How Does Office Politics Contribute To Poor Mental Health? Expert Weighs In

Office politics exists in almost all workplaces. Given that we spend 70% of our life at work, it becomes extremely hard to cope with everything when the environment is toxic. Office politics includes favouritism, rejection, groupism, exclusion or manipulation. Other subtle emotional abuses include sarcasm, criticism, constant complaining, hostile humour, calling names or defaming. To understand its negative effects on mental health and effective ways to cope with it, we reached out to our expert, Priyanka Kapoor, Psychotherapist, psychologist, Sex Therapist, and Couple and Family counsellor.

Negative Impacts Of Office Politics On Mental Health

Office politics can lead to serious mental health issues like low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, insomnia, stress and self-doubt. This can affect the performance of the employee to a great extent and make a person feel like he/she is always walking on eggshells. Additionally, it leads to burnout, sadness and even trauma. Many times people are forced to keep silent out of fear of reprisals, which can lead to suffocation and frustration too. All these factors result in hypertension, cardiac issues and also diabetes. When office politics lingers at a place where you spend your day it can end up affecting one's psychological well-being immensely.

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How To Deal With Office Politics

Below are some tips suggested by our expert to deal with office politics. According to her, this issue is prevalent in all workplaces and can’t be controlled by a single person. Therefore, it's necessary to know how you should react to a particular situation to avoid getting it inside your head.

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One should utilise assertive communication to prevent problems at work. “It is not necessary to overreact and start arguments. Bad-mouthing and ruined relationships with everyone can result from this. To have a positive work life and mental health, it's always necessary to have good interactions with everyone. Conflicts are inevitable. Therefore, to settle daily disputes, conflict management abilities are also crucial,” said our expert. It's always preferable to discuss things calmly and make an effort to understand how people are feeling and what they're expecting rather than harbouring resentment or employing saccharism, criticism, putdowns, etc.

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