Office Politics
 

So we've got our office holiday party coming up tomorrow and it's causing a big hubbub. Basically our CFO is taking party attendance pretty seriously...it will go into account for bonus evaluations at the end of the quarter, people who were getting awards but didn't want to come to the party are no longer getting their awards and crap like that. This office is huge on "team spirit" and if you're not a joiner you're pretty much screwed. A friend of mine, on the other hand, works for a small IT firm and said that they don't have anything like that, and no one really gives a crap if you participate in office activities, there's no "in crowd" in their office, all of which is totally different from mine.

Do office politics play a big part in your work place? Does it bother you? Do you do activities just because you know it will play into those politics?

That is some BS in my opinion. What if people dont want to celebrate holidays? What if they had a recent death in their family and dont feel the "holiday spirit"? I know I wasnt feeling up to things the year my grandmother passed away (she passed away a few years ago in December). People shouldnt have to go where they dont WANT to go. And I bet its not during work hours so you probably have to take off YOUR PERSONAL TIME to go to the event. That is garbage. Your CFO should NOT put that in your performance evaluations and I would write him an anonymous letter. In fact if you trust people in the office, get them to write anonymous letters too (but do this ONLY if you can trust them because it might get back to the CFO).

If I were you, I would "show my face" at the party, make sure the CFO sees me, and then sneak out the back door.

Well lucky for me, I'm a joiner. I'm looking forward to going to the party. And if people have a legit excuse then of course that will be taken into account. And he's using it for bonus evaluations, not perfomance. It is sort of BS, but a bonus is a bonus and you can take things like "team spirit" into account.

The whole thing had just gotten me thinking about how much office politics play into certain jobs...I'm sure there are some bosses that take things like going to happy hour or attending parties into consideration when looking at promotions and things like that.

My office is very "team spirited", but my manager isn't. It's kind of weird. Do I go along with my management, or the rest of the company? The project I work on is very seperate from the rest of the company - we don't really have anything to do with what the core competencies are, if you get my drift.

I dont know, I guess I am hardcore but the way I see it, "my time" is "my time". I will be friendly and social at the workplace, I will work hard and be a team player, but when its time for me to go, its time for me to go. I shouldnt HAVE to go to happy hour to "cheese" in peoples faces if I dont have to. But I guess it all goes into that "networking" thing. :rolleyes:

I'm a pretty big joiner/attender, even if it is with people who I dislike. That better get me ahead (at least somewhat) when I join the workforce. :mad:

As much as you'd like to avoid it, you have to play office politics or you will be passed over for the big projects and eventual promotions. You may be thinking I'm wrong, but I've been out of school for awhile and after doing my fair share of job-hopping and reading articles and books on careers, I feel you'll arrive at the same conclusion: Office Politics are inevitable.

Think of yourself as the rule, rather than the exception, and play along.

And if you're currently a collegiate Greek, now is a great time to practice among your fellow Greeks and officers.

Is this any different at any other point in your life?

Politics always matter.

In my line of work, office politics is a given. There is a group mentality and if you don't follow you are screwed.

-Rudey

No, it's not different really, but politics are different to a degree in each office. Like you said, you have a group mentality and I'm sure there's much more pressure in your line of work to be a joiner than in mine. I'm not complaining or anything, just wanted others to share...

hehehe I just thought it would be hilarious if you put up a sign that said "Used Douche" by the punch at your party. hehehehe even the guys over 40 would find that funny. And if they didn't laugh they would be fired. hehehe

office politics can be tough. you need to go regardless, its just part of the job.

Office Party
 

Mandatory Group Morale booster events are part of the job. It sounds like what the CFO is after is building team cohesion and strength. I'm not familiar with the situation or job but if the environment is very fast pace and intense then the odds are that most people haven't been allowed the opportunity to learn about their co-workers/management. The further you get into your career you will learn that the most successful leaders at the top of the company have strong people skills. That's 1/2 of the battle of getting into that position. Think of the holiday party as a training opportunity that you can use to help your future. Good leaders want to be the person that everyone likes in the office. If you have that as a leader you will have a strong group of employees that will back you up anytime. Sometimes to earn that you need to be able to relate to your workers as not only a manager but as a person. If you have that it will only increase productivity and performance. That in turn will increase profitability or the success of the group if you're in a non-profit org.