Tips for coping with work politics/BS/toxic culture

[HellersK]

Please let me have your tips.
Background - I am late 40s, can retire in about 12 years, have been working since 19 and have made my way, by hard work and good luck, up the ladder to a reasonable mid-level job in my organisation which I'm very content with. I have no interest in progressing any further.
It's all the other stuff though - the politics, the brown-nosing, people being promoted on the basis of having the confidence to push themselves rather than having actual competence. I hope I don't sound bitter, I don't mean to, I just see this stuff more and more now, especially as I've had a series of very poor managers lately. I like the job, I like the organisation, I just don't like the culture. How do I cope?!

Limit your exposure to all of these things as best as you can.
Get a full and varied life outside work.
Change organisation.
Change job.
Go self employed.

If you don't care about progression, then coast, do enough, and ignore.

If you can't do that, then you have to find another job or apply to progress and change it.

IMO poor managers are extremely detrimental to people's motivation.

Can you move / will they retire or move on soon?

I’m sure you’re describing my last job. Towards the end their ineptitude was badly affecting my mental health. Any vacancies were filled by their mates rather than on merit. The management team had a big clique and there was no getting through that wall. There was only one answer for me. I left and I couldn’t be happier. The difference is staggering. Change is scary but ask yourself if you can really deal with this day in day out for the next 6 months/year/5 years/10 years. I think deep down you already know the answer to that question. How you deal with that is up to you