Office Politics Don’t Have to Be Toxic

Office politics might seem unpleasant, but the ability to build relationships, access opportunities, and influence others is critical for anyone's professional development. Employees from underrepresented groups are often excluded from the informal mechanisms of office politics, which makes it difficult for them to advance. Toxic organizational cultures can lead employees to disengage from politics, which can hurt their career prospects, while inclusive cultures can foster participation in healthy office politics. The authors offer five strategies to help organizations build healthy cultures in which all employees are able to engage in and reap the benefits of office, based on an analysis of in-depth interviews with ethnic minority employees in the UK and a broad array of prior research on politics, leadership, and inclusion.

There is no escaping office politics. In any workplace, the ability to network, build relationships, and influence others is important. Research has shown that office politics is a white man's game as women and ethnic minorities often have less powerful networks and benefit less from engaging in politics than their white, male counterparts do.