Office management has been portrayed in every imaginable way on television and in the movies, from the situational mix of drama and comedy on ?Ally McBeal? to the overtly preposterous and over the top hijinks depicted on NBC's ?The Office?. Of course, the mundane reputation of typical office life is ripe for satire, as evidence by the sheer number of entertainment mediums in which it often serves as the basis for the humor to follow. In real life, offices aren't any more void of humor, drama or even danger than any other working environment, though danger can manifest itself in the most peculiar of ways.



Most managers are familiar with what's commonly referred to as ?office politics?. A decidedly negative term, in it's simplest form office politics refers to the gamesmanship, back door agreements and understood but seldom spoken of methodologies behind the decision making and resulting actions that get things accomplished. A greasing of the wheels, so to speak. For non managerial employees and personnel managers, however, office politics has an entirely separate meaning.

Managing people and being managed by people can be difficult on both ends of the spectrum. Some employees consistently perform and take their duties seriously. Some even manage to do so while remaining personable and without contributing to the negativity that almost always seems to exist in an office environment. Conversely, managers sometimes show favoritism where it's rarely deserved based on non work related criteria. This doesn't have to be anything blatant, such as an office affair that results in an unexpected promotion. It can be as simple as a manager finding more commonality with an employee whose background more closely resembles their own and letting it affect the way in which they treat that employee versus other staff members.

In truth, the best way to deal with office politics is to refuse to be involved. Easier said than done, this can be difficult as part of the human condition is to gravitate toward those we feel comfortable with and react less favorably toward those we don't. From both a managerial and non managerial perspective, however, this can be avoided.

Good office managers think positively, as do good employees. An office manager who looks at every staff member as someone with unique strong points and the potential to contribute in a meaningful way, and more importantly treats his or her employees with that attitude in mind, is likely to develop better working relationships that result in a staff who performs with a common goal in mind. This can have a profound effect on office harmony and the general attitude of the work environment. Likewise, employees who give their supervisors the benefit of the doubt and view them as a resource who can help them reach their goals, be they advancement or appreciation, will elicit a better response from their managers. For both sides, being a dedicated hard worker doesn't hurt either.

Unfortunately, not all employees or managers are cut out for every environment. Some simply make a poor fit while others would make a poor fit no matter where they end up because creating conflict is part of their personality. By fostering a work environment where all are treated with equal respect and the efforts of both sides are recognized and appreciated, however, people such as these won't find the fuel they require to keep the fires of office politics burning.