Peter Jackson column

Jun 14 2007 By Peter Jackson, The Journal

According to two recent studies, office politics are poisoning the atmosphere in business and adding to the burden on management.

A study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that almost half of 600 managers of global businesses admitted they were unable to handle back-stabbing, conspiracy, jealousy or plotting. A quarter regarded office politics as the toughest challenge they faced.

Another study by law firm Eversheds among 1,000 employees in UK companies, found almost a third of workers clashed with colleagues weekly and the problem is worse among 16 to 24-year-olds, among whom the proportion of the argumentative rises to 45%.

A particular problem for junior managers is others taking credit for their work, but four out of 10 believe known troublemakers to be a prime cause of office conflict.

There seems to be no evidence in the studies to suggest the problem is getting any worse. It would, indeed, be hard to imagine any form of human activity and organisation - whether it be a bowling club or college - where people do not vie for power and influence.

So, on one level, both studies might seem to be no more - as so many such studies are - than a statement of the bleedin' obvious.

But, even if the corrosiveness of office politics is long-standing, the same could be said of absenteeism or bullying and it does not mean it should not be recognised and attempts not be made to deal with it.

Office politics is, as the studies show, a problem for managers and it is down to them to solve it - by creating a culture in which practising politics is not rewarded.

This means, for instance, rewarding performance, rather than favours or friendship, and developing an objective means of measuring performance. It means accepting recommendations based on their merits or rejecting them because they are unsound, irrespective of the relationship with the person making them. It means fully explaining decisions.

Such policies will make the manager's life easier, and lessen the risks of litigation on the grounds of stress or bullying - and that's good politics.