"Office Politics"
Written on 6:17 PM by O
I have heard many people make blanket statements about women and gossip. I still don’t think it’s true as I am a woman and I detest the act, but a recent experience almost changed my opinion. “Office politics,” I have heard is the euphemism of which such gossip is a constituent. Whatever it is, I don’t believe it is the best route for a trip up the ladder. Needless to say, it’s a game I won’t ever be good at.
I recently resigned from a position I took up in January in an office full of women. On my first day, I was warned by the one close in age to myself to watch what I say around the others as their intentions were not always straight forward. In a few weeks, I found that she was one of those I needed to watch out for the most; she always had a little bit more to say about others than I appreciated. So, I have developed a strategy to deal with gossip at the office as I am sure it will rear its ugly head my way sometime in the future.
What’s my brilliant plan? Well, my plan is to just be me. Most people who know me will say the same things about me as it concerns my personality.
· So, I decided that I’ll share my opinion where it matters and I will change it when convinced it should change.
· As much as it might hurt the other person, I’ll tell the truth when asked. There just isn’t a good reason to lie, especially if the lie does not help the other person in the long run.
· I will not say something in the absence of someone that I will not be able to repeat in that person’s presence. It’s just fair and I don’t mess with Karma.
· I will be at peace with everyone as much as I possibly can. This does not mean that I will avoid confrontation but it means that I will not meddle in business that is not mine so as to avoid being dragged into messy situations. It also means that people will know me well enough to know when someone else mentions something about me that does not fit.
These things worked for me from kindergarten through college and from my recent experience, the rules of the game don’t change much, perhaps until people get old enough to know that they are not always in competition.
