Polictics in the Workplace I was asked by a close friend how can you survive in an atmosphere where politics are so thick you can't see any good?

Regardless of the degree to which employees may be committed to the change of an organization and it reaching its objectives, there can be little doubt that, at least occasionally, personal interests will be incongruent with those of the organization. Organizational politics arises when people think differently and want to act differently because they want to have an influence over decision-making. There are secret societies within organizations that have set up political systems based upon power relationships in day-to-day organizational relationships. The introduction of change becomes an all out turf war. Political systems can break down communication deliberately and cause the timeframe of change to be altered all because a group or individual feels threaten by change.

Politics are the necessary evil all of us like when we play the game well but we hate when the game does not give us a "fair shake". I do not encourage politicking in the work environment. I have worked in small and large organizations and politics is an ever-present force. From being nice to the janitor so she/he will empty your trash everyday to being nice to the boss so he will give you that enviable office or raise, we all play it and we all understand the rules. I guess we all start learning the rules at home and at nursery school. Politics is a very human thing, so let us all just laugh at it so we can cope with it better.