alt Hacker NewsOffice politics happen when people determine they can get more money by engaging in politics instead of working. This is just an indicator people aren't being paid enough money (since people politicking around is detrimental to the company, it is better off paying them whatever it takes for them not to engage in such behavior). "You get what you pay for" applies yet again.
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Politicking is just group dynamics. In large companies people engage in politics because it becomes necessary to accomplish large things.
Of course a group can also have bad actors but that’s not really an issue with politics specifically. Politics are neither good nor bad.
Politics is just what happens when three or more humans get together. It's an inescapable part of human nature.
Hard disagree, most of my coworkers make well north of $1M and office politics is at an all time high.
I believe office politics happens when there are simply too many people at a company or org.
Figuring out how to allocate scarce career resources at a company ("impact", recognition, promotions, etc) is fundamental to the job of getting stuff done in a large organization.
There's an old saying: politics began when two people in a cave found themselves with only one blanket.