Top Tips To Survive Competition, Politics, And Drama In The Workplace

“Suddenly I found new strength and this became my new boundary. I did not react to these people anymore. I was firm and cordial.  My class was doing so well now that parents started giving feedback.”

Finding your way through a maze of competition, office politics, and performance pressures, is a daunting task.  In order to deal with the realities of the working world, survival skills are necessary. Here are five hacks for thriving at the workplace.  

1. Find A Mentor

A mentor’s guidance is motivational and triggers success against odds. They can be a personal cheerleader, critique, coach and assessor. A professional mentor can hand hold and show the way forward, turn dreams into reality and show the ropes about how to approach step by step and achieve end results. This is a priceless and much needed resource to build upon and rely on for their expertise.

Shreya Jha, 38, Finance manager, (real name withheld) narrates “Finance is still an arena in our country which is mainly male dominated. When I became a boss to a team, which consisted of 15 men and 1 other woman, I met with lot of resistance from the opposite sex. I was not accepted, insulted and kept out of the clique. My team refused to co-operate and take orders from me. They actually thought I was not good enough because I was a woman in hard core finance, who knows nothing.

At this time, I was so dejected and at loss of ways, I almost quit this job. But thankfully one day I picked up the phone and called my senior, an ex - colleague. He is the one who literally hand held me and showed me how to turn these men around. Today, I am one of the boys. And my team rated me as one of the best bosses they have ever had.

That senior ex - colleague is my professional mentor for the last 5 years and I keep going back to him to find answers, talk things through, get motivated and find what I need to improve upon for my own self. ”

2. Chart Your Career Path

Jobs come and go, but careers need to be thought through, planned and mapped. They need to be worked upon on a short and long term basis. Taking stock of where you stand in their career, analyzing how far you have come, and becoming aware of what you need, want and desire to move ahead are all a part of this planning.

The key thing is honestly and consciously taking into cognizance your own past, actions, mistakes, flaws and patterns at work. Acknowledging the success stories and looking at opportunities for further training. 

Lata Shah, 40, Entrepreneur (real name withheld) shares:  “After 18 years in the corporate sector, I wanted to start my own business.  I have been a salaried person all my life and this transition looked extremely scary. I wanted to get into the food business. I was demotivated by the closest people around me. Everyone told me all the problems which I could face; funding, staff, production, storage and transportation related challenges.

At this time I went to my mentor and for 3 months we brainstormed my way forward for the next 2 to 3 years. We together tackled all my strengths and flaws. Figured out the resources, created a fall back plan and made a practical monthly blueprint. I now own a specialized catering unit.

3. Say No To Drama

There is no workplace without toxic people or circumstances. We have no control over such people but we do have complete control over our own self.

It helps when you can accept that such people will be there in your environment, but emotionally distancing from them works like a protective shield and stops us from self-sabotaging. Setting boundaries and not allowing anyone to flout them firmly sets and sends the right message across clearly.  Focus on spending time with other happy and positive people at work. Isolation can hamper performance; there is always someone you can connect to at different levels.

Saloni Nath, 37, teacher (real name withheld) shares : “In my school there was rampant office politics between the teachers. Teachers were infighting for promotions where there were limited avenues for growth. A lot of teachers were so vindictive, that they tried to harm my work on an everyday basis. They alienated me and stopped giving me access to crucial information. There was rampant back biting, bitching and gossiping about me. Every day was a living hell. My immediate supervisor was against me. I would cry everyday at home.

But a day after a chat with my husband I decided to only focus on my students and become completely thick-skinned to things around me. Suddenly I found new strength and this became my new boundary. I did not react to these people anymore. I was firm and cordial.  My class was doing so well now that parents started giving feedback. My principal noticed my work. I was promoted and given higher responsibility. I also found other people who were suffering like me and now we a very good friends at work and support each other.”

4. Get A Life Outside Work

Fretting  about stress at work or stressful people at work doesn’t take it away.  For self-preservation, finding a channelizing vent is crucial to maintaining composure. A hobby, a sport, a creative outlet or doing something for fun helps in getting negative things off one’s mind. Just taking care of one’s own self; mentally, physically and spiritually gives that vision and direction to move ahead positively.

5. Focus On Results

No matter what is happening, if you are excelling at your work, that is the best leverage you can have over anyone. Working towards results channelizes your focus, energy, struggles, pain and passion in a constructive way to deal with toxicity.  Creating indisputable results makes you inaccessible to toxic people, office politics and negative situations.

What do you think of these tips? Do you think now you know how to deal with office politics, competition, and drama? Share your survival tactics here on the careerconnect forum.