Why is office politics ignored in formal education when it can help shapes careers as powerfully as Porter’s Five Forces ?

I'm a senior director and have never been into office politics. I wouldn't work for a big corporate if you doubled my salary.

Actually @Goldenbear made a better point.

I think it’s pretty common knowledge that being nice to the people that make your job easier being the post room, the cleaner or reception will be helpful.
Plus every job has a person who will happily tell you who you should keep
in with.

Other than that theres so much neuro diversity training now people are aware that the non chatty members of staff are just as valued.

It seems odd to ask schools to teach office politics they don't really have that kind of work culture so how can they teach it? Teachers are teaching specific subjects on their own, in a classroom with some TAs perhaps, how does that emulate office life, where office politics is more an organic thing derived from the working dynamic of people who are adults in an office job,? Isn't school about receiving an education, delivered by people who can teach a specific subject? Equally, office politics is mostly relevant to offices, what about getting on in other jobs?

I imagine many kids at private schools learn this from their parents and visiting speakers from alumni.

This
I think what OP is pointing at is the inherent advantages that privately educated or state educated middle class children have.
They grow up knowing how to network, make small talk, the right table manners, the right hobbies. All the things that are a gateway to success.
OP is right that someone should be filling those gaps for children without those advantages, not sure who though.

Well if you managed to get to university, then your lecturers would assume you knew that - it’s a very basic life skill.

But anyway, it can be covered in a couple of sentences.

Being really good at it is harder, and yes a more privileged upbringing helps you pick up
those skills, but I really don’t think teachers have time to teach them.

Another flaming thing that schools “should” be teaching!!
how many hours a day do you think they’re there for?
and why do parents not seem to have any responsibility to, you know, chat to their kids about the way the world works!!

😀

It’s not as easy as that. All assessments have to link explicitly to course and module learning outcomes.
A student might choose to do this as a dissertation topic but that would be individual choice.

It relates more to careers and employability and would be covered by that team rather than a formal assessment but I’m not sure it is covered quite in the way you are suggesting.

So you don’t understand how time works?

Seems like common sense!

Social skills face to face are something that many may lack. Examples often on MN threads where people won't just talk to someone.

Office politics depends entirely on the individuals present, their values preferences and the general culture of the industry. It can't be taught and if it were it would be immediately out of date..

Social skills are the most important skill set in life, a person with strong skills will be able to recognise what is politics, and what is merit based. They may not rise to the top for reasons beyond their control but they will have the confidence to move elsewhere or retrain or whatever is necessary for their happiness.

Disagree. But people who are friendly, positive and who encourage others in the workplace are probably going to be liked by bossies and thus more likely to be promoted than someone who is unfriendly and negative and doesn’t engage with their colleagues. Not rocket science. Unless the work is literally rocket science in which case friendliness probably is less of a factor.

It is good to know this, but I think the information can be conveyed by watching a relevant movie or TV show. It doesn’t need to be a taught class. And then learned by bitter experience !

Children should learn through secondary school and before university the value of networking later in life, although they shouldn’t need to consciously do it until they’re in a first job. I imagine many kids at private schools learn this from their parents and visiting speakers from alumni.

Recommendations for movies and TV that might show this in practice are welcome! Succession is less relatable 😉

If you can’t work out office politics by yourself, you’re not going to manage in an office.

The old ways are dead. You might as well have ability with the loom.

Surely this is already explained in most business studies courses. Internal and external stakeholder management.

Which subject do you think should be dropped so that teachers can find the time to do this?

Office politics is going to be fundamentally different for the gen z and below generation. They don't want chitchat and they don't want to hang around the office unnecessarily. Loads of people out and proud as neurodivergent or anxious. It's a great time to be a paddler of one's own canoe.

So you've told someone that in 10 seconds.

What's the rest of the syllabus ?