#WorkplacePolitics #CSJobs #ProtectAgainstBadPolitics #ProfessionalDevelopment
Have you ever felt like you’re stuck in a toxic work environment, surrounded by colleagues who engage in office politics to get ahead at your expense? 🤯 Unfortunately, this is a common reality for many individuals working in the tech industry, particularly in computer science jobs. The competitive nature of the field often breeds unhealthy power dynamics and conflicts that can negatively impact your career growth and happiness. So, how can you protect yourself against bad politics at work and thrive in your role? Let’s explore some practical solutions to this all-too-common problem.
Recognize the Signs of Bad Politics
Before you can combat workplace politics, you need to be able to recognize when they are affecting you. Some common signs include colleagues forming cliques, spreading rumors about others, taking credit for your work, and sabotaging your efforts. If you notice any of these behaviors happening around you, it’s essential to address them promptly to protect yourself from further harm.
Build Strong Relationships
One effective way to safeguard yourself against bad politics is to build strong relationships with your colleagues. By fostering positive connections based on trust and respect, you can create a support system that will help you navigate challenging situations. Seek out allies in the workplace who share your values and can provide you with valuable feedback and advice when needed.
Focus on Your Performance
One of the best ways to protect yourself against office politics is to excel in your work and focus on delivering high-quality results. By consistently demonstrating your skills and expertise, you will gain the respect and admiration of your peers and superiors. This will make it harder for others to undermine your efforts or take credit for your achievements.
Maintain Professional Boundaries
When dealing with individuals who engage in negative workplace behavior, it’s crucial to maintain professional boundaries and not get drawn into their drama. Avoid gossiping, spreading rumors, or participating in cliques that can harm your reputation. Instead, stay focused on your goals and rise above the petty politics that may be unfolding around you.
Seek Support from HR or Management
If you find yourself in a situation where you are being targeted by colleagues who are engaging in toxic office politics, don’t hesitate to seek support from HR or management. Document any instances of misconduct or harassment and bring them to the attention of the appropriate authorities. It’s essential to protect yourself and ensure that your work environment remains safe and respectful.
In conclusion, navigating workplace politics in computer science jobs can be a challenging experience, but with the right strategies in place, you can protect yourself against bad politics and thrive in your career. By recognizing the signs of negative behavior, building strong relationships, focusing on your performance, maintaining professional boundaries, and seeking support when needed, you can create a positive and productive work environment for yourself. Remember, you have the power to control how you respond to office politics and to rise above the noise with grace and professionalism. Stay strong and stay focused on your goals! 💪🌟
Ex 1 doesn’t make sense. They won’t get paid more if you get fired.
Is this supposed to be a meme?
These are not realistic scenarios.
The only thing that will limit you is the number and complexity of projects typically there isn’t always enough your level +1 work to go around especially when trying to get to senior or higher.
Politics has no place in an engineering department. Period.
Look at fucking Boeing
Ex 1 is all in your head.
Ex 2 is all in your head.
git gud is your only option
Ex 1:
Unless they have friend 3 they want to bring in, 100% unrealistic.
That said people will shit on you for no good reason. My strategy is to just outrun them. You play politics. I play get shit done. Management will figure it out, or not. Either way, I win in the long run. If I think it is abusive, I’ll also raise it to management, because… Either they fix the issues or my days are numbered anyways.
Ex 2:
Sometimes the only way to grow is to leave. That happens. The people above you aren’t going anywhere the company or area isn’t growing. Time to move on.
Is this someone in college posting fictional situations they heard? Cuz they’re kinda unrealistic.
Build support against them with your peers, stakeholders, and their manager. You can survive, but you’re better off jumping ship. The sooner the better.
Even if they get managed out you don’t necessarily “win”. That’s why the common advice is to jump ship. Leetcode even when things are going good, so that you’re always ready.
Ex 1. You shit back on them. Fight fire with fire. Also prove that they are friends as well. There is a reason why couples aren’t allowed to work together. And Bromance has conquered world for many times throughout the histoy.
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Ex 2. Kissing ass or kicking ass and work somewhere else.
Ex1 happens but your explanation makes no sense. More realistic is the team is up for stack ranking and they’re throwing people under the bus.
Ex2 can happen, especially in low / slow growth areas. Some teams simply don’t own enough to justify having multiple senior+ engineers.
You can’t avoid politics. I haven’t been at a single place that was a pure meritocracy because evaluations themselves are very subjective. The only advice is to follow a manager that can play politics on your behalf, or become a manager yourself and deal with politics personally.
None of what you’ve described is “politics”. The first is a fucked up workplace. The second is that your job lacks opportunities for your career aspirations.
IMHO the reality is if you roll a bad manager who isn’t interested in your career development, it can be very hard to get out from under that without changing companies. I think the uncomfortable fact a lot of us engineers refuse to acknowledge is there is still a lot of RNG when it comes to being in an environment where you can perform and it will be valued.
Personally, to me, your protection is to always know that everything you say in any kind of company email or IM is recorded, and make sure you record everything said that is important, especially if someone is not a trusted entity. But at the end of the day, that protection only goes so far, and for most of us, it’s simpler to just leave.
Work a remote job, and you’ll likely be politic free. I started my career in a cube-farm with stack ranking he11, and I can’t believe how much better things are remotely. Tomorrow is Monday, and I’m completely fine with it.
> SWE hires his friend.
I’ve never been anywhere where a SWE can just hire someone.
> They constantly berate you, shit on your code to upper management and try to belittle your work as much as possible.
how tf do 2 new hires have more pull than you with upper management?
I had a product person flat out lie to his manager about me years ago. It eventually found its way back to me to which I had a recording of a zoom call where I supposedly said something I didn’t.
Funny enough this happened a 2nd time where I was accused of saying European engineers didn’t do anything. Again I had a recording where it showed what I actually said which was that they need time to get up to speed since they were new to the team.
Cover your ass at work and you don’t have to worry about politics.
Read 48 Laws of Power. Politics is everywhere and is inescapable. We can preach about how annoying politics is, but it is infinitely pervasive. Play the game or get played by it.