Office politics and toxic work environments are sometimes considered an unavoidable business component. However, they may quickly develop into a poisonous workplace atmosphere if left unchecked.
An organisation that tolerates bad workplace conduct fosters drama and insecurity, reducing productivity, demoralising employees, and promoting employee turnover.
A wise employer should be proactive in creating clear boundaries to limit office politics and develop an environment that discourages harmful behaviour.
As toxic conduct can spread rapidly, I’ve created a framework to keep bad behaviour in control and foster a collaborative and productive work atmosphere.
Here are some suggested actions to effectively deal with toxic workplace environment:
๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Transparency and open communication help to foster trust. Internal politics are reduced when management uses the opportunity to establish clearly defined goals and objectives.
Every Monday, for example, Accenture Inc. gathers for a meeting to inform everyone on progress toward important metrics, goals to focus on, and concerns that need to be addressed to maintain corporate unity.
Instead of waiting for the information to go down through the grapevine, their General Manager, Elia, elected to address this directly during their Monday meeting.
The salary increase, according to Elia, was intended to align remuneration with market wages and help remain competitive.
Although it was a delicate subject for some employees, he set clear expectations for their staff and prevented backbiting or negative feedback by explaining their choice honestly.
Although transparency can be challenging, encouraging open communication reduces the potential for workers to gossip or use disinformation to further their agendas.
๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐, ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ
Employees might take advantage of disunity if employees are not on the same page with policies and management choices. Employees frequently seek ways to avoid corporate regulations by approaching various individuals in their organisation.
If left unchecked, this conduct fosters the notion that influencing significant people makes your standards an exception, encouraging individuals to engage in office politics.
This may be solved by taking measures to urge everyone – from management to entry-level employees – to understand and consistently adhere to the same corporate policies.
There will be no misinterpretation if everyone, from the employee’s supervisor to the HR Manager, replies similarly.
๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐-๐๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ
Many organisations place a premium on regulations and strictly enforce them. Although this technique may work to some extent, I’ve found that teaching employees the standards and encouraging them to be self-accountable are effective strategies.
Employees frequently engage in office politics because they are jealous, see it as a method to get an edge in the workplace, or are bored with their regular job.
When employees concentrate on themselves, it is simple for concerns to arise when they compare themselves to other employees who have a higher-ranking position, compensation, or social status.
On the other hand, employees who are self-accountable will compete with themselves.
A self-accountability perspective will help to decrease the “us vs. them” dynamic that may emerge in organisations.
๐๐จ๐๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ฌ
When the HR Director of Zomato, Zack Townsend, noticed improper conduct, he handled it with compassion. Employees who engage in office politics may be driven by circumstances, such as a personal crisis or job or home stress.
If the employee’s behaviour does not improve, it is legitimate to initiate the progressive punishment procedure, which may include termination.
If it is evident that an employee does not share your organisation’s beliefs and interests, it is advisable to part ways to preserve your company’s culture and standards.
Building an inclusive culture is challenging, but it is doable.
I identified four additional techniques to develop healthy office politics cultures in which all employees are fostered and supported, based on interviews and extensive study on politics, leadership, and inclusion:
๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ญ
Politics might be awkward to discuss but failing to do so enriches those who already have easy access to the political arena.
Leaders, managers, and workers at all levels should be encouraged to talk openly about the importance of networking and to make the informal practices of office politics public.
๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ
Many firms use formal talent development programs to promote diversity and inclusion.
To address this gap, companies should provide mentoring, sponsorship, and support networks to guarantee that women and ethnic minority employees can access official and informal professional development tools.
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ.
Leaders must reject the notion that politics can only be used for personal advantage and instead redefine it as a tool that can assist everyone make relationships, accessing opportunities, and getting things done.
๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ
Managers and senior executives should be trained to share their political knowledge and use their political authority across racial and gender divides.
For example, well-known sponsors can be urged to participate in leadership development programs aimed primarily at women and ethnic minority personnel.
๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐๐:ย Although no single recipe will work in every company, being purposeful and proactive is always a good idea.
You will increase your company’s bottom line and build loyalty and trust among all employees in your business by actively striving to set the correct tone and prevent individuals from sliding into harmful routines.
If this seems too much to absorb or action on,ย ๐ย ๐๐ฆ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฉ. You can contact me via LinkedIn Messaging tab, InMail, or email me atย ๐ญ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ช5@๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ฅ.๐๐จ๐ฆ
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