Managing Office Politics While Working Remotely

Politics isn’t only practiced in government buildings and on the campaign trail. Learning how to deal with it in the workplace, whether you are working in an office or at home, can be key to being happy and successful at your job. Fortunately, you don’t have to have the skills of a senator to avoid political problems on the job.

“This is probably the last thing you want to be worried about it,” said Alan Hubbard, COO of NTI, a nonprofit organization that provides training for disabled Americans and places them in at-home jobs. “You just want to be doing your job the best you can. But the reality is, every business has a degree of politics involved and you want to make sure you aren’t on the wrong side of it.”

Being able to avoid office politics comes down to an understanding of how the company works, while striving to stand out at your job. Handling conversations and presenting your ideas in a professional manner are ways to set yourself apart from those who may choose to gossip and distract others from the mission of the organization. Don’t pick a side and get caught on the wrong end of office politics.

“Office politics can be tricky to navigate, but you don’t want to be on one side, working against a group,” said Hubbard. “You want to be known as a positive person, not someone who complains and is an office gossip. That will only hurt your position in the company. People quickly identify the gossipers and those who don’t work well with others.”

Whether you are working at home or remotely, you are going to run into people with whom you don’t mesh. They can be the negative co-worker, the competitive co-worker, the office gossiper, the bully, or the non-contributing co-worker. How you deal with the various character types can determine your success and happiness at a company.

“One way to deal with the negative co-worker is to ask them to describe their complaint, then ask them for ideas to solve the problem,” said Hubbard. “You don’t want to shut them out, because you might have the solution to their problem and sometimes people just want to be heard.”

The competitive worker is one who wants all the praise, seeks to move up in the company and lacks the ability to share success. “More than likely this person is insecure and is threatened by you,” said Hubbard. “Show them you want to work with them but keep your left up. Keep track of your contributions to the project and report regularly to your manager, to protect yourself against the competitive co-worker taking all the glory.”

Gossipers are tricky, as they may appear to be the friendliest colleague in the company. They are always looking for information, not out of concern and interest, but as currency to spread around the office.

“You don’t have tell them anything and you want to stay out of conversations about others that don’t directly pertain to your work,” added Hubbard. “If their actions feel like bullying, that shouldn’t be tolerated. If you are being harassed, make sure you are documenting it and if you are uncomfortable confronting them, reach out to human resources to have it stopped.”

If your job involves working collaboratively, you may interact the worker who doesn’t pull their weight and always has a boatload of excuses for why they can’t get their part done.

“The first instinct may be to just do the work yourself because it is just easier,” said Hubbard. “Of course, this just perpetuates the problem. The best strategy is to explain to them how they are needed to be counted on to do their job and don’t let them off the hook by doing their work yourself.”

Whether or not you have good political skills, knowing how to deal with bad politics at work will help you excel in your position. Seek out those colleagues who will support you and can be positive members of your network. Look beyond your immediate co-workers in all directions – co-workers, managers and executives.

“By developing your own plan for success and understanding the political landscape at your job, you will be much more effective,” said Hubbard. “You want to be a person the company can’t function without.”

This article is part of NTI@Home's #WorkforceWednesday series, celebrating 30 years of the ADA by showcasing employment opportunities available for the 1 in 4 Americans with disabilities.