5 tips for eliminating politics from the workplace

Perhaps nothing hurts productivity, efficiency and morale quite like office politics. However, as a manager, it can be difficult to know just how to begin changing a workplace’s tone for the better. Here are some tips for encouraging a positive professional environment:

• Create a group goal: One easy way to encourage camaraderie is to set an attainable group goal for the office to work toward, with an attractive reward such as an extra day off. Don’t make the challenge so difficult that success is unlikely, or so easy that it is a certainty. Ideally, your staff will bond over their shared effort to reach their collective goal.
• Encourage accountability: Oftentimes, politics come into play when unclear expectations leave employees unsure of their individual responsibilities. Encourage a culture of accountability, in which duties are clearly assigned and workers are rewarded for showing incentive and going above and beyond.
• Invest in training: Teamwork, like all other professional skills, must be learned. If you want your staff members to work well together, then invest in online employee development courses like those available through Mastery Technologies. We teach workers how to better communicate and interact with others, for the good of the business.
• Show leadership: Remember that you set the tone for your entire workplace. Try to be genuine but positive, behaving as you would like each member of your team to act.
• Support them: A good manager, like a good coach, lets their team members know that they have their backs. Employees will be less likely to play “the blame game” if they know that you are not going to try to throw them under the bus.

Mastery Technologies offers a wide array of courses to help improve office culture. Browse our course catalog today!