Post 4: Toxic Workplace: Remote Work and Politics

 To Summarize

    This 2023 article reflects on the Covid-19 Pandemic accompanied by the mainstream switch to remote work. It's pointed out that while politics in the workplace have existed forever, these can just as easily occur virtually, for better or for worse. Working remotely can cause difficulties for employees to get quality time with their supervisors, leading them to make other attempts at getting attention. Boyle and Bloomberg make it clear that political behaviour such as sabotaging, blaming, back stabbing and excessive flattering are all things that can be transferred over to the virtual workplace. If anything, this separation of communication can make it even less clear what behaviour is genuine, or calculated. Expecially when employee feedback is limited, it could make sense why workers might feel inclined to, as they put it, "suck up." Some statistics are brought up, showing that 2 in 5 office workers considered leaving their organization over the bad political space, where 1 in 4 actually ended up leaving due to it.

    Certain workers will also have differing views on the politics within the office, some consider gossiping a good way to be in the know about what's really going on, and "sucking up" could be a method to smoothly go about the workplace. The article expresses that while a certain amount of negotiating and persuasion can help one get ahead in an organization, it often comes at the cost of the company culture as a whole. In some cases it can be beneficial, but most often clear communication and transparency in intentions is a solid approach, especially when it comes to virtual work. With this in mind, it's important to think deeply about our words and actions, in person or online, it's also important to consider how these actions will be perceived by our colleagues and superiors.

Personal Connection

    I felt I could connect to this article, however not as directly for a work environment as I was still able to work in-person at the time. In terms of school I think I experienced some political changes as many teachers were becoming more lenient with marking, some students took advantage of this. I saw some amount of blaming and flattery from many of my peers. I also found this interesting as it ties into the idea that people act differently from behind a screen compared to what they might be like in person. It might be worth it for managers to really take their employee's online behaviour with this in mind, and not characterize completely from online actions.

Boyle, Bloomberg. (2023, April 26). Remote work has failed to kill toxic office politics as rumor                        spreading, backstabbing and credit snatching remain eternal.                                                                     Fortune. https://fortune.com/2023/04/26/remote-work-toxic-office-politics-survey/

Comments

  1. AlexanderNovember 17, 2023 at 11:20 AM

    This is a good summary that discusses the potential drawbacks of remote work, focusing on the aspect of politics and how it translates to digital work. Of course we all understand that politics and bureaucracy exist in all organizations, but the opinions on this are not all the same. I understand how politics could have a poor effect on individuals, especially when you take into account the existing issues with remote work. Great job relating this back to your personal experiences in school.

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  2. Shane LeBlancNovember 22, 2023 at 8:36 PM

    I love how you were able to use statistics from the article, it really helped put the situation into perspective for me. Whether you are political or not, politics are everywhere. It is basically impossible to avoid them. Whether you are at work, school, home, or grabbing a bite to eat, political messaging and campaigns are all around you. However, workplaces should be more focused on the negative effects that can arise from an exposure of politics in the workplace. By limiting the amount of political talk and activity in the workplace I personally feel employees are more likely to collaborate better and will end up with a higher satisfaction rate.

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