“Stop seeing it as office politics and start seeing it as office partnerships.”

 

Office politics are no stranger to anyone in the workplace today. For those who are unfortunate enough to be caught in this toxic environment, it can make life a living hell. Chances are you’ve encountered office politics sometime along in your career, and you’re looking for ways on how to deal with it.

The truth is that office politics and terrible work environments are becoming more predominant, as a result of the dogmatic structure that is behind most corporate companies today. On one hand are eager employees that want to work hard, contribute meaningful results to the company and climb the corporate ladder, and on the other hand, are those that don’t want others getting ahead of them. These kinds of people are the ones who create office politics and drama, who don’t like it when others get ahead of them in life and will do anything they can to prevent it from happening.

Office politics is very similar to something called ‘Crab Mentality’. If you put one crab in a bucket, it will manage to skulk out and escape. However, if you put a whole bunch of crabs together, not one crab will be able to find freedom. This is because when a crab begins to climb out of the bucket, the other crabs will do whatever it takes to pull the escaping crab back into the bucket. As a result, none of the crabs are able to climb up and escape to somewhere better – a very similar situation you’d encounter in a company where office politics run rampant and everyone is trying to pull each other down.

So how do you survive corporate office politics without losing your integrity, happiness and peace of mind?

The answer is: You can’t.

In any environment that you find yourself in, there will always be some form of politics. You can’t control how other people act, and you can’t control the mindset that they have. All you can do is focus on what you do have control over Yourself.

Office politics is a confrontation in which no one wins. If you’re stuck in a toxic environment, here are a few things you can do to protect yourself

First, you must know what kind of battle you are fighting. Who are the people creating all the drama? Who are the influential decision-makers? How should you behave? Your response towards when things happen is going to influence how much more easily or difficult things become. Mind your own business, think strategically…

Second, understand where it comes from. Is it jealousy that creates conflict between people? Or is it something else, something more personal? If people are out to get you if they’re sabotaging your work and making it difficult for you to progress in your company, think about what actions you can take to achieve the desired outcome. If a particular person is purposely delaying your work, you can speak to an influential decision-maker to get around the problem, instead of confronting it directly. “You must be formless, shapeless, like water.” – Bruce Lee

Third, ask yourself if it’s worth it. Is your health, and emotional well-being worth it? If you’re in a hopeless situation with no way out, walking away can be the best thing you can do. By choosing the decision to walk away, you don’t have to engage yourself in a war you had no intention of participating in, and may even discover an environment or company that is much more enjoyable to be in.

Rab Rakha!!!!!

Unwanted Gyaan Gurus in our life's😎😎

Honestly, I dislike people who offer me unsolicited advice and I've had a fair share of those kinds of people (nosy friends& pesky relatives) in my life . Nowadays I've learnt to flout these kinds of people, maybe even cut-off relationships if the behaviour persists and gets hard to manage. It’s really not worth getting into a squabble or trying to elucidate your point of view with these folks, because they tend to think that they are doing you a huge act of kindness by giving you their treasured advice.

Here’s a couple responses you could give out to these niches of people:

“Thank you. I’ll give that some thought.”

“Thank you. That might work. Let me think about it.”

“Huh. I never would have thought of that.”

“Interesting. I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

All of these are nods for the suggestion, yet are completely non-committal. Teaching people to not advocate anything to you is imprudent; none of us has waylaid the market on wisdom and experience, and sometimes the best solutions come from sources you’d never expect.

Nothing that anyone says ever has to be accepted in whole or in part until after it has been tested against reality. The beauty of this simple system is that it’s is impossible to be snubbed.

 Oh, and if it isn’t any good GYAN I just file it in the waste paper bin. Once in a while, I perceptually raid that bin to try crackpot ideas when all else fails. In short, keep your mind and your ears open. It will pay off.

Only the people who pay my bills have a right to offer unsolicited gyaan. Beware of such gyaani schmucks and keep them at one hand distance.

Rab Rakha!!!!!

 

A betrayal can spell the end of a friendship!

Backstabbing from friends or loved-one is the wickedest feeling and experience one can ever imagine. When we get deceived, we dwell on our memories with a backstabber, and then, questions our present situation, that I wish he/she had not done this.

Been there, gone through that and yes it hurts like hell! But the damage is already done and you can’t change your past, but you can ensure you aren’t stabbed again. The best advice is to keep this person miles away from you. If they apologize, accept the apology but don’t let them back in your life ever again!!

Lesson learnt: don’t let anyone get too close & have a “save your ass” file always to wiggle your way out of such situations!

It takes time, but to forge good friendships/relationships it takes years n to identify good and the bad, takes an eye!! Evaluate all the red flags you’ve ignored... You will automatically enforce caution the next time because this is a soul-level hurt!!

I saw this friend's manipulations and never looked at her the same way again. She had done other shady things in the past when it came to manipulating people and breaking people’s houses them but it wasn’t a behaviour I ever expected to be turned in my direction. It certainly opened my eyes and I learned she wasn’t a friend I could expect to have my best interests at heart, only her own.

So, Dust yourself, smile and say no one messes with me ever again a million times. Next time, choose your friends, trust your instincts and that little voice at the back of your mind. Remember what goes stabbing around gets stabbed around. 

Rab Rakha!!!!!