Study finds office politics at its most rife in the civil service (and lowest in the legal sector)

WHISPERS by the water cooler, a quick gossip as the kettle boils, or a raised eyebrow in a meeting - we've all experienced office politics at work. Our colleagues, the people we often spend more time with than our own friends and family, can become our closest allies, where discreet chats about the accounts department being late for work again, underpin our daily work routine.

DBS check provider, uCheck, wanted to delve deeper into the office politics of business sectors throughout the UK, to find out which industry harboured the highest levels of hushed conversations. They also wanted to see how people felt about office politics: is it something to avoid at all costs or a tactic to help you get ahead at work?

The survey of 1,500 respondents firstly asked whether people felt that office politics existed in their workplace. The results of the survey found that the civil service had the highest rate of office politics (78% according to employees in that sector), followed by advertising (77%) and engineering (also 77%). According to the survey, it's the legal sector that has the lowest levels of office politics (57%), followed by tourism (60%) and the retail sector (62%).

You can see the full breakdown of business sectors and levels of office politics using this handy infographic.

So, should civil service workers be avoiding the water cooler or making an active beeline for it? uCheck asked workers whether they thought joining in with office politics would help them gain promotions, and surprisingly, over a third answered yes. Interestingly, however, when broken down by gender, the survey found that the majority of workers holding this view were men (72%).

Following in a similar suit, nearly a third of survey respondents felt that office politics can be a positive phenomenon in the work place, 59% holding this view were, again, men. Furthermore, almost ½ of workers felt that getting involved in office politics was unavoidable, however when separated by gender it was pretty close; 48% of women believing they could avoid office politics, if they wanted to, compared to 52% of men.

uCheck consulted leading psychologist, Robert Stewart, who says:- "It may appear surprising that such a considerable number of people find office politics unavoidable, however, it is worth considering that standing around the water cooler discussing colleagues doesn't stray too far from our evolution, albeit with watercoolers replaced with waterholes and colleagues with predators. People have a natural tendency to want to find their position within a group or tribe, so office politics becomes an inherent part of the work environment. People can often feel that if colleagues are engaging in talk around others, that they can become the object of the topic unless they become complicit. Thus to be part of the in group, they feel it a necessity to become involved. Often others will seek their opinions on colleagues, thus leaving the individual with little choice, but to voice their thoughts.  Whilst one would hope that a mutual respect would exist between all colleagues working under the same roof, we are human and possess a number of biases and judgements regarding others. Equality within the workplace is a key part of well being and strongly correlated with high states of satisfaction and subsequent productivity. However, when we perceive an injustice, office politics and comments on others becomes inevitable, regardless of whether we have the full picture or not.  Many are also cognisant of the fact that progression at work isn't purely correlated with competence, for many work is still a social club with the most popular players progressing the fastest. Because of this, it's likely that the perception of engaging in office politics could assist one in their career. However, this should be considered very carefully, for whatever words are spoken explicitly, many more judgements are made by others implicitly and reputations can be impacted. Once you are known for speaking badly of others, it can become very difficult to rebuild your reputation. A few poorly chosen words can last a career.  When thinking about office politics and how to manage it, consider the longer term outcome. A small conversation may benefit you there with that person, but the longer term impact of others judgements of you will be much more damaging. Prepare yourself a script; 'I can see your point, but it's really not my place to comment etc'. You may receive the cold shoulder or feel silly, but your reputation will soon become consistent as the person who doesn't engage in office politics and therefore is more trustworthy. Living by a specific set of valued behaviours will benefit you more than any."

51 year old male jailed for 2 years after stop results in a heroin and cocaine find

A 51 year old male, from Halewood, was been jailed for 2 years, on Friday, 30 June 2017, after he was stopped with heroin and cocaine worth £20,000 in his car following an investigation by TITAN Regional Organised Crime Unit.

Robert Dally, had already pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class A drugs with intent to supply Class A drugs, at Liverpool Crown Court, on Wednesday, 28 June 2017. 

His arrest and resulting prosecution was a result of a search carried out be Police.  We are told that he was stopped by Police on the slip road of the M6 Southbound, near to Junction 14, on 4 November 2016.  They then found a bag containing ½ a kilo of heroin and a quantity of cocaine was found during a search of the Vauxhall Zafira he was driving. The total street value of the drugs was estimated to be £20,700.

Detective Inspector Nick Hughes, from Titan, said:- "Criminals who deal in the supply and distribution of controlled drugs, don't care about the impact that the supply of drugs has in our communities. I would like to reassure the decent members of our communities that we will continue to proactively tackle criminal gangs who think nothing of flooding the streets with dangerous drugs in order to profit from other people's misery. I hope today's sentencing shows anyone involved in drugs supply in the North West; you are not untouchable; you will be caught and put before the Courts. Titan will continue to do everything to stop criminals from profiting from the miserable trade of drugs. Titan exists to target and dismantle top tier criminal gangs who pose the greatest threat to the North West public and whose damaging influence stretches throughout the UK and beyond. The key to our success is the work we do side by side with Local Police Forces and National Law Enforcement Agencies and today's sentencing is a great example of this."

Anyone with information about drug dealing in their community can call Merseyside Police on:- 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on:- 0800 555 111.

Formby Village Friday Market is Buzzing

THE newly introduced Friday Market in Formby Village is drawing in the crowds according to many locals.  We popped over on Friday, 30 June 2017 to take a look at what the market is now doing, since it launched earlier on in the year.  Not all businesses are happy about having it, but most have told us that they have seen a rise in footfall when the market is on and that it has been very good for business.  Also market traders are singing the praise about the area, with many saying they would like to highlight the local school children.  Once of the market stalls said:- "All the children in Formby are amazing, they are so plight and we are impressed to see then helping other shoppers, if asked.  The atmosphere in Formby village is amazing and it is 1 of the highlights in our week to attended this market." We would love to know what you, our readers think of Formby Market.  Please email us to:- News24@SouthportReporter.com with your views and thoughts.