No running away from office politics

"I'm not a fan of office politics mainly because I'm an introvert, and I'm wondering if smaller companies tend to have less office politics than larger organisations. I've worked with Fortune 500 companies and I'm trying to transition to a [relatively] smaller company. I'm just wondering if my old nemesis, office politics, will be there as well."

The response from Lily Garcia, Special to The Washington Post.

In a larger organisation, it might be harder to get noticed unless you are good at self-promotion. Within the formal structure for employee recognition, introverts like you might have a tendency to blend into the crowd. By their nature, smaller organisations might be a better fit for you because they offer greater opportunities for employees to chart their own course and contribute  in unique and highly visible ways.

But that does not mean that smaller organisations are free of office politics. I have worked for companies of more than 100,000 employees and intimate operations run by a handful of staff. Everywhere I go I encounter similar issues for the simple reason that organisations are comprised of people. It is human nature to be political.

I am just inviting you to consider that this is no more than an extreme example of the typical human behaviour you are likely to encounter in any workplace.. Sometimes office politics is just what we do to get along better with fellow employees, to display courtesy, to avoid hurting feelings.