Hidden benefits of hanging out with your colleagues

Office politics

Love or hate it, it’s here to stay. If you’re surprised that there’s such a thing as good office politics, you’re not alone – I was too. As women, we are taught a few fundamental things, one of them being that if we work hard to become good in our roles, we’re well on the way to successful careers.

Then we get to the workplace and if we are lucky, discover that there is a whole different set of rules that dictate promotions, success and progress in our careers. I say ‘if we’re lucky’ because there are many people who go through their careers doing what they thought were the right things only to discover, many years later, that there is a reason why they were passed over for promotions and raises. Even worse, it had nothing to do with their performance or competence.

This is where interacting with your colleagues and supervisors outside the office can be a huge bonus.

Building allies

For some people, especially introverts, they would rather drive a stake through their leg than go to yet another after-hours event or gathering where the conversation is the same old stuff. But consider this. There’s a project coming up at work and you would like to be included, or at the very least to know if your skill set would be a good fit. Or you have heard rumors of impending changes and you’re tired of being the last to know what’s going on. Or you’d like to move to a new department and cannot seem to get your boss’s buy-in to your idea.

Office meetups are a great way to get to know your colleagues better, but more importantly for them to get to know you. You can talk about what you’re passionate about and the exciting projects that you’re involved in that do not seem to get airtime during normal office hours. Networking is a great way to build allies and get people enthusiastic about something you’re working on in a low pressure environment. So, the next time you get invited to an event or meet-up, before you say no first think about how it could help with something you have been struggling with in the workplace.

Promotions

You’re interested in being promoted but you are not sure if this is clear to your supervisor or his/her boss. An informal event allows you to bring up your career aspirations in a way that is non-threatening to your immediate boss. In fact, the more senior the attendees, the more important it is to be there. And once there, don’t be a wallflower. Have a couple of topics that you can bring up, especially regarding current projects as ice-breakers.

At times promotions don’t come our way because some of the decision makers do not know much about us – who we are, what we stand for, etc. Use social events as a way of connecting beyond work. Find out something about what the leaders in your organisation like to do during their free time, and areas where you have common interests. It’s a lot easier to connect with someone who has similar interests to ours than those we have nothing in common with.