Office Politics Quotes

“Lamb said, ‘If you had issues with him, I could have spoken to HR. Arranged an intervention.’ He tapped Moody’s shoulder with his foot. ‘Breaking his neck without going through your line manager, that shit stays on your record.”
― Mick Herron, Slow Horses

“If you want to know what’s your boss is really like, go to his office with a resignation letter. You will then see your boss’s true colours. You will then see his emotions without any filters. No boss can ever fake himself in front of an employee who has just resigned.”
― Abhaidev, The World's Most Frustrated Man

“Office life is bad for spirituality.”
― Abhaidev, The World's Most Frustrated Man

“If u want to work in Corporate, then u should know how to play Chess.”
― honeya

“I don’t care how old you are—fifty, sixty, or seventy. Your value doesn’t diminish with each birthday.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“Ambition doesn’t end on a particular birthday. Own it and live it.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“Don’t be stingy with your praise and support of other women. What goes around comes around. It’s great karma.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“You now have more experience and wisdom than ever before. Age enhances your value.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“We believe that we don’t have what it takes to compete, therefore we don’t compete.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“Make it your mission to finish your career on your terms with a bang, not a whimper.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“When did wrinkles become shameful and when did we start buying into all this bullshit?”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“Be proud of how you show up every day, feeling comfortable in your own skin, being your magnificent you.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“What a waste of time it is to be anxious and worried about aging instead of living.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“While we are all forced to participate in the games of office politics; it is very defeatist position for a Black woman. Many would argue that White men in America write the rules, mange the courses, and call all the plays. They are trusted to lead organizations and are in key positions to make positive change. I believe that at this moment in time, the onus shouldn't be places on the underdogs to pull themselves up. The onus is on White men in power to create work environments that are both inclusive and sustainable for marginalized people.”
― Talisa Lavarry, Confessions From Your Token Black Colleague: True Stories & Candid Conversations About Equity & Inclusion In The Workplace

“The bottom line is that gendered ageism is a factor in our careers. There’s no denying it.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“When you're fearful of aging, you don't step into your full power and potential.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“You can’t sit on your ass and wait for things to miraculously happen for you.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“Our age works against us, as does our gender, and we can’t take this shit lying down.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“Loving yourself is badass, about as badass as you can get.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“It’s your time and you have to claim it.”
― Bonnie Marcus, Not Done Yet!: How Women Over 50 Regain Their Confidence and Claim Workplace Power

“Stop seeing it as office politics and start seeing it as office partnerships.”
― Erin Hatzikostas, You Do You(ish): Unleash Your Authentic Superpowers to Get the Career You Deserve

“An office should be like a second home. We should love the members of the team; we should take care of them and work for them.”
― Dr Sivakumar Gowder

“Zettler and Hilbig (2010) examined counterproductive behaviors—such as stealing from work, showing up late, being rude to coworkers, and other acts—in a sample of employees. The researchers wanted to understand how personality characteristics would be related to counterproductive behavior. To find out, they asked the employees to give anonymous self-reports about their personality, about their workplace, and about their counterproductive behavior at work. The findings of Zettler and Hilbig showed, not surprisingly, that employees who were high in Honesty–Humility generally engaged in little counterproductive behavior. In contrast, employees who were low in Honesty–Humility did a lot more counterproductive behavior.

But Zettler and Hilbig noted that this finding only applied to some of the low-Honesty–Humility employees. It depended on whether the employee worked in a place where there was a lot of “organizational politics”—for example, where employees could get ahead simply by agreeing with the boss or by having the right network of allies.

Employees who were low in Honesty–Humility did a lot of counterproductive behavior if they worked in places that were very “political,” but not if they worked in places that were not so political.

Presumably, workplaces with more organizational politics tend to make employees feel that self-serving behaviors (including some counterproductive acts) are normal and that punishment for those behaviors is less likely. In such a workplace, employees low in Honesty–Humility are therefore likely to act on the temptation to commit counterproductive behaviors, but employees high in Honesty–Humility remain untempted. The researchers noted that these findings were an example of a person-by-situation interaction: In one situation, the personality characteristic of low Honesty–Humility was expressed through counterproductive behavior, but in another situation, it was not.”
― Michael C. Ashton, Individual Differences and Personality

“A frequent power problem in all male groups is that the pre-occupation with dominance often impedes collaboration. Each member may feel that others have no right to interfere in their territory, so everyone limits conflict by operating autonomously.
If you never collaborate, then you automatically avoid situations where you might have to give up some of your power.

In all female groups, problems are more likely to result from entanglement in relationship issues. Who's friendly or unfriendly, who's gossipping too much, who's getting more attention, who's being too critical and so on. These matters are often put aside when someone has a personal problem.”
― Marie G. McIntyre, Secrets to Winning at Office Politics

“(paraphrasing from chapter 8)
you must adjust to the culture established by the power
[..]
contrast between flexibility & ingenuity compared to structure & consistency.

the former is about exploring new ideas and changing plans, the latter is about delivering on time(structured timelines, due dates) and in budget”
― Marie G. McIntyre, Secrets to Winning at Office Politics

“People aren't too different from lab rats.

We seek out rewarding experiences and steer clear of punishing ones. If interaction with you is a disagreeable event, people will avoid it.

(from chapter 12)

tl;dr people aren't too different from lab rats”
― Marie G. McIntyre, Secrets to Winning at Office Politics

“What do you think, Kaarz?”
Standing next to him in the recently pressurized but still-cold office annex, Teela knew she was once again being tested. Every time she was around the Old Man, he did that. She’d heard that it took awhile for him to trust you - but once he did you were golden in his eyes. It seemed that everybody worth the salt in their bodies who worked for him wanted him to feel that way.
And why shouldn’t they? A missive of recommendation from Stinex, even just a line or two, was worth just about any conceivable torture one could imagine and endure. It was a ticket for the hyperlane that could lead to wealth, fame, and the most desirable thing of all: Freedom.
The freedom to design what one wished, to give free rein to one’s artistic expression, to create something that might truly outlast the ages, that might -
Teela realized that the Old Man was waiting patiently for an answer to his question.”
― Michael Reaves, Star Wars: Death Star

“Despite all the advancements in race, gender, and other diversity causes in the workplace, deeply ingrained stereotypes persisted, and the underbelly of office politics often remained just as filthy as before.”
― Torres and Firsht, Tell Me Your Plans: A riveting novel of love and ambition

“A lot of the shooting had taken place underground, and the area itself was notable mainly for the number of residents who jumped under trains leaving Paddington, but still: you can only let so many bodies fall before someone notices the thumps. It was the excuse several of the big-chins on the Limitations Committee had been waiting for; revenge for having one of their own ground into mince, after being caught with his hand in the till. Criminal, yes; treasonous even, if you wanted to split hairs, but the chap was stripped of his knighthood for pity's sake. Could hardly show his face in his club once he'd served his three months, less time off for having been at Harrow.”
― Mick Herron, Spook Street

“Passion comes from feeling like you are a part of something that you believe in, something bigger than yourself. If people do not trust that a company is organized to advance the WHY, then the passion is diluted. Without managed trust, people will show up to do their jobs and they will worry primarily about themselves. This is the root of office politics—people acting within the system for self-gain often at the expense of others, even the company. If a company doesn't manage trust, then those working for it will not trust the company, and self-interest becomes the overwhelming motivation.”
― Simon Sinek, Start with Why