Oh dear,Work place politics and rumours are inevitable.
As a novice in my first work place ,I always used to think that politics used to happen in the place only where I work and getting out of that place was the only solution.
Only after going to my second work place did I realize that office politics are inevitable and they are embedded into the system .Just like you cannot inhale only pure oxygen from the mixture of gases ,working for an organization does not alone mean dealing with the work related issues,it also demands you to put up with the office politics and the grape vine.
At times you may also be a part of it .When others are involved we may love to listen but when we are given a role in which it goes against our expectations we want to have in the work place,it can be a little disheartening.
The reasons behind this are many. A wide range of factors may be involved like One person gaining too much of popularity or fame with the employers or the clients,being different from other employees on the team,speaking facts upfront or it can also be due to sort of jealousy when your colleagues consider you as a competitor,your age ,your physical traits….so on.
There were times when I spent hours pondering over this issue,reading articles from some online portals as to how to deal with it .However a little positivity dawned when I read a quote from one of the books of Dale Carnegie that says”No one ever kicks a dead dog.”That means you are criticized and involved in false rumours because doing so with you gives the doer a feeling of importance. So I am not defending or saying that we are perfect ,each one has their own flaws and their own style of working but if you are worrying a great deal about the office politics that is the answer. Moreover these rumours can bring out the brighter side of you into limelight and also make people think about you in analysing whether the rumours about you are true or false.
One of my friend who worked as a branch admin was hard working and keen on documentation. When the manager of the branch resigned and when the organisation was keen on giving the existing employees a chance to lead the branch,it so happened that one of her colleague raised false allegations against her saying she had manipulated some bills .My friend who was ignorant about the false allegations felt very bad and surprised when the management brought this complaint to her and demanded an explanation .She managed to stay calm and showed all the records she maintained .
The Management were impressed with her work and her colleague who raised false allegations was never entertained next time and lost her reputation in the branch prior to this incident,she lost all her worth in one day and the credit she got so far was also under scrutiny.My friend who never tried for any appreciation (but who did her work perfectly)got into limelight and was promoted
So the moral of the story is” Let people talk whatever they want if your work is good it will be evident sooner or later and clear documentation is always helpful in workplace and rumours cannot cloud your limelight for a long time .Worrying a great deal about Workplace politics is a waste of time.”
SVADHYAY 