Understanding Workplace Politics: Dealing With Managers

[ManOnFire]

I know this segment has been a long time coming as I promised it at the end of our last part of the series, but as you know life can get in the way sometimes. So here are some things to know about management that some of you - especially if you are very young and starting in the workforce - may not be aware of.

Managers talk about associates in meetings

Something you may or may not know about managers is that when they all get together for their weekly meetings, they are not just talking about company outlook, forecasts, things to do, etc., they are also talking about their associates as well. They’re briefing each other on this employee who’s been known to be aggressive with everyone, that employee who talks to all the females, or that employee who thinks for herself but is seen as an outcast. It’s just what they do, it’s their own kind of gossip just like with regular groups of co-workers, and sometimes even worse.

They also group together to assess you. Managers get in meetings and try to figure out what to do about this associate, where to move her so that she doesn’t cause anymore trouble, how to handle him because he’s very quiet and they’re not sure what to make of him, or even how to screw you over and try to make it look like that’s not what they’re doing. And even cliques exist in manager circles where they will buddy up with some and exclude another. They hate each other just as much as they hate their employees but still wear faces anyway. Bad management is the core of bad workplace.

Isolating you

You will also know what’s up by the way managers behave with you. You may notice that they all talk to you in a certain way that they don’t do with other associates, or don’t act as sweetly with you as they do with others, or they make statements to you that pretty much tell you they’ve heard this or that about you. You may catch them giving you a smirk, talking with another manager while watching you, or mingling with the rest of your team but never really talking to you unless they have to. Although managers try to be about security and keeping information quiet, they are probably the most transparent people in the workplace. They give themselves away a lot more than they realize, but sometimes they purposely aren’t hiding it.

Don’t ever believe that management can’t or is not allowed to discriminate or act against an employee. They will do it in ways that try not to look like they’re screwing you over, but that is what they’re doing, and if you get that feeling trust your instincts. If there is one place your gut is the sharpest or telling you something the most, it is the workplace, and you better listen to it. I can’t tell you how many times my gut kept telling me something on a job and later on I found out my senses were right.

One way to know if your manager dislikes you or is trying to let you go is if they start giving you a bunch of tasks/asking you to do more work, especially if others on your team are not working that much. They're basically setting you up to fail by trying to overwhelm you so that they can have a reason to let you go if you're not handling those tasks, or they hope it will overwhelm you enough to frustrate you into quitting so that they don't have to fire you.

Pay attention

One thing managers are very good at - if you’re not on your toes and not perceptive - is playing mind games with you. About anything and everything. Part of what these individuals are trained in is a form of people relations that is almost like psychology. They think they are the CIA and try to act like it, and they also think they know the game better than you. They know how to manipulate you, predict you, fool you, or even excite you. And it works if you’re not very experienced or not very perceptive as I mentioned. But if you are and know how to play your cards, managers can’t get over on you like they hope to.

Although some managers truly are good people with good intentions, that is a rarity. Most of them have the aim of self-preservation, personal gain, advancement, or even just simply control over others. And they will do whatever is necessary to progress themselves or their goals, even if it means being cruel, unfair, or slimy, and we have all seen that. However, even managers are under pressure from their own superiors, who are even worse than them, and sometimes managers do things that are slimy or unfair because it’s what their superiors want.

They have cliques with associates as well

Managers are also just as bad as coworker cliques, if not worse. They do have their favorite employees, and if you’re not one of them they will exclude you and even try to work against you. One of the worst things that can happen on the job is friendships between managers and groups of employees. The managers will let them do just about anything they want, and if you don’t get along with one of them, you can guarantee that person will always have the edge over you because they’re buddies with the boss. Don’t ever believe a manager is powerful. Employees who are buddies with them are the ones in control, not the other way around.

Again, I know this segment was delayed for a long time but I am a man of my word and could finally bring it to you guys and I hope that it's helpful for anyone out there in any of these situations. Finally our last Take in this series will be on workplace gossip, and that's one you don't want to miss.

[ArrowheadSW]

Good post. I've worked with some good managers, and some not so good. There is an element of self-preservation as you say. I had a regional director who was a micro-manager because he felt that was his best way of showing those above him that he was doing his job. He was a good guy though and I think the micro-management was just a negative side to him. I left that company several years ago and he made sure I had good things coming to me when I left. He was later promoted to a vice president position.

[on_my_knees]

One of the worst things an employee can do is worry about whether or not I like them. I'm not an idiot and I know the difference between genuine compassion and sucking up. Be yourself yet be professional, and most importantly think about how you can contribute to the bottom line without me having to tell you what to do every second of the day.

[ManOnFire]

But that is the game, and you wanting a genuine employee doesn't speak for many other managers who are concerned about being liked and liking an employee more than the employee does. It's the manager who will try to screw them over because they don't like them, not the employee.

[purplepoppy]

A good way to screw over your employees is to set them a goal but put lots of little jobs in the way so they can never get around to starting it

[ManOnFire]

They need it to be this way so they can go ahead and fire you.

[exitseven]

Yes, this is mostly true. I chose not to play their games., I mostly made it clear that I did not give a shit what they thought of me. I never kissed anyone's ass and I would never betray a fellow employee. I knew I could do the job better any anyone and it would take me less that a couple of weeks to find a better job.

[handsomelad70]

If you're anybody other than a cisgender straight white male, you can reasonably assume you'll suffer workplace discrimination.

[Anonymous]

Working life is hell, yet it's the expectation that society wants and, I guess rightfully demands, that people work for a living. That people work, for a living. Anyway.

[strateguy632]

Sounds awful

[ManOnFire]

Sure is.