Simon's job log: 4

The story so far... Simon Frost graduated from the University of Bradford in 2006. He currently works for an IT company in North Yorkshire and runs marathons.

Office politics

It all sounded so simple when reading the advert for my job. Come work for us, they said. We’ll pay you they said. You just have to build us some good websites. Unfortunately, things are never quite so simple in the real world.

As it turns out, my job isn’t just web development. I have to pitch in whenever necessary with my skills whatever the problem may be. It even says so in my contract - 'You may be required to work on projects which are not covered by your job description.'

Then there are the things they don’t tell you about in job adverts or interviews. Like what everyone’s tea or coffee preferences are. Or what everyone thinks about the boss behind his back (not that I engage in such gossiping of course). Or who's been stealing our milk again?

Yes, I’m talking about the delights of office politics. Unlike real politics, which you can choose to ignore, office politics are inescapable. When the conversation switches to office politics and gossip, you can’t change channels or turn off the radio. It gets worse - you aren’t allowed to stay neutral - you must take a side, have a view, take an opinion.

Office politics, I’ve found, is more prevalent in smaller businesses, because everyone knows each other and works so closely together. In my office, we all know each other on a first name basis. When you’re all working together in the same office, conversations are easily overheard, assumptions easily made.

The kitchen is the hotbed of office gossip. For a small business like I’m in, we don’t have our own kitchen; however, the business centre we’re based in offers a shared kitchen for all tenants. Just like when you’re a student, labelling your own food, your own milk, the same system applies here. That means the same abuses often happen as well.

In an office environment where tea and coffee are used to lubricate the wheels of business, there is a minefield of etiquette to get right - and if you get it wrong, you could be on the receiving end when the gossiping starts.

Thieves at large

Recently there have been a spate of light-fingered tenants stealing milk, sugar and tea (I’ll do my best to resist using the rhyming slang 'tea-leaf'). Naturally this has driven office conversation. It has also provided a chance to discuss what everyone thinks about new tenants - and the ones that just walk past you in the corridor, ignoring you. As you can see, office politics isn’t just limited to our office.

This situation became so out of hand that one of the tenants stuck a notice on the communal fridge door, with a warning. Milk thievery has declined since then.

Often, however, office politics is more than just idle (or amusing) gossip. It becomes a set of secret, unwritten rules or presumptions about the company. It’s like an open secret - abide by the rules and you’ll go far. Break the rules and you’ll make no friends. It’s a good idea, when starting at a new company, to keep a low profile in this area. Try and work out what the rules are and when and who to agree with, who you need to be on your side and you’ll soon fit right in.

This can sometimes create an us-and-them mentality between management and the rest of the company. Presumptions are never challenged because they are never brought out into the open. Assumptions become facts and the more outrageous the story, the more likely it ends up as an unofficial company legend. This is a much more dangerous situation though. Too much negative talk and people start to re-assess their position. People start to leave.

So office politics are another of those delights that await you when you enter paid employment. Remember, the devil makes work for idle hands (and mouths)…

Simon's earlier job logs