Breaking the Bond: Understanding and Addressing Workplace Cliques
Workplace dynamics can be complex. Amoung those dynamics, cliques—a tightly-knit group that excludes others—can be a big problem. While forming bonds and friendships at work is healthy and encouraged, cliques negatively impact cohesion, productivity, and culture.
What Does Clique-Like Behaviour Look Like?
- Exclusive Lunch Groups
A group of employees always eats lunch together and never invites others, sends a silent message that some team members aren’t welcome to join. - Information Gatekeeping
Certain employees share key updates, resources, or insights only with their group, creating unnecessary hurdles for others to perform their jobs effectively. - Social Media Exclusion
Team members from a clique frequently post photos or share inside jokes from group activities on social media, making others feel excluded and out of the loop. - Favouritism in Assignments
A manager or influential team members consistently assign the most desirable tasks or opportunities to their close-knit group, leaving others feeling overlooked or undervalued. - Resistance to Newcomers
A clique may exclude or dismiss ideas from new hires, making it difficult for these employees to integrate into the team or feel that their contributions are valued.
These cliques can create invisible walls within the workplace, undermining trust and collaboration. For HR professionals and leaders, understanding the subtle, yet significant differences, between healthy workplace relationships and cliques is essential to key to creating an inclusive environment.
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What Are Workplace Cliques?
A clique is a small, exclusive group of employees who associate only with each other. These groups often establish an “us versus them” mentality, making others feel excluded or undervalued. Unlike healthy friendships, cliques operate on exclusivity, sometimes using their connections to gain power, influence decisions, or isolate individuals who don’t conform to the group’s expectations.
Friendship vs. Cliques: Knowing the Difference
Healthy workplace friendships are based on mutual respect, shared goals and genuine friendship. These relationships boost morale, collaboration and inclusivity.
On the other hand, cliques create division. They may:
- Gossip or talk negatively about colleagues.
- Intentionally exclude others from meetings, projects or social activities.
- Use their collective voice to resist change or undermine leadership decisions.
While friendships build bridges, cliques erect walls, hindering the sense of togetherness that’s critical to a thriving workplace.
The Negative Impact of Workplace Cliques
Cliques can quietly destroy workplace culture. Some common consequences include:
- Decreased Collaboration
Employees outside the clique may not share ideas or collaborate, fearing rejection or dismissal. This reduces team synergy and stifles innovation. - Lower Morale
Being part of a clique can make others feel isolated, resentful and disengaged. This affects overall morale and increases employee turnover. - Distrust Among Team Members
Cliques can create an environment of mistrust where employees question each other’s motives and intentions, making it harder to build genuine professional relationships. - Undermined Leadership
Cliques can resist change or challenge leadership decisions, disrupting the flow of work and creating unnecessary tension.
What Leaders Can Do to Minimize Workplace Cliques
As a leader or HR professional, tackling cliques requires a proactive and intentional approach..
Here are steps to mitigate their impact:
- Foster a Culture of Inclusion
Create opportunities for team members to interact and connect with each other across different groups. Initiatives like cross-departmental projects, team-building activities and open-door policy can encourage collaboration and reduce the formation of exclusive groups. - Model Inclusive Behaviour
Leaders set the culture tone. Show inclusivity by treating all team members equally and no favouritism. - Set Clear Expectations
Communicate the organization’s values around teamwork and respect. Reinforce that exclusionary behaviour or any form of discrimination won’t be tolerated. - Be Transparency
Encourage open communication channels where employees feel safe discussing their concerns about cliques or exclusionary behaviour. - Monitor Team Dynamics
Observe workplace interactions. Look for signs of cliques, such as consistent exclusion or patterns of limited interaction among certain employees, and address these issues promptly.
Moving Toward a Unified Workplace
Cliques may start as harmless social groups but their impact on team dynamics and culture cannot be ignored. Leaders and HR professionals must remain vigilant, fostering an environment where inclusivity is a priority and every employee feels valued.
By tackling cliques early and empowering individuals to choose collaboration over exclusivity, workplaces can be cohesive, innovative and welcoming for all.
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Contact Beverly about hosting a workshop for your teams on how to deal with difficult people at work. Learn strategies to create a more positive attitude in the workplace and encourage an engaging, safe working environment!
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If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!
Additional Resources:
10 Signs that You Are The Toxic Person
How To Handle A Difficult Boss
Dealing With Difficult Employees
Don’t Let That Difficult Customers Rattle Your Staff
Stop Letting That Difficult Person Ruin Your Day
Related Workshop:
Terminating Toxicity: https://worksmartlivesmart.com/keynotes-workshops/stop-letting-that-difficult-person-ruin-your-day/