It does not matter where you work, whether it be in an executive office or in a cafe serving hot coffee, you will still have to deal with workplace politics or otherwise known as office politics. Positioning yourself above it and staying ahead is key to surviving in the workplace. Some tips to doing this are as follows:
1. Stay levelheaded when in the office (or workplace). No matter what goes down, staying calm, cool and collected will keep you above it all. When incidents do occur, try to put them in perspective and move on.
2. Be fair with your co-workers, even if you do not like them. Do not be part of the playing favorites game. Everyone is grown up here and everyone should be treated equally. If confrontation does happen, stay diplomatic. Conduct yourself in a respectful manner and be polite and courteous regardless of any personal feelings.
3. Do not take things to heart. Too many times, people either quit or get fired because they take everything that happens in the workplace too personally. Do yourself a favor and do not be one of those types of people. If your boss is giving you constructive criticism, take it just as it was intended to be and use it to learn from and better yourself.
4. Knock heads with the right kind of people. Find that network of allies that you can learn from. This isn’t to say they have to be your friends. They are the people you need around you to provide you will information, connections, experience and resources to move up the ladder.
You do not have to fall trap to office politics. You can be unique and individual and let the others fall trap to it. This will put you above the rest which is key to more recognition, bigger raises and promotions. Plus, the office is a place to work not play romper room, if you want to read some more office stories from the front lines I really recommend that you visit this Enigin site!