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

[Swirlythingy2025]

Basically that really , from school you get taught do your role well , achieve x projects or this that and the other and in theroy rise the ranks but in reality depending on the company it can also depend on who you talk to etc.
also been watching the shows billions and sucession that have also influenced the creation of the thread

You want schools to teach office politics on
top of everything else?!?!

What do you think should be taught?

its not a long section in the wide range of topics under business studies plus they could add it in as an essay title etc for a level or degree etc

Have you met teenagers?

just that in a company doing your role can only get you so far, sometimes its also who you chat to and build the connections with while doing your role. that also counts and not just networking when tring to achive x role

thinking more degree / uni level but even then a levels too. but then how many threads on mumsnet about x that got the role because they chatted to the boss at the watercooler etc

I'm not sure that can be taught tbh, at least not at school. The ability to build relationships happens at school, at home, everywhere and how to behave with people starts at home. Those skills/abilities are carried on into the workplace.
I think just doing xyz doesn't translate into success for everyone, it's not tangible.

So you've told someone that in 10 seconds.

What's the rest of the syllabus ?

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.

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

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

not the office politics as such, when i did my business degree they never said about the fellow collegues etc and how important it is to network with them

none, they could add it as an essay question or research project etc

and i can respect that,but then it also can limit a persons ability on the corporate roles etc especially if eg two people both good at the roles and one joins in the office activities etc then the one joing in more can increase the chances of the promotion etc

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

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

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 😉

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.

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.

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

Seems like common sense!

So you don’t understand how time 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.

😀

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!!