Bully at Work Moody Boss Karma Office Gossip No Picnic Back stabber Plug your Ears Moody Boss

Job ended so quickly it made my head spin…

head spin illustration by Franke James

Dear Office Politics,

I recently went through a new job situation that ended so quickly it made my head spin.

I liked the work but didn’t fit in with the camaraderie atmosphere. I came from a big-city, federal job to my first small-town conservative, corporate job. Things that were seen internally as camaraderie felt, to me, like bullying. There was teasing about clothes and accents, innuendos about personal lives, snarky comments about colleagues outside the division, possibly defamatory remarks about a professional colleague. This was the atmosphere of our closed-door team meetings, and off-site lunches. I didn’t attend the offsite happy hours or parties in dread of how much worse the behavior might be with alcohol. Senior management are located out of state, and there were comments from my manager not to repeat things; one happy hour gathering was referred to as “the charity event” in email reminders. More…

SWAT – Seize the Accomplishment

New Book by Office-Politics Adviser Timothy Johnson

SWAT book cover and author Timothy Johnson
Office-Politics Adviser, Timothy Johnson’s 3rd book, SWAT – Seize the Accomplishment, has just been published in the United States by Iowa-based, Lexicon.

If you’re a regular reader of this site, you’ll know how Timothy combines lively humor and insightful, down-to-earth advice to help people make positive change happen in the workplace and their careers. Here’s a classic piece of “Timothy Johnson” advice from his letter to Twisted Tornado of office politics:

“The first three universal rules about dealing with office politics:
1) inhale 2) exhale 3) repeat. OK, now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s deal with your problem head on. Yes, bad people do get promoted because of their upward relationships.”

SWAT takes that same “head on” approach to problems (and to managing the bad guys). The book centers around using systems thinking to plan out accomplishments. Staying with the business “fable” format of his first two books, SWAT tells the story of Toby Donovan, a middle manager tasked with “improving the processes” of his company’s call center. With some advice and mentoring on systems thinking from his cousin, Rex, who is the local SWAT commander, Toby learns that “Systems Working All Together” can be the best “Special Weapons and Tactics” available.

More...

7 Tips Make Office Politics Work For You

Office Politics Getting You Down? Author and leadership coach John M McKee appears on ABC News recently to discuss how to make them work for you. John has seven smart common-sense tips…

More...

Will Job Market Be on the Mend in 2010?

illustration eye by Franke James; head ©istockphoto.com /mirekp

Lately, there have been a growing number of stories about the double-dip recession in light of bleak economic reports on factory orders and consumer confidence.
BY JOHN A. CHALLENGER

After starting the year with the heaviest downsizing in nearly a decade, the number of announced job cuts declined dramatically in the second half of 2009, providing hope for an eventual job-market turnaround. The turnaround should become more evident in 2010, as job creation finally begins to outpace job losses, according to an outlook released today by global outplacement and executive coaching consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

More...

Don’t steal my idea!

Office-Politics animated movie by the creative team: Franke James, Bill James, Steve Whitehouse, Pirate Radio

Imagine what your office would be like if everyone walked around with big signs saying, “Don’t steal my idea!”

It would be laughable — and it wouldn’t work. That ridiculous image came to mind when Globe and Mail reporter Dave McGinn, called me up for a story about co-workers ripping off ideas. Companies would grind to a halt if no one was willing to share their thoughts. So what can we do to create an environment where people will see that sharing their ideas is actually their greatest source of power?

More...

Be Strategic to Achieve Your Dreams

Book review by Franke James:
Being Strategic: Plan for Success; Out-Think Your Competitors; Stay Ahead of Change
Author: Erika Andersen Being Strategic: Plan for Success; Out-Think Your Competitors; Stay Ahead of Change

Most reviewers have focused on Being Strategic for its value in business planning. But I’d like to talk to you about reading it to help you achieve your life’s dreams — and to build your Castle-on-the-Hill.

More...

Two Gossipy Queen Bees Rule

Bee lady drawing © Franke James, MFA.

Dear Office-Politics,

I have been in my job for a little over a year. I am approximately 15 years older than most of my colleagues. I am younger than my supervisor and her supervisor. They are both very happy with my performance and I love what I do.

The problem is that the group I work with (8 people) is made up of early to mid-twenties (except for one my age) who are gossipy and attached at the hip. They eat lunch together nearly every day. They discuss those not at lunch. When confronted with an issue at work they discuss it as a group and fear voicing their opinions in meetings (two queen bees rule the roost). I can handle most of this just fine. I stay out of gossip and focus on performing well. The issue for me is that they have the mentality that there needs to be group socialization outside of work. I have never felt pressured in my nearly 20 years as a working professional to socialize with an entire group outside of work. I’ll respect you and work with you at work but don’t want to sacrifice time to be with people who I would never socialize with in the “real world.”

More...
Previous Entries
Next Entries  

The Office-Politics Letters that appears as a feature of this Website are an educational and discussion oriented column designed to help the reader better understand ethical issues. The matters discussed in the letter are reviewed in a summary and abbreviated way and are only meant to foster thinking on the part of the reader. If a person decides to adopt or implement suggestions, they do so at their own risk. No representation or warranty is provided in relation to suggestions or the contents of the advice letter. Neither the authors of the advice letter, Franke James, John W. Burton, Rick Brandon, Marty Seldman, Timothy Johnson, Jennifer Glueck Bezoza, Gregory Ketchum, Erika Andersen, past advisers, guest advisers or the owners of this Website accept any liability whatsoever for any opinions expressed in the letter or for errors and omissions. All submissions to www.officepolitics.com will remain anonymous. No email addresses or identifying names will be published. Submission of letters to the Office-Politics Forum grants the Publisher, Nerdheaven Ltd. the right to reproduce, republish, repurpose and excerpt the submission in any and all other media, without compensation or contacting the author. Copyright The James Gang, Iconoclasts Inc., 2002-2026.

© 2000-2026, The James Gang, Iconoclasts Inc. All rights reserved. OFFICE-POLITICS is a registered trademark.