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office politics

American

[aw-fis pahl-i-tiks, ahf-is] / ˈɔ fɪs ˈpɑl ɪ tɪks, ˈɑf ɪs /

noun

the ways in which individuals in a business or workplace gain and hold social power; the interpersonal dynamics informed by and related to such unspoken power structures.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The first belongs to the nurturers: people who invested energy and care into helping me improve my craft, guided me through the nuances of office politics, or lifted me after a career faceplant.

From Salon • May 9, 2025

A 2009 ProPublica investigation found much of the hiring based on cronyism and office politics rather than on qualifications — a scenario all former employees interviewed for this article say still persists.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2025

"But I really do enjoy going up there because things are much simpler, and there are no office politics."

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2024

But although the invention would have been critical to soldiers during World War II, manufacturing issues and office politics stymied the project.

From Washington Post • Apr. 1, 2023

One coworker was openly hostile and competitive, the first time Jesse had ever encountered office politics.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023