To Play the Game, or Not to Play the Game

By Tim Hofmann, M.C., CPC, CCMHC

January, 2004

In my practice, I frequently see professional employees, managers, and executives who are frustrated to the point of ill health with the politics in their office environment.  They may present with depression, anxiety, somatic (body) symptoms, or behavioral disorders, but often the underlying issue is a perpetual frustration and resentment regarding workplace politics.  By and large, these men and women are highly educated, intelligent, and successful people, but they are chronically frustrated nevertheless.

 Most professionals are thoroughly trained in their area of specialization, but their understanding of people can be lacking.  Typically, there are deeply held beliefs that people should be rational, cooperative, and work together for the good of the business and the employees.  In their view, the workplace should be a logical environment, with decisions based on rational analysis.  People trained in business, engineering and the hard sciences are notorious for holding on to expectations for the work environment that are unrealistic.  The reality of a political environment does not fit into their model of the world, so they have no tools with which to cope.

 There are numerous books written about office politics.  Unfortunately, most of these books gloss over one of the first steps in coping more effectively in a political environment:  Acceptance.  In order to move forward a professional must accept the idea that politics is a reality in the workplace.  While this acceptance may sound trivial, the implications can have a widespread impact on the individual and the larger social systems of which they are a part.  To accept politics means that the certainty and control that the individual thought they had is no longer viable.  The work world becomes less predictable, less black and white, and more in shades of the rainbow.  Day-to-day decisions become more difficult because of the increased complexity introduced by the political dimension.  To cope effectively they have to let go of a fantasy workplace and grieve the loss.

 Once a business professional accepts that politics is a reality, they have a critical decision to make:  Am I going to play the game or not?  For an employee or manager who has never studied people this question can seem daunting.  They have not been trained for this, may not like the idea of “becoming one of them,” and yet feel caught in the reality that if they don’t choose to develop and use these skills they will be left behind.

 Some will choose to not play the game.  While they recognize the game is being played, these people believe that they are above such behaviors and that they can be successful without influencing others.  Depending on the work environment, they may indeed have some successes while staying out of the political foray.  But all work environments are social systems, and, as such, are subject to the dynamics of interpersonal influence and politics.  In some sense, non-gamers have not fully accepted the reality of the political workplace and often continue to be frustrated every time they “lose” at the game because they have refused to play.  Those that choose not to play usually carry around considerable resentment and frustration, and the health ramifications that go with those long-standing emotions.

 Some people perceive a false dichotomy and believe that they need to choose between their self-integrity and being effective in their job.  What they have failed to recognize is that there are a variety of ways to play the game, many of which can preserve the individual’s integrity.  Obviously, using the skills of influence involves confronting their beliefs and values about using influence, and some would prefer not to go through the effort to reach clarity in these areas.  However, without fully integrating their beliefs and values about influencing others, they are likely to be incongruent and inconsistent in their behavior, which can make them worse than ineffective in the political arena. 

 Once an employee accepts the reality of office politics and chooses to address the area in a proactive way, they are ready to begin to build skills and expertise.  While professionals can be successful without playing the game, the higher they climb in the corporate structure, the more they will be handicapped if they are not willing to acknowledge the political aspects of the job and play the game to some extent.

 Each individual must make their own decisions about playing the political game.  Hopefully, these are conscious choices made through thoughtful reflection, not situational reactions or, worst yet, complete denial of the game through ignorance, or an inability to accept the reality of what is going on around them.