Office politics can be as vicious as in the governments and parliaments. Unresolved problems between members of the management team can deteriorate the positive culture of the company. Business owners and executives should be vigilant in addressing and resolving various problems. This is something that you should consider before things get out of control. Here are symptoms that you have office politics problems that you need to resolve immediately:
- The business can’t move forward: Office politics could actually cause your company to be at a standstill or even move backwards. This could happen if there’s no agreement on decision making process and what direction that the company need to take. It is important to make sure that everyone has focused vision and clearly defined goals.
- It turns into a big bureaucracy: Some companies start to develop a lot of rules and red tape to achieve something. This isn’t a good thing to maintain efficiency and productivity in your company. The management team should regularly review rules, procedures and processes, so they are streamlined enough. Make sure that paperwork is reduced and you can cut the red tape. Rules and procedures should be modified, so they can become more efficient.
- Passive aggressive behaviors: These are quite common in an unhealthy office environment. Co-workers could deliberately avoid talking to others directly, due to a nagging problem. The management team should strive for an open environment where people can freely ask questions and challenge things. Business owners can start by committing to become accessible to any employee.
- Self-serving actions: These only benefit only the perpetrators and a few people. If the management team is plagued by self-serving actions, it is possible that they have total disregard for the remaining of the company. Managers should make sure that any action and decision are made for common benefits and the overall growth of the company.
- Lack of responsibility: In many cases, no one is willing to take responsibility for big tasks. This could happen if failure is severely condemned in the company, so people are reluctant to take the risk. Business owners should be perceptive when people in the company start to assign blame and point finger for even the smallest mistake. Owners need to find a way to encourage co-workers to work as a cohesive team again.
- Poor work ethics: Today, people find that working is a tedious thing to do and they constantly watch the clock. This could create a culture of laziness and people start to become less motivated. If business owners sense this, they should set up a reward system and accept feedback to improve performance. Business owners should know whether co-workers like or dislike something.
- Lip service: Many people pay lip service to the business owner or the management team. Managers should establish a culture of doing things, instead of talking about things. Teams should have clear goals, which are broken down into minor tasks with due dates. This way, it would be easier to find out about the performance of each employee.