What is Politics ?

• Employees who do not believe in working hard depend on nasty politics to make their position secure at the workplace.
• Employees play politics simply to come in the limelight and gain undue attention and appreciation from the seniors.
• Politics refers to irrational behavior of the individuals at the workplace to obtain advantages which are beyond their control.
• No body has ever gained anything out of politics; instead it leads to a negative ambience at the workplace.

Effects of politics on organization and employees:

1. Decrease in overall productivity

   • Politics lowers the output of an individual and eventually affects the productivity of the organization.
   • Common observation says that individuals who play politics at the workplace pay less attention to their work.
   • They are more interested in leg pulling and back biting. They spend most of their times criticizing their fellow workers.
   • As a result of politics at the workplace, employees fail to achieve targets within the stipulated time frame. Work gets delayed in such an organization.

2. Affects Concentration

   • Individuals find it difficult to concentrate on their work. They are more interested in spoiling the other person’s image in front of the superiors.
   • An individual involved in politics is bound to make more mistakes as his focus is somewhere else.

3. Spoils the Ambience

   • Politics leads to a negative environment at the workplace.
   • It spoils the relationships amongst individuals. An individual playing politics at the organization is disliked by all.

4. Changes the Attitude of employees

   • Politics changes the attitude of the employees.
   • Even the serious employees lose interest in work and attend office just for the sake of it.
   • Internal politics do not allow employees to give their hundred percent at work.
   • No matter how much hard work an employee puts in, it goes unnoticed in a politically driven organization.

5. Demotivated employees

   • A non performer can be the apple of his boss’s eye simply due to politics, thus demotivating the performers.
   • Discussions are essential at the workplace to extract the best out of employees. Evaluating the pros and cons of an idea always helps in the long run. Employees playing politics always look for an opportunity to tarnish the image of the fellow workers.
   • Employees feel demotivated when they are not rewarded suitably or someone who has not worked hard gets the benefits due to mere politics.

6. Increases Stress

   • It is rightly said that problems evaporate if discussed. Individuals find it difficult to confide in any of their fellow workers due to the fear of secrets getting leaked.
   • Politics increases the stress level of the employees. Individuals are not machines who can work continuously for 8-9 hours without talking to others. It is important to have friends at the workplace who help you when needed.
   • Individuals fail to trust each other.

7. Wrong Information

   • Employees indulged in politics manipulate information and it is never passed on in its desired form.
   • Superiors get a wrong picture of what is actually happening in the organization.
   • A wrong person walks away with the credit in an organization where employees are indulged in politics.

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