Welcome to the ultimate guide to power dynamics in the workplace.
In this extensive piece of writing, we will uncover everything that will make you understand the topic to the core and use it to your advantage.
You will gain powerful insights into workplace politics and develop a strategy to climb the ladder.
We have broken down this topic into chapters backed up with case studies, extensive research work, and powerful tips that will make you an expert navigator in the workplace in no time.
So, without further ado, let’s go!
- Chapter 1: Introduction to Power Dynamics in the Workplace
- Chapter 2: Uncover why bad employees find their way
- Chapter 3: Unravelling undermining behavior at work
- Chapter 4: Dealing with unfair treatment at Work.
- Chapter 5: Dealing with a difficult boss.
- Chapter 6: Handling conflict at work
- Final thoughts
Chapter 1: Introduction to Power Dynamics in the Workplace
Power dynamics in the workplace is a topic usually resented in the open but certainly has very deep roots within every organization.
Beneath the surface of ever-seeming sophisticated and friendly frontiers, your colleagues are always planning their next moves.
And why wouldn’t they? They are people like you with similar ambitions and desires for success. They also want promotions, raises, and recognition.
However, society has firmly told us that craving too much power is bad and we should be humble and not so much crazy about it.
This creates a sort of war inside the individual. He secretly craves power but can’t seem too hungry for it.
Therefore, it makes one wear a friendly frontier and bury his intentions while craving for it in the back of his mind.
It creates a very strong effect on workplace dynamics and an air of a cold war.
Defining Power Dynamics in the Workplace
Before we dive deeper into the topic, let’s first understand what power dynamics at work is.
Power dynamics at work refers to the distribution and navigation of power among colleagues in the workplace. Power in the workplace can take various forms.
It can be in the form of hierarchical power, expertise, social influence, or control over resources.
Understanding the different types of powers and their mechanisms of functionality is crucial in understanding how to navigate the power.
Why Is Power Important in The Workplace?
Power is extremely important in the workplace for various obvious reasons. It enables you to advance your career, influence, and persuade others, or make decisions.
Without owning power, you are most likely to be ignored and left behind. You will find it extremely difficult to progress in your career and will mostly find yourself agreeing with what others decide for you.
Not only that, but you may also attract bullies and have your colleagues and seniors undermine you for no clear reason.
So, without a shadow of a doubt, power is of the utmost importance in your workplace. However, you should be aware that possessing power is like a double-edged sword.
If you acquire too much power, you will attract attention and people will react to sideline you. They will begin to conspire against you and may even team up to sabotage your chances.
Having no power means you are just like a door mat while having too much of it will turn everyone secretly against you. Therefore, you should be extremely cautious when it comes to the power game in the workplace and move with a strategy.
What Are Toxic Power Dynamics in The Workplace?
The toxic power dynamics in the workplace mean the power is distributed and exercised in a very twisted and biased manner. Such a thing murders transparency every day and is a huge disappointment for diligent workers and skillful employees.
According to a study, a staggering 67% of people have been reported to be unhappy with their jobs.
Time and time again, we see people complaining how their boss or colleague who appeared ever sophisticated and friendly initially ended up sabotaging them at some point in their career.
Why do you think that happens?
Does it happen because they were plainly unlucky or something else could have been the reason?
It is very tempting to just blame the circumstances for it as it seems to be a simple explanation. But you will be very naïve to think of it like this.
Let us get in straight. People in the workplace want all the good stuff like promotion and career progression. And you can’t blame them since we are hard-wired this way.
However, the competition is tougher than ever, and working hard means taking the difficult route, so people resort to dark tendencies.
They manipulate, cheat, and deceive to remove competitors from their path. They will resort to fake measures to appear bigger than life and inflate their achievements.
Such people are usually clever and usually have a good understanding of the human psyche which they exploit effectively. They will hunt through where the human mind is the weakest like biases to advance their careers and control people.
This results in toxicity in the workplace.
Forms of toxic power dynamics in the Workplace
Toxic power dynamics in the workplace can manifest itself in various ways.
Let’s take a look at them:
1. Authoritarian leadership
Authoritarian leadership means that the boss exerts their power in a dictatorial manner, dismissing the input and feedback from his subordinates.
Such type of behavior can be very damaging to the teams in the long run since it shatters their creativity and individualistic thinking. The morale of the team declines heavily, and chemistry takes a big hit.
2. Favoritism and nepotism
Favoritism or nepotism means favoring people who are in your good books or those related to you.
This is exceedingly heartbreaking for hardworking and diligent individuals who would put in their efforts day and night only to get passed on for promotion to someone with connections.
If you have encountered such a behavior somewhere in your life, you would know how isolating and unappreciated it feels. It simply destroys your motivation to do anything extraordinary.
3. Harassment
Harassment in the workplace includes offensive jokes, bullying, or any sort of belittling and threatening behavior directed toward an individual. It is a dark side of power dynamics in the workplace and is astonishingly quite common as well.
According to a new joint analysis, 1 in every five people suffers from harassment in the workplace.
This harassment can take the form of physical and psychological abuse as well. A lot of people seem to brush off the psychological one, but it is even more damaging than the physical one since its effects can stay for years even decades.
It is extremely important to timely identify and address this issue if you are a victim of bullying and harassment in your workplace, otherwise, the long-term consequences can be very damaging.
4. Micromanagement
Now let’s meet up culprit capable of strangling your creativity to death and boiling up your frustration. It’s none other than micromanagement.
Micromanagement, as you would have already guessed, refers to the behavior of intervening and dictating every then and now to an individual.
If you have been in such a boat, it’s no surprise that micromanagement can be really frustrating to deal with. You feel suffocated and can’t express your work freely.
Even worse, it can also take a hit on your self-esteem since repeat interventions can leave you wondering whether you are good enough.
Micromanagement is also deployed by the bosses as a form of control over the team, but they fail to address its negative consequences.
5. Lack of transparency
Lack of transparency is the root cause of biased behavior in the workplace.
It gives a breeding ground to all sorts of manipulative tendencies since the oppressor can easily get away due to the absence of any system for checks and balances.
It gives rise to slackers taking credit for deserving candidates and stepping over them for recognition.
It is quite heartbreaking for diligent employees to see themselves being passed over for promotion to some slacker since there is no proper tracking, crediting, and record keeping of the work.
How Do You Deal with Power Dynamics at Work?
Dealing with the power dynamics in the workplace is quite risky.
As we mentioned earlier, it’s double-edged and requires a lot of caution when putting your hands in it.
Let’s give a blueprint of how to deal with the power dynamics at work.
1. Don’t take things at face value.
First of all, drop your habit of taking in things at face value, you don’t have to be so naïve. The reality is quite different, and you should be aware of it.
Recall the time when someone deceived you big time in your past. Did he ever tell you about his intentions before? Of course not, and why would he?
Instead, he would have charmed and impressed with his manners and likability to gain your trust and then dump you afterward.
How was he able to do that? Because you took his values and sweet words at face value. You trusted the wrong person and hence paid the price.
So, keep in mind that people are bound to behave politely just for the sake of manners or societal norms without actually meaning it. Therefore, never trust anyone without any reason and resist the temptation of taking things at face value.
However, you shouldn’t be paranoid about others but be cautious.
2. Know what runs inside the minds of people.
This one is like half a battle and if you are able to crack it, congratulations! You have cracked the code of dealing with power dynamics in the workplace.
Let’s be realistic. All of us want to win. Everyone wants success, recognition, and promotion. It’s like a battle royale where everyone is after the prize and has to cut down on others to move ahead.
In this age, when the competition is ever high, this has only increased the fierceness.
You should have a clear understanding of what actually lies under the friendly and sophisticated frontier of people in the workplace and have a clear idea of their intentions.
People usually are predictable and will drop cues. Your job is to pick these and decipher their intentions.
If you have a clear understanding of what they want, you will see through their actions and words and devise yourself in a way that will serve you in the long run.
3. Build relationships.
Cultivating relationships is a vital part of dealing with power dynamics at work.
Those who excel in this area have a much easier time dealing with the challenges in the workplace.
They are able to rally support, gain insights, access resources and boost their visibility.
Since you have an idea of what building relationships at work can do for you, let’s what are some ethical ways you can start today.
Firstly, be empathic. In the world today, when everyone is obsessed with themselves, the need for empathy is at an all-time high. If you own it, you definitely will be getting into the good books of people in no time.
Understand the perspective of others and genuinely for them. Respect their boundaries and choices and be genuinely invested in them.
You will be building rapport and forging relationships in no time!
4. Enhance communication skills.
Let’s be honest, if you sound like someone asking for charity, chances are you are going to be run over and be treated as a doormat.
Communication skills are the single most important skill you can have in your arsenal that will make the most difference and we are not even exaggerating.
It has a direct effect on almost everything you do. People with good communication skills have a much easier time building relationships, conveying ideas, increasing visibility, or handling a conflict.
Start working on your communication skills as early as you can. Practice active listening, speaking with authority, and being firm in your words. It will help you immensely in navigating the power dynamics in the workplace.
Conclusion
This was an introductory chapter that gave insights into the prevalence of power dynamics at work and its significance.
We could see its significance and deep roots, which might not be visible but keep pulling strings underneath.
We then saw the negative manifestation of power dynamics at work and had a brief look at how you may deal with it.
Chapter 2: Uncover why bad employees find their way
A very common complaint that you can hear from every third person is how the hardworking and diligent employees in their workplace keep suffering while the less hard-working ones and brown-nosers keep making the mark.
This is quite heartbreaking and unfair for the diligent employees who invest loads of time into their only to arrive nowhere while the bad employees keep on collecting promotions after promotions.
It has a deep link with the power dynamics in the workplace.
Why does that happen? And why this thing is so widespread that almost everyone complains about it?
We can only look at one side of the coin. What lies on the other side remains a mystery to most of us.
Let’s uncover it.
Reasons slacking employees get ahead
You have an idea already about it, slacking employees usually resort to unethical and dark tendencies which yield them the desired results.
Let’s take a look at them.
1. They are masters of perception
How do you get to know someone? Of course, through what they project on you.
If they project something positive, you perceive them as positive regardless of how they are behind the scenes and vice versa.
The slacking employee might be a slacker in this working capacity but knows how to make his achievements appear bigger than life.
He throws dust in the eyes of his superior and only shows his bright side.
The limited exposure can lead to biased views and distorted perceptions which the slacker uses to his advantage.
2. They are master manipulators
There is no place on earth that is safe from manipulation and your workplace is no exception.
Office politics only has been on the rise lately and social media is just filled with it.
And manipulation is also a factor that slackers employees to make their way and turn the odds in their favor.
They may exploit the biases or prejudices that human nature is prone to and make their bosses believe them to be suiting.
If they are running for a promotion with their colleague, they may instill doubts in him through manipulation tactics like gaslighting or such to distract him.
Such slacking employees are usually players who know how to exploit the power dynamics in the workplace.
Everything to them seems to be fair and they may do anything to clear their way.
3. They aim for short-term success
People who resort to manipulative tendencies have very short-lived success. It may feel good for the time being to gain so much in such a short amount of time, but they run a huge risk of being exposed anytime.
Positions such people gain, they are usually not eligible for them and only earn them through deception and misleading demeanor.
They soon begin to struggle with their new job description only for the upper management to realize the stupid decision of promoting them.
They are either then fired off or demoted, strangling their short, termed success to death.
If you know any such person in your workplace, don’t be frustrated about being passed on for promotion. Instead, you should feel pity for them for how they are entering a trap only for their professional career to die sooner or later.
Always keep in mind, organizations and companies want profit at the end of the day. And if you are not able to meet the expectations, you are no hero for them, doesn’t matter how well you can act to be one.
4. They take advantage of a poor evaluation system
It’s not uncommon to find the feedback system and the performance criteria in companies to be biased.
The evaluation criteria is usually benefiting to certain departments and the progress and accomplishments of the remaining ones are often overlooked.
While this may be unfair to the hardworking and diligent employees, the slackers get lucky if they belong to favored departments.
They capitalize on it and shine in the best light to yield the most profit.
And there is nothing much you can do about it other than raising your voice to fix the evaluation criteria and make it balanced. But we highly doubt it will be any benefitting.
If you want to know more about why bad employees get promoted, then check out our extensive guide. It will give you a good insight into this topic.
How to deal with bad employees getting promoted
1. Don’t dwell on the situation
It is easy to get disheartened and caught up in the loophole of mourning the bad employees getting promoted, however doing so only makes you distracted and weakens your position.
You should revise your mentality and adopt habits and a mindset that will help you in the long run.
When some slacker steps over you and gets promoted, though it hurts and that’s fine. But you don’t have to dwell on it forever.
Just accept this fact and move on. Try to identify why it happened, and what did that slacker do to succeed in his motives. Analyze it and learn a lesson for the future.
2. Focus on your work
Once you have accepted that slacker pulled off something mischievous, it’s time to direct yourself to things that matter.
Don’t let such mishaps distract you.
Though it may be tempting to discuss the slacker’s win with other coworkers it’s going to help you anyway. You should rather focus on your work, this will save you from draining your energy and keep you away from negativity.
3. Build strong relationships and networks.
Building strong relationships is a vital part of navigating power dynamics in the workplace.
Strong people are usually people with vast networks and connections.
Networking is immensely helpful in the workplace as it will grant you opportunities for growth, mentorship and boost your visibility.
So, consider investing to build strong relationships with your boss and colleagues. It will promote a healthier working environment and also increase your chances of being considered for promotion.
4. Be an Indispensable asset.
In the end, companies are looking for profit and those who contribute to it are like diamonds to the company.
Usually, companies have the leverage since there are a lot of people willing to fill the shoes if you decide to resign.
However, if you can prove to be not so ordinary but rather an indispensable asset, the tables will turn immediately. You will turn the situation in your favor and get the leverage.
Now it doesn’t matter whether that slack is resorting to manipulation or perceptions to inflate his achievements, you will rise way above his league to even be bothered by it.
So consider seeking professional development opportunities. Provide value to your company and be a master of what you do, and you will be golden.
Conclusion
In this chapter, we could explore the reasons why bad employees manage to succeed in professional life.
They are people who know how to exploit the power dynamics in the workplace and turn it in their favor.
But you don’t have to mourn if have been a victim. You can follow the tips given in this chapter to boost your visibility in the workplace and increase your chances of being promoted.
Chapter 3: Unravelling undermining behavior at work
Undermining behavior is much more common than you think when it comes to power dynamics at work. According to the study from Tallest Poppy, a staggering 87% of women complained that they were being undermined at work.
Undermining behavior has a very negative effect on the mental health of employees. It can shatter the self-esteem of the individual and make them indulge in negative self-talk.
Research also says it can also make employees downplay their achievements and also become unsupportive to others.
Not only it can cause enough damage on the individual level but can also affect the morale of the whole team. The team chemistry suffers greatly, causing the individuals to indulge in negative tendencies.
Understanding the undermining behavior
Understanding the undermining behavior is vital when comes to nullifying its effect.
First, let’s understand what is undermining behavior and what are the various forms in which the undermining behavior can manifest itself.
Undermining behavior means taking an action or adopting a behavior to intentionally weaken and make the other person small. Such actions can be fatal as they can damage the reputation of one and sabotage his chances big time.
In workplaces, such a type of effect can be subtle but deadly and can stir negative effects in a very devastating manner.
Forms of undermining behavior
Identifying the undermining behavior is of utmost importance since it will help you navigate the power dynamics in the workplace. However, it can manifest itself in various forms which are listed here:
1. Spreading rumors
We are sure you would have guessed this one already due to it being common.
However, this common has very negative effects as it can attack your credibility directly.
The person looking to undermine you can share false or damaging information about you. This news is just going to spread and instill doubts in everyone about you.
What makes it worse in the professional situation is, people usually don’t discuss such things openly. When someone gets into doubt regarding something due to false news, there are very slim chances he will approach to clear his doubts.
So, what usually happens, people just keep these thoughts to themselves but keep judging you and making assumptions based on the projection, and then you ultimately fall out of favor.
2. Passive aggressive behavior
It’s one of the most apparent signs and should raise your suspicion if you come across someone exhibiting it.
Let’s be realistic first. Sometimes, people don’t like us due to certain reasons, however, they don’t show our unlikability towards us outwardly due to social norms and peer pressure.
But withholding such strong and polar feelings inside is too much of an effort and there is a strong need of venting it out. What people do instead is resort to indirect ways of showing their dislike
They may throw some sarcastic remarks at you or give you a backhanded compliment. It belongs to the category of negative power dynamics in the workplace.
Such behavior is aimed at pulling you down while being indirect. When confronted, the excuse of joking and not meaning it is always ready.
But you don’t have to be naïve to trust them. Once you notice these signs, be cautious.
3. Publicly criticizing
Have you ever caught your colleague throwing some snarky remark at you in a group setting and you can’t help but get frustrated?
That was most likely your colleague’s effort to undermine you.
Publicly criticizing is a very fatal way of undermining someone as it usually comes in the disguise of a joke. If you confront such people, they are likely to just brush it off saying they were just joking and why you are being so critical about it.
However, the reality is such behavior is aimed to throw dirt at you and damaging your reputation. It can also create doubts in you and hurt your self-esteem.
Always remember, if you got hurt by it, there is nothing wrong with you feeling in such a way and you have all the right to be vocal about it.
The fact that it is thrown wrapped with the label of a joke shouldn’t bother you either. It was never meant to be a joke but to hurt you, tear you down, and instill doubts in you.
So, don’t be fooled by the fake persona of people displaying such behavior to you.
4. Negative nonverbal cues
We know it is tempting to just trust what appears on the frontier, much to the hard wiring of our brains. However, the study shows nonverbal cues, especially the micro-expressions are the real storyteller.
Just like passive-aggressive behavior, undermining nonverbal cues is aimed at venting out the jealousy or hatred that might have been boiling up in secret.
Micro-expressions last only a fraction of a second, making it difficult to catch if you are not paying attention, however good practice and paying attention to what is actually going on in a conversation can help you crack the real intentions of people.
It goes like this. When you say or do something which someone doesn’t like, he will throw a micro-expression as a reaction.
Briefly rolling the eyes or a slight smirk as you talk is a good signal that someone is not particularly feeling good towards you.
So next time you are in a conversation with your colleague, rather than using your phone, keep an eye on his face, expressions, body language, tonality, and energy in general.
You will already get a good idea about his intentions toward you.
Understanding the Micro-Expressions
When it comes to effectively navigating the power dynamics in the workplace, understanding the micro-expressions is immensely helpful.
You will be able to uncover underlying deceit, and lie and save yourself from trusting wrong people.
It will also enable you to spot people willing to sabotage and secret hypocrisy and jealousy.
However, you should know that spotting micro-expression can be difficult since it lasts merely for some seconds. But if you manage to actively listen to others as they talk and pay attention to the whole scenario, you will be able to pick up the cues.
With practice, you will keep getting better at it.
So next time you talk to someone, just try to spot when they said yes while they meant no.
Refer to the picture below to get an idea what the micro-expressions are.
Here’s a great guide by Science of People explaining micro-expressions in detail.
Signs of undermining and belittling behavior
Undermining can manifest itself in several forms and is equally damaging to you. Knowing such behavior can help you identify it timely and take necessary steps to steer away from its potential negative effects.
The belittling behavior can be exhibited by your coworker, teammate, and even boss.
In the case of the boss, it is even more challenging to deal with it since your boss will have a fair share of control over it. He also has control over your job description, promotion, and evaluation criteria and hence requires more caution.
However, let’s take at the signs your boss is undermining you:
- Your boss excludes you from important discussions.
- He intentionally withholds resources and information that could help you succeed otherwise.
- He spread rumors about you in the workplace and indulges in gossip that damages your reputation.
- Your boss plays favorites and constantly prefers others over when you are a fair candidate.
- He fails to give you constructive feedback and support for your performance.
This was only a brief overview of the undermining signs from your boss. We have written an extensive guide on the belittling signs from your boss.
You will get a great idea about why is your boss undermining you.
Conclusion
In Chapter 3, we could explore the undermining behavior in the workplace and its effects worldwide on the employee.
Such kind of behavior is an unfortunate manifestation of power dynamics in the workplace.
We could also find insights into different kinds of undermining behaviors and how you can identity before it’s too late.
We also included an extensive guide in this regard, be sure to check it out.
Chapter 4: Dealing with unfair treatment at Work.
Being treated unfairly at work is quite common. We may find ourselves falling out of the favor of our boss and no doubt it’s a very confusing experience.
Sometimes, it can be due to workload or stress but if it becomes a common practice then it definitely should raise the concern.
So, let’s first understand what unfair treatment at work looks like and what triggers it in the first place.
We’ll then look into what you can do to deal with such kind of behavior.
Knowing how to deal with unfair treatment at work will help you effortlessly deal with the power dynamics in the workplace.
What is unfair treatment at work?
Unfair treatment at work means biased and twisted treatment towards a particular individual which is distinct from the rest.
Unfair treatment can be very upsetting and damaging to the morale of an individual.
It can make you question your worth and values, also putting you in a dilemma about whether you did something wrong.
If someone is susceptible to unfair treatment at work, he can’t help but feel confused by this. He will exhibit a clear drop in his motivation to do well.
It is likely to affect his loyalty towards the organization as well. Such toxicity doesn’t just end on a particular individual. It will soon become a norm for the company and will end up damaging its credibility and reputation.
Signs of unfair treatment in the Workplace
Unfair treatment in the workplace can manifest itself in various ways.
Let’s take a look at them:
1. Discrimination
Unfair treatment in the workplace for a major share takes the form of discrimination against individuals.
Although it doesn’t need any explanation due to being so common among the masses discrimination in the workplace means treating certain employees with standards different from the rest.
It can be exhibited in several ways for a certain employee such as:
- Paying less than the others
- Heightened workload
- Undermining for little mistakes
- Sarcastic remarks due to race, religion, color, or gender
- Strict evaluation
2. Favoritism
Although it is widely preached to bring and favor merit everywhere including the workplace, the reality is quite different and disappointing.
It is a common sight for favoritism prevailing everywhere around us.
People with good internal connections get favored and get away with it easily while the deserving and hardworking candidates are left behind.
This only gives rise to corruption and creates imbalances in power dynamics in the workplace.
3. Lack of support
Lack of support is another major factor of unfair treatment in the workplace and means that an employee does not find the resources to complete his duties while it’s his right.
You may find yourself working on a project and need some information, you asked your boss for it but he keeps on delaying it due to procrastination and the deadline arrived.
Now all the blame is on you for not finalizing your assignment in time.
This was just a single example. Lack of support can approach you in several forms and sabotage your chances.
4. Unfair workload
An unfair workload in the workplace, simply put, is you are working 50 hours a week while others are given relaxation and barely do 35.
Singling out an employee and loading all the assignments on him can easily lead to burnout.
Such kind of behavior prevails mostly in organizations with no defined policy and structure. They just expect to get their work done and target such employees who are not likely to fight back.
They may be threatened to be fired and take advantage of their position.
Very heartbreaking indeed but a sad reality.
What triggers unfair treatment in the workplace?
Unfair treatment at work can be triggered by several reasons.
It could stem from anything personal or greed for getting something unfairly. Let’s take a look at the most common ones:
- Power imbalance in the workplace can trigger unfair treatment at work. When there is no proper check and balance or monitoring, bad guys get an opportunity to jump in and turn the situation in their favor. They may steal credit from others or inflate their accomplishments and easily get away with it.
- Personal grudges and secret jealousy can also contribute to unfair treatment. People hiding hostility towards someone are always looking for an opportunity to undermine them. They are very likely to treat them unfairly as well whenever the chance arises.
- Personal gain is yet another major contributor to unfair treatment in the workplace. People looking to get quick success may resort to dark tendencies to accomplish their motives. Such people don’t care much about ethics and won’t think twice when they have to treat someone unfairly.
Unfair treatment in the workplace is caused by exploiting the power dynamics in the workplace and taking advantage of the situation.
Dealing with it requires caution and a strategy to tackle his sensitive issue.
Let’s see how you can deal with it.
Dealing with unfair treatment at work
Dealing with unfair treatment requires a proactive approach.
By now you would have got a good idea about what unfair treatment at work looks like and what are its triggers.
Now it’s time to explore what you can do to address it and fix your situation.
We have written an extensive guide on how to deal with a situation where your boss gives you a different treatment than others. Be sure to check it out.
Conclusion
In this chapter, we could discuss unfair treatment in the workplace.
When it comes to the complex power dynamics at work, unfair treatment is inevitable.
Unfair treatment can be tricky to deal with but definitely in our hands. It just requires strategy and focus to deal with the situation effectively.
Chapter 5: Dealing with a difficult boss.
Life isn’t always and you are likely to land in a situation where you have to work with someone not so easygoing.
You may find yourself a boss who is very critical or quite difficult in general and you can’t help but feel miserable.
It’s however a part of power dynamics in the workplace and you should know how to navigate through it.
Dealing with a difficult boss can be tricky as you have a lot on stake like your job security, your performance evaluation, reputation, or professional credibility.
What is a difficult boss?
A difficult boss means someone who is quite critical and difficult to get along with.
If you have had yourself in a similar situation, you would know how stressful it can be to deal with such a boss.
Such bosses undermine and belittle their employees, and use sarcasm or even insulting remarks for them.
Such behavior can sharply decline one’s mental health with long-term consequences as well. The workplace can become toxic due to such negativity and the whole team is affected by it.
It also decreases the morale of the team and destroys its chemistry.
What to do when you have a difficult boss?
Dealing with a difficult boss can be tricky. However, the following tips will make your situation a lot better.
1. Understand your Boss’ Communication style.
A difficult may have a communication style that is quite distinct, making it difficult to get along with them.
The most important thing that you can do is dig out the communication style of your boss. How does he convey his idea? Does he prefer logic and facts? Does he prefer going straight to the point or discussing things in detail?
Finding out such information for your boss can be helpful to shape your arguments to minimize resistance.
2. Avoid discussing your boss with others.
It is very tempting to vent out the built-up frustration by talking behind your boss’ back but it can easily backfire.
You run a risk of being exposed as your coworker can easily inform your boss about which will make the situation worse.
It also takes a hit on your credibility and trust as an individual since when you complain to people about your boss, it does make a bad impression on them. It can also give rise to negativity in the workplace.
Approach a trusted friend or family member instead if you need to seek help.
3. Practice empathy
The tension between you and your boss could also be due to the difference in perspectives. Most of the time, both parties are right in their capacity but fail to understand the perspective of the other.
It can be really helpful to be empathic in such a situation. When you can put yourself in the shoes of another person, you will not only understand their point of view but also expand your vision.
It can give you insight into how a particular problem can be tackled from multiple angles.
Practicing empathy can be beneficial in building and improving relationships in the workplace.
How do you impress a difficult boss?
Learning to deal with a difficult boss is an essential part of navigating power dynamics in the workplace. Let’s be realistic, you can’t control who will be your boss.
But improving your terms with him is something in your hands.
We have written a detailed guide aimed at giving you tips on how to impress a difficult boss. You will get to explore great insights and strategies regarding it.
Conclusion
Having a difficult boss is stressful. It is a byproduct of power dynamics at work that you must know how to deal with, or you will make yourself miserable.
And that’s what this chapter was all about, giving you powerful strategies to deal with your difficult boss without causing havoc.
Chapter 6: Handling conflict at work
The workplace is a diverse place with people with different backgrounds and values working together. So, a conflict in such a place is inevitable.
Why does the conflict happen?
As stated above, conflict is bound to happen due to involving people belonging to different backgrounds with different values.
Let’s get our facts straight. A lot of things in life have either no right or wrong way of doing it. It just depends upon your preference on how you take on the things.
And when such a thing is brought into concern, conflict arises as there is no definite guideline on how to approach the situation.
And since you can’t provide a walkthrough for preferences or enforce them on individuals, people are always going to differ with them.
If there is a need for a table in an office, one would say light brown while another would say dark brown. Which one is right?
However, this was quite a naïve example, but this essence is found in most conflicts.
Identifying the conflicting behavior
When it comes to the labyrinth of power dynamics in the workplace, conflict is bound to happen. However, it’s vital to identify the conflicting behavior to timely address and take care of it.
It can manifest itself in the following ways:
1. Frequent Arguments
When you get into frequent arguments with your colleagues and coworkers, it’s a potential sign of turning into a conflict shortly. It’s important to keep in check the flow of discussion and remain open-minded about it.
These arguments in the workplace could arise due to several reasons:
- Team members think that the workload is unevenly distributed, and they feel overwhelmed by it.
- Arguments may start in the decision-making process. Disagreements may arise on how the decisions are made, who has the authority, and whose ideas are being acknowledged and implemented.
- Even a simple misunderstanding can lead to an argument between the team members.
2. Passive-Aggressive Communication
Passive-aggressive can be a contributor to igniting conflicting behavior in the workplace. People use passive aggression to vent out long-built-up frustration indirectly.
You can encounter passive-aggressive communication in the following ways, and most of them are quite common as well:
- Passing a sarcastic remark to indirectly show frustration.
Oh, great work! I’m sure you wouldn’t have put in any real effort. - Giving someone a backhanded compliment that has a hidden insult in it.
Wow! You actually managed to do this. I never thought you would. - Exhibiting subtle indirect hints rather than openly showing concern.
It’s amazing how many people don’t get on time.
This list could be, but it was just to give you an idea of how such a conversation can spark a war and escalate the situation quickly.
Being aware of the factors that can potentially cause a conflict is very beneficial since it will make you alert regarding the negative consequences.
Strategies to handle conflict at work.
Handling conflict at work can be challenging since no one wants to encounter stressful situations. But sometimes, it becomes inevitable, and you have to get your hands dirty.
But knowing how to do it effectively without harming your relationships is the real key. It will also give you an edge when navigating the power dynamics in the workplace.
1. Address the conflict early on
It’s best to resolve the conflict as soon as they arise rather than giving them time to escalate.
Usually, people keep delaying it and sometimes never open up about it. It only makes the situation since a lot of misunderstanding keeps brewing inside, increasing tension.
Instead, you should approach the concerned person as soon as you can with an open mind. Discuss your issue with them, tell do you feel about it, and what they have to say about it.
Even if the conflict isn’t resolved in one go, it will at least stop the chain reaction of misunderstandings cooking inside.
2. Use ‘I’ statements
During the conflict, it’s quite natural to think of others as being wrong. Haven’t they have been wrong then why you would conflict with them in the first place?
Since you are so eager to just let the other party know how wrong they are, it’s easy to get caught up in a blame game.
Both parties just start blaming each other and projecting their understanding on each other and the conflict goes nowhere.
What you should do is use ‘I’ statements.
You could say, ‘I feel disheartened by’ rather than ‘You always have been doing such and such’.
It will prevent the brewing of further misunderstandings and address the issue effectively.
3. Practice active listening
Active listening plays an instrumental role in resolving conflict. You should have an idea about the human psyche, when someone is complaining to you, he’s also looking to be heard. He wants you to listen to his query and at least acknowledge his situation.
Agreeing with him or not comes later on but first, you should be listening to him. It will also give you a chance to understand his perspective and what’s his stance.
It will give you a clear idea about how to devise a strategy to resolve the conflict.
And for the bonus, it will also improve your working relationship with that person.
4. Seek common ground.
It’s not uncommon for the conflict to escalate quickly and slip out of hand. It creates even more temptation to be aggressive which makes the situation worse.
When encountering a situation, you can seek common ground with your opponent. Let him know about the things that you agree with him.
It will bring his defenses down and prevent him from bursting.
5. Collaborate on solutions.
Another way of easing the tension in a conflict is to ask the opposite to move towards a collaborative approach.
Rather than imposing subjective ideas on each other, brainstorm potential solutions together keeping the check of concerns of both parties.
It will enable you to shift to the solution end of the situation and promote a healthier working environment. And possessing such a positive demeanor will make you effectively navigate power dynamics in the workplace.
Conclusion
In this chapter, we discussed the conflict in the workplace in detail, shedding light on ways you can identify the conflicts before they go unnoticed and escalate later on.
Dealing with conflicts can be somewhat challenging and requires a strategy since there is so much at stake, your credibility, reputation, and professional relationship.
We discussed simple yet powerful ways to deal with them. These are going to help you tackle difficult situations effectively.
Final thoughts
This brings us to the end of this extensive guide.
We have covered office politics in great detail. You would now have a clear idea of what is power dynamics at work with ways to navigate it effectively.
We also delved into why bad employees get promoted, and what are dark tendencies such people resort to make their mark. You could also find strategies to deal with such issues and don’t get passed on for promotions.
Then we explored the undermining behavior in the workplace. First, we discussed the forms of undermining behavior and then the significance of identifying the undermining behavior at work afterward.
You could then learn about unfair treatment at work in great detail. First, we discussed what is unfair treatment and how can you address it. Then we talked about dealing with the unfair treatment at work.
In Chapter 5, we explored the topic of a difficult boss and what you can do if you find yourself in a similar situation. you could also find in detail how to impress a difficult boss gracefully in a very subtle manner.
Chapter 6 talked about handling conflict at work and what are the different conflicting behaviors you can encounter at work. We then discussed different strategies you can implement to handle conflict at work with ease.
That brings us to the end of this extensive guide. We hope you now have a good grasp of power dynamics in the workplace and can navigate it effectively.
What suggestions would you like to add from your side?
What topic relates the most to you? Let us know in the comments below!
Leave a Reply