How to Handle Politics in the Workplace as an HR?
Introduction
Workplace politics are inevitable. People with a personal interest affect the environment through these behaviours. People want more power over their co-workers. People involved in this, spread rumours for others. They also backstab the competent employees for their personal gains. People involved in this are narcissists, professional climbers, and gossipers. They can’t compete with the talent, so they get involved in these practices. Most of the time, it is due to the minimal engagement of employees. Absence of the common vision may also increase the chances of workplace politics. Office politics affect the workplace in many ways. It increases the turnover of the employees. Organisational politics increase the dissatisfaction rate of employees. They leave the organisation due to office politics (khan et al., 2020). The organisation’s reputation and employees’ productivity are also affected by these activities. It is not possible to exclude politics from the workplace. But HR can overcome these practices by using different techniques.
Some practices that HR can use to overcome office politics are as follows.
Create A Bond Between The Employees
HR can overcome workplace politics by creating a strong bond between employees. HR can also build a good relationship with the employees. Building a good relationship decreases the chances of workplace politics. Managing relations effectively also bridges the communication gap. Employees of coursework writing services firm can share their problems with the management without any fear. Management can also share their plans and demands with the employees. A good relationship creates a win-win strategy for both participants. Organisations may use different strategies for building the relationship between employees. They use the same cafeteria for employees and management to overcome this gap. In this way, the employees feel comfortable with the management. They also end up sharing their problems with them. The cafeteria also plays a role in spreading workplace politics. Presence of management in the cafeteria also helps overcome the chance of any political activity. Organisations also organise different sports activities to make their employees happy. It also helps in creating a bond between the organisation’s employees and management. HR can also organise dinners for the employees on a monthly basis. Management shares their policies with the employees on such occasions. These are some practices that organisations can use to overcome workplace politics.
Share A Common Vision
Lack of sharing a common vision may lead to workplace politics. Organisations may exclude politics by sharing a common vision. If employees have the same vision, their priorities are also the same. For achieving a common goal, they work together as a team. The same goal excludes personal interest. But for this, organisations have to create a great vision. A vision that attracts every employees’ attention. Every employee backs off from their individual interests in this vision. A common vision is very effective for excluding politics. But for this, organisations have to create a great vision. This vision is not only created to meet the organisation’s goal. It also has something important for employees. People with personal interests may not survive in this environment. People do not support selfish ones at the cost of great vision. Creating and sharing a strong vision may also help overcome any unwanted workplace activities. Visionary organisations overcome their office politics by sharing their vision with the employees.
Develop Your Assets
Employees are the assets of an organisation. Every employee wants to develop their skills for career growth. Organisations have to develop the skills of their employees. It gives a message to the employees that the organisation takes care of them. Developing programs for employees may play a crucial role in overcoming workplace politics. Organisations can conduct different kinds of training for developing their employees. They also work on the development of their interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills are crucial for understanding moral values of the workplace. Organisations may also send their employees to different academic programs. These development programs are not only beneficial for the employees. They also help organisations in the long run as well. Organisations have to utilise different developing programs for the development of employees. These programs strengthen the bond between employees and organisations, decreasing workplace politics along the way.
Don’t React To Negative Rumours
Most of the rumours come to an end if you’re not responding to them. Most of the time negative politics spread because of the response. If you hear rumours about workplace politics, don’t show a quick response. Your response may work as fuel on the fire. Managing workplace politics is not an easy task. The management needs to show their best professional behaviour to deal with it. The response of an organisation’s management has a crucial role. This is in regard to either fueling or overcoming workplace politics. You need to be both confident and assertive. Your aggressive behaviour can possibly worsen the situation. It is important to neutralise politics by the positive response. So, this approach is helpful in overcoming office politics.
Welcome The New Ideas
Every employee of the cheap dissertation writing services firm wants appreciation from their organisation. They also want to be an important member of the organisation. Employees have different ideas for the betterment of the organisational performance and stability. They want to share these ideas with the organisation’s management. If organisations don’t give importance to their ideas, they adopt a negative approach. This negative behaviour involves them in workplace politics. It is important for organisations to welcome their ideas. These ideas may prove beneficial for the organisation. This approach may also boost the confidence of employees. Employees’ trust in an organisation also increases in this manner. They feel a sense of ownership in an organisation. They start considering themselves an important part of their organisation in general. Welcoming the ideas from employees takes them away from workplace politics.
Conclusion
Workplace politics is one of the biggest challenges organisations faces today. Such practices affect the reputation of the company. They also affect the internal environment of an organisation. Workplace politics dissatisfy the employee, and they start looking for other opportunities (Walton, 2018). It is important to adopt practices that help in overcoming workplace politics. Organisations can manage politics effectively by building a good relationship with the employees. Good relations build a good environment. Sharing the vision with employees also improves the environment. Development of employee skills has significant importance. These pieces of training boost their confidence. The approach of management for reacting is also crucial regarding office politics. Positive responses neutralise the negative ones. Organisations have to welcome ideas from their employees so that they can feel more confident. All strategies highlighted above ensure that the employees stay as far away from workplace politics as possible.
References
Khan, t., kaewsaeng-on, r., hassan zia, m., ahmed, s., & khan, a. Z. (2020). Perceived organizational politics and age, interactive effects on job outcomes. Sage open, 10(3), 2158244020936989.
Walton, j. (2018). Exploring reasons for employee turnover: a case study of the retail industry in atlanta, georgia (doctoral dissertation, northcentral university).