Employees, bosses differ on issue of office politics

If you don't think office politics are a growing issue at your company, your employees might have news for you, according to two recent surveys.

More than a third (36 percent) of employees polled said the level of office politics has increased greatly compared to five years ago. Asked the same question in a separate survey, only 12 percent of executives perceived that office politics had increased greatly.

Overall, 70 percent of employees and 41 percent of executives said the level of office politics had increased greatly or somewhat.

The surveys were developed by OfficeTeam, a staffing service specializing in highly skilled administrative professionals, and conducted by an independent research firm. The poll of workers included responses from 720 men and women, all 18 or older and employed. The separate executive poll included 150 executives with the nation's 1,000 largest companies, according to an Office Team release.

"Many executives are somewhat removed from the day-to-day conflicts that can arise between employees and therefore may not be fully aware of challenges that can exist," said Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam, in the release.

Domeyer said the number of self-managed and cross-functional work groups has increased with the greater productivity demands facilitated by technology. While companies are seeing the benefits of this team structure, it can also be fertile ground for conflicts among workers. She offers the following suggestions to help minimize the effect of office politics:

Reward team results. Publicly recognize groups as well as individuals to motivate and inspire.

Maintain an open-door policy. Be sure that employees feel comfortable sharing their concerns with management.

Avoid creating the lone superstar. The strongest individual achievers should also be able to work well with others. Make sure the rules of business etiquette apply to all employees equally.

Take active steps to gauge morale. Check in with employees regularly and offer your help in solving problems. Political issues take a toll on employee morale and can lead to higher staff turnover.