The Most Toxic Thing In The Workplace

There has been great emphasis on workplace culture in recent years with people choosing great workplaces and perks over higher salaries.  It is great news for businesses as it can save them money and get great people on board! More companies have consciously worked on their culture to attract the right talent and keep it, however, there is one aspect of the workplace that can poison your efforts and that is office politics.

It’s very easy to say as an individual or even as a team that you’re going to stay out of workplace politics; however, this is not always possible.  Office politics often arise when there are unfair, biased decisions being made – i.e. when an individual or team is treated differently from another.  It can happen with the smallest decisions such as ‘flexible working’ or ‘annual pay rises’ (which, as much as you think people don’t discuss with one another – they really do).

When office politics arise, it is important to quickly diffuse them; however, avoiding them altogether should be your primary concern. How do you avoid office politics poisoning your office?

Make all benefits available to everyone

Workplace benefits come in all shapes and sizes; however, problems tend to arise when certain benefits are given to some and not others.

If you offer flexible working or working-from-home options - then make it available to everyone.  Benefits should not be limited to your favourite members of the team.  If you have hired right, then you should trust everyone in your team to not take advantage of the benefits you offer to them.

If there are certain benefits that can be earned such as bonuses, then make sure it’s clear to everyone how they can achieve them for themselves.

Workload is also another benefit that may be overlooked. It can be tempting for managers to give the best potential deals to their ‘favourite’; however, this can cause a lot of problems for internal politics. Always be fair and treat everyone equally.

Favouritism and treating members of the team differently is the stem of most office politics, which ultimately causes people to leave your company in the long run.

Be open and honest

Office politics also tend to arise when management is not open and honest with their entire team. If there are changes in the company that are going to happen, be honest with people – find out their opinions and how it will affect them and their work.  The more open and honest you are with your team, the more open and honest they will be with you – diminishing the chances of behind-the-scenes gossip and negativity.

Have meetings where information is shared, and there are open discussions between you and your team, and the team itself. Having an opportunity for individuals to be heard will prevent negativity and make your employees feel valued.

Offer the same support and training

Offering support to your employees is important; however, there are often one or two members of the team who are vocal about needing more support than others.  This does not mean that the others in your team do not need support.  Check-in with everyone and offer the same support and training to everyone; you do not want your team dynamic to change because people think others are getting more support than them. 

Schedule regular training sessions and give people the option to attend. Giving individuals control over whether they attend training sessions will encourage decision-making and continuous learning.