How to Defuse Remote Office Politics

One of the best advantages of working from home is avoiding office politics. No water-cooler gossip. No whispering about who’s getting what promotion. No lunch-hour cliques. Still, working from a remote office doesn’t necessarily mean you’re entirely free and clear from politics.

Even though you may be safely ensconced in your remote office, you could still be subject to the whims of political intrigue. Sometimes, being home-based and largely out of the office flow can exacerbate politics and lead to conflict on remote teams whose members aren’t in close proximity or privy to the direct flow of information.

What steps can you take to defuse remote office politics? Here are some tips:

Be direct and ask what’s going on.

Ideally, supervisors of remote teams keep them plugged in to significant events and leadership decisions that affect both individual teams and the organization as a whole. When that doesn’t happen, team members shouldn’t hesitate to ask about the direction of the company, especially when it affects their job duties. Team leaders and supervisors should do likewise.

Take advantage of in-house communication platforms.

Organizations with efficiently run virtual teams have effective tools for remote team communication that help workers feel connected and in touch with the company, and with other team members. Platforms like Yammer, Sococo, instant messaging, Google Hangouts and Skype chats are a few examples.

Reach out to both supervisors and co-workers.

Company connections can be on a 360-degree basis, involving team members and supervisors reaching out to colleagues both above and below them, at all organizational levels. Remote workers in particular can benefit greatly if they’re offered a variety of avenues of communication and are encouraged to use them, so they don’t feel as if they’re left in the dark.

Build trust.

Often, behavioral examples are set from the top down. If company leaders have worked to establish respect as a core value of the organization, team members at every level will likely follow suit. Working to build trust with employees can translate to greater employee engagement and less political gamesmanship,

Educate team members about how the company works.

Nature abhors a vacuum. In other words, in the absence of information from company leadership, employees may attempt to fill in the blanks with hearsay and gossip that has no basis in fact. To counter such scenarios, it’s extremely helpful to have systems in place that help employees not only understand how your organization functions, but also where to direct their questions if they don’t.

Stay mission focused.

One of the best antidotes to remote office politics is to stay focused on the mission at hand. After all, the organization’s work is what’s bringing the whole team together. Defuse remote office politics by keeping the entire team centered on the short- and long-term strategies. Team-building exercises for remote workers that focus on strategy and long-term goals can be among the best ways to keep energy-draining office politics to a minimum.

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By Adrianne Bibby | Categories: Work Remotely

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