The dark side of employee behavior: An explanation of factors instigating organizational politics

Organizational politics is becoming a nightmare for the employers, especially in developing countries, because of its devastating effects on the achievement of organizational objectives. The culture specific reasons of the development of organizational politics posed a great challenge to behavioral sciences experts and made it necessary to study the reasons why employees engage in organizational politics. This study examined the factors playing key role in the development of organizational politics. Data was collected from 15 academic staff members of Punjab University, using semi-structured interviews among the available qualitative research methods, indicated the instigating role of different factors in the development of organizational politics. Culture of the organization and influence of national political parties were found to be the most significant factors. Employees consider it necessary for survival in the organization. Managerial implications are also discussed.