Why You Should Get Involved in Politics (Office, National, or Otherwise)

I am sick of people saying they don’t want to get involved in office politics.  To me, that is apathy at its worst.

To be clear, I am not advocating that you gossip and talk behind people’s backs to manipulate your way to the top of the food chain.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  Let me explain.

I look at the workplace much like a nation — a collection of seemingly random people, forced to share resources, abide by a social contract, and make it work for the collective.

Nation building is a formidable exercise.  Canada, as a nation, is young and arguably hasn’t seen too many true nation-builders at 24 Sussex Drive.  That said, Canada is a strong nation as we have strong institutions.  We respect rule of law, we have a transparent justice system, a functional legislative process, and so on.  As beneficiaries of the prosperity that these strong institutions bring to our day-to-day lives, Canadians are obliged to participate in the system through elections, engaging with legislative representatives, public hearings, etc.

Building a thriving enterprise, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, is an equally daunting task that requires that same diligence in creating sound organizational structures that are analogous to strong political institutions.  We all want to work at a company that is aligned in departments or work groups that are effective, where human resources policies are transparent and fair, and where success is measured by achievement and not determined by nepotism or favourtism.  Therefore, similar to the political obligations we have as citizens of Canada, employees of organizations are then obliged to become involved in the politics of creating a thriving workplace.

You may ask what in the workplace is analogous to electoral voting, for example, since employees rarely get to elect their bosses?

Where you have policies and social contracts, you will have politics by definition — and these most certainly exist in any workplace.  Therefore, in much the same way that citizens cannot expect national policies to reflect their values if they do not involve themselves in nation-building, employees cannot just sit around and hope that their workplace will change without their engagement.  It is incumbent upon us as responsible employees to get past the generalities and whining, to actually charge into action to create corporate cultures in which we want to work.  The most obvious ways to get involved include completing employee surveys, collaborating with peers and management to bring changes to workplace policies that do not benefit the collective, and engaging in constructive discussions about what can be improved.  And guess what?  This kind of employee engagement is also the foundation upon which some of the most innovative companies on the planet are built.  Think Google or Timberland.  Coincidence?  Not at all.

Some words of warning, however: in becoming active in office politics, please remember to leave the nasty and poisonous gossip at the door — no one would want an organization to devolve into the petty war that currently plagues US politics.

Filed under: Uncategorized, corporate culture, employee engagement, innovative cultures, office politics, politics