of the person theyre complaining
about. Also get as much information as you
can about what your rights are in the workplace. That way you dont have to tell anyone
that their odour offends you.

Pick your battles

But what about irritating or downright
destructive behaviours at work? For example, the woman in IT whose male
supervisor continually ridicules her in front
of male co-workers and who is continually
passed over for promotions despite her
obvious competence?
There are at least two schools of thought on
this, at least according to seemingly conflicting
comments from advisers on James website:
Quit if no one will listen or fight the good fight.
In his guest appearance as an adviser on the
officepolitics.com website, Daniel Pink, posing as
his career advice manga character Diana writes:
Seems like you have two options. #1. You can
file a lawsuit for sexual harassment since your
workplace might qualify as a hostile environment. #2. Or you can get out.
Since Im not a lawyer and since you
shouldnt be taking legal advice from a manga
character think about that second option.
Whats going on in your workplace is ridiculous,
uncalled for, and demeaning. [But talking to
your boss alone] might not work. Which
means that ultimately, youre better off working
somewhere besides that locker room full of
rodents.
James, for her part, recommends that the
woman fight the good fight instead, by building her profile in the IT community, blogging
and bonding with other women in the field,
donating time to online programming activities and submitting papers so that, no matter

what, her power and voice in the IT community

is increased.
Of course, someone could just be so drained
of energy by the behavior of their colleagues
that a move could be the only answer.

Find your tribe

Which brings us to the unavoidable fact that
not all tribes are for everyone.
There are a lot of letters on the website
from people who get jobs then realize they
dont fit in with the culture, admits James.
Thats why its so important for new grads to
try to figure out if theyll be happy in a given
workplace culture before they get the job.
Cultures can vary hugely from workplace to
workplace, she adds. Just think about the differences between working for a company like
Google and working for a bank.
Indeed, its important to get started on the
right foot, but many jobseekers dont put in the
research they should, experts agree.
Its my belief that people in general dont
do enough interviewing themselves when
theyre interviewing for a job, says Pink.Dont
forget you can ask questions too, about how
the office works and how they like their job.
And its really important to use your network
to find people who work or used to work at the
company youre interested in. I regret not having done that myself when I was working for
other people. Its extraordinarily valuable to get
other peoples takes especially when youre
planning on spending the next three to five
years of your life somewhere.
Millennials have a tendency to overestimate
their ability to change a companys culture,
says Pink.But if youre looking for a perfect fit,
its going to be a long search, he adds.

Practice makes perfect

So how do you learn to play the game of
office politics without becoming the bully,
the brownnoser or the butt of your co-workers jokes?
Practice makes perfect, says James, whose
website posts reams of advice on how to handle difficult and/or delicate situations at work.
In fact, James has developed a card game that
allows workers to practice their political skills
without firing off a single email. The card
game offers players the opportunity to give
advice on how to handle several scenarios. A
new version of the game should be published
in the very near future. (For info, visit
www.officepolitics.com).
In the meantime, Pink offers some words of
encouragement: Dont be discouraged by
your mistakes, its just part of learning, and
remember youre probably never going to get
a perfect fit. Spare yourself some pain by taking an anthropological approach.
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