Saul, aged twenty-five, has just started a new job where everyone works in an open-plan office. He's been there about three weeks and is content. A music lover, he has been wearing headphones during the day while working on the computer. Yesterday a colleague who Saul guesses to be about forty to forty-five years old, offered him some "advice." "You should take off the headphones in the office," she said, "that's not the way we do things here. People are starting to say that you aren't friendly and tend to be a loner." This caught Saul by surprise since he has the headphones on most of his free time as well, and he thinks the music helps him stay relaxed and focused while doing detailed computer work. Nobody said anything about such things when he interviewed, and he can't find any company policy or rule that forbids wearing headphones at work. He likes the job, even likes the people, but he doesn't like being told to take the headphones off.

  

1. To what extent are power and politics already at play in this situation?

2. How might Saul effectively use power and positive politics to address the situation?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 Power and Politics in the Situation Power dynamics are evident in this situation The colleague who advised Saul is attempting to influence his behav... View the full answer