Goals, values, work styles and personalities vary widely. As we advance in our careers, we must all interact with workmates and deal with conflicts, disagreements or differing goals but we don’t need to participate in the negative practices that inspire the term “office politics”.

Sometimes office culture can feel like a game of gossip, rumours, drama and fight to the death power struggles.

We call this office politics. Following these tips can help you deal with office politics without joining in, running away or pretending these practices don’t exist.

Everyone is not your friend
Trust is earned. Distrust is also earned. As a general rule, avoid sharing sensitive information about yourself but practice being respectful and pleasant to everyone. Take time to get to know the people you work with before developing expectations of them based on friendship. You can maintain a friendly and positive acquaintance with workmates who you don’t know well or who aren’t your personal friends.

Make friends
While everyone may not be a friend, having friends at work matters more than many may think. A study of more than 5 million workers over 35, conducted by the Gallup Organization, showed that “56% of the people who say they have a best friend at work are engaged, productive, and successful while only 8% of the ones who don’t are.” Friends can not only make your work life more enjoyable but they can also help you advance your career.According to the Harvard Business Review, “The number one way people find new jobs is referrals by friends.”

Keep a positive perspective
Choosing to view situations in a positive light can help keep you from assuming the worst about the actions of your coworkers or situations at work. Your positive perspective will show in your actions and how you deal with situations. You won’t be defensive or attacking because you will see the humanity in your coworkers and wait for situations to unfold.Coworkers have bad days or may be fearful, distracted, hurt or angry about personal matters. Their actions or attitude may have nothing to do with you.

Stay focused
Your primary purpose at work is to work. So, do it well and keep that as your priority. Staying focused and doing good work can mean being a team player and working well with others; continuously learning and improving your skills; taking the initiative to offer to do tasks or proposing ideas or methods that can improve your work product or help your team or department.

Be authentic
Who you know matters but who knows you matters more. Office politics can sometimes encourage a culture of flattery and falseness as people try to get noticed by those who have more power. While recognition matters, attention seeking is not your priority. Many people can spot a fake flatterer from miles away and it can work against you to gain the reputation of being a “kiss up”, even if you are not a bad worker. Instead let your work product speak for itself and stay authentic in your relationships with your peers, subordinates and supervisors. Very often opportunities to connect will come as a result of work you’ve done and the good things people have said about you as they’ve worked with you. Being authentic is not only easy on your lips, it’s also more rewarding.

Be assertive
Being aggressive or passiveaggressive can be unprofessional. If a matter needs to be addressed, do so respectfully with the relevant person or persons, not with the office gossip mill. Stay objective and focused on the issue. A calm and firm response shows that you are serious but are willing to resolve the matter.

Be accepting
Everyone will not agree with you or do things the way you prefer. Accept their choice without being forceful with your position. Keeping an open mind, being tolerant and accepting differences can make you more likeable and an easier person to work with.
Employers and clients generally prefer people who are easy to work with.

Work smart, fight smart
Sometimes the little battles can cost you the war so fight wisely. Every comment, mean look or attempt to one-up doesn’t require a war. Your time is valuable so don’t get distracted by pettiness. It’s a sign of strength to let things go and walk away from a fuss if you know the facts are on your side. Every fight can do some damage so avoid battling unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Walk away
Some office environments can be extremely toxic, especially when office politics get out of hand. If you have exhausted this list and still find the situation intolerable, it may be time for you to gather a record of your skills and accomplishments, tap into the support of your friends and walk away from that company to a place that better suits you.

Good Luck,
AFETT
AFETT is a not-for-profit organization formed in 2002 with the goal of bringing together professional women and engaging in networking opportunities, professional training and business ideas. ASK AFETT is a column meant to address issues and concerns of professionals seeking advice to assist in progressing in their careers. Today’s response was written by AFETT member, Debbie Estwick, design/ brand strategist and educator.

Learn more about AFETT at www.afett.com, search for AFETT Events on Facebook, follow us @AFETTEXECS on Twitter or contact us at 354-7130.
Email us your career-related questions at admin.afett@gmail.com.
https://hbr.org/2010/07/whyfriends- matter-at-work-and.html

According to reports, at 3.30 pm, Dr Orville Scott was at his Peter Circular Road home when two men entered the house through the front door which was open at the time. Scott confronted the men and a struggle ensued. One of them shot Scott in the abdomen and leg and as he slumped to the ground, the intruders fled without taking anything.

Scott managed to alert relatives who contacted the Arima police and the doctor was rushed to a medical institution where he was treated and remains warded in a stable condition. Police said they hope images recorded via closed-circuit tv (CCTV) cameras outfitted around Scott’s house, could assist them in identifying the gunmen. No arrests have been made.

Peeling iron fretwork and painted shut jalousies harken back to a time when craftsmanship was valued.

The craftsmen themselves, more often than not, were black labourers who lived in barrack yards to the east of the city and moved through the streets on their way to work, along with stevedores, street traders and hired help for the wealthy. Some were able to access the limited education available and find employment as clerks in businesses and the lower ranks of the public service. Higher administrative positions went to the coloured scion of old plantation families. Beyond St James, the Indian presence had barely penetrated the capital.

Business owners were the white British and French creole elite. Everyone had a place and knew it.

It was here that a young Syrian immigrant would attempt to make his mark. Given the accolades and homage paid to Dr Anthony N Sabga since his death last week, he more than succeeded.

From a cramped 12 by 20-foot haberdashery on 73 Queen Street, to a conglomerate of over 70 companies with interests across the Caribbean and Latin America, in more ways than one, Sabga ushered in a new kind, and a new way of doing business in TT.

For many Trinbagonians, the Sabga name and by extension, the Syrian community, is “big business”.

This is perhaps Sabga’s most important legacy, this shift away from the economic dominance of Scottish trading interests such as Geddes Grant and Alstons, to what was this small and relatively powerless immigrant community.

Gerry Besson, historian and publisher, said that Sabga’s almost intuitive ability to “read the times” was a critical attribute to his success.

No less important was his ability to also ride the wave of them.

The first wave, said Besson, came in the early 1900s, when Syrians and Lebanese began arriving in TT. Cocoa was still profitable and the money “trickled down” through the society. It was this prosperity that allowed the first of the immigrants to set up as traders.

Among them was Sabga’s father, who ran N S Sabga. Anthony found himself having to take over the business at 14, when his father returned to Syria. It was this business that would provide the seed capital for him to go off on his own eventually in his early 20s.

This was right after World War II and the country was experiencing another period of prosperity. Sugar cane was still profitable and oil production was steadily increasing.

Raymond Ramcharitar, historian and columnist, who collaborated with Sabga on his autobiography, A Will and A Way, recounted that Sabga, on the advice of a salesman named Richard Brathwaite, became an importer. He travelled to Europe and earned several contracts to distribute brands in TT.

Here again was the Sabga intuition at work. He sensed that people would be hungry to spend on items that made them seem more modern.

Ramcharitar said he took refrigerators around the country on the back of a Volkswagen truck and left them in the homes of those who ordinarily would not have been able to afford such luxuries.

When he came to collect them some time later, the householders were sold on the idea of owning it.

Apart from this innovative marketing method, Sabga was one of the first pioneers of hire-purchase as a business model on a mass scale in TT. According to Besson, Sabga had grown up on Nelson Street among blacks and knew them.

Based on his interactions, he was one of the first to give them credit to purchase items at his Standard stores, where few were doing it at the time, always confident that they would repay.

He was again ahead of the curve in the 1960s when then prime minister Eric Williams called for diversification of the economy away from export of primary goods to export of manufactured items. While several of his compatriots continued to sell cloth, Sabga started Ansa Industries, and through the next decade and a half entered light manufacturing, the garment and construction industries, agriculture and food processing.

Along the way though, he engendered the resentment of the white creole business community, who watched as he entered areas previously marked off as their exclusive enclaves.

The recessionary 1980s, though, would cement the shift as one of the largest and oldest of the white concerns, McEnearny Alstons was threatened with closure.

Ramcharitar said while many business interests were folding and leaving TT, Sabga stayed. Ramcharitar credits his purchase of the McEnearny Alstons group for reducing potential negative effects of its closure on the economy.

“Could you imagine what would have happened if the economy had lost those 3,000 jobs as represented by McEnearny Alstons? The country would have taken much longer to recover,” said Ramcharitar.

“He kept those 21 companies going, factories running. If you are talking legacy, then to me, these would be the preservation of Ansa McAl, the growing of it, the acquisition of trans-national businesses and the establishment of the Ansa Merchant Bank.” Ramcharitar also counted the establishment of the Ansa Psychological Research Centre and funding for the Anthony N Sabga School for Entrepreneurship and the Guardian Media School of Journalism as key achievements of the business magnate.

But Besson and Ramcharitar both recognise the Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence as Sabga’s seminal achievement.

Ramcharitar said the award scheme created a network of scientists, artistes and entrepreneurs, all smart and talented people, who now know each other and can act as catalysts for Caribbean development.

““It shines a light on bright, young people,” said Besson, giving them the funding to develop opportunities that they could not before.

And this Besson said, is perhaps where the true genius of the man who is now gone lay, the fact that he came full circle.

Sabga, a poor Syrian immigrant, he said, understood his time and the country, created wealth and opportunities for himself, grew and learned from them, and then gave back to the community.

This I have concluded from articles appearing in newspapers over the weekend — “Healthcare system in crisis” and the empty promises of the minister of health headed “Drug shortage to end by 2017.” It is an insult to say that the system belonged to the dinosaur age. Dinosaurs will not like that, but it is archaic for sure.

Some of the complaints of the system are too many general practitioners, some of whom know a lot about nothing, others nothing about everything and a selected few a little about some things.

The list continues: overcrowded clinics serving hopelessness; empty hospital pharmacies dispensing frustration; medicine not ending up in the right places; doctors and nurses no longer being the agents of comfort; easier to get an appointment with death than with the clinics; non-functioning machines; doctors’ inefficiencies going unchallenged and there is no form of redress; nursing staff overworked; shortage of medical supplies; unmanned working equipment; cancer patients at the mercy of the system; misdiagnosis and under and over-treatment.

Our recent trend of using chemicals and surgery to cure means that we have aligned ourselves with the predatory nature of the pharmaceutical industry. We have grown accustomed to suppressing symptoms rather than curing root causes. This necessarily results in an increase of the number of patients.

The Ministry of Health must lead the return to traditional remedies while maintaining contemporary medicine and at the same time researching artificial intelligence medical machines.

Make all three modes available and let patients choose the one they feel comfortable with.

All three avenues of healthcare must be supported financially by the State. There are large jurisdictions in which all three methods are present and they have long eliminated the problems we are now wrestling with.

Our healthcare system is highly labour intensive and will always be riddled with human errors. We know how difficult it is to keep the productivity of labour high consistently.

The minister has to think outside the box.

He must take the bull by the horns, research other systems and copy what they use to make their systems more efficient.

The use of artificial intelligence medical machines with bioresonance therapy and frequency compensation is highly recommended.

The accuracy and efficiency of these machines is well beyond that of a team of your best doctors.

The latter has to depend on questioning the patient to gather data before a diagnosis is made. There is much guesswork and trial and error causing treatment to hit or miss its target.

The use of the artificial intelligence medical machines eliminates unnecessary lengthy contact times between doctor and patient and delays of waiting on tests. It collects symptoms scientifically, analyses electronically and provides and prescribes medication instantly based on a matrix system. Furthermore, treatment is orderly, the most urgent issue is dealt with first. A great plus of this system is that there is no drug to go astray.

The system sounds like magic or a fairy tale but it exists. No more disappointing trips to the pharmacy; no more side effects from the use of chemicals and no long wait for medication to kick in. Bankruptcy from illness will be a thing of the past.

For those who believe a little behaviour modification will bring healing, for those who do not believe, well sorry, it will be a case of until death separates you from illness.

Mr Minister, you have the wand in your hand to make things happen, cast the spell.

You can revive the era when the society cared about healing its sick.

Any alternative action will promote the rise of the predators and the misery will continue.

Time to raise health from the doldrums

LENNOX FRANCIS Couva

Owner of the company, Atiba Purcell, explained that there are “a few car wash operations in the area but my vision has grown from more than just a car wash.” We’re closed on Mondays but we open from 8:30 am to 6 pm, Tuesday to Sunday and sometimes later on weekends, to facilitate the people.

Some people see it as a hustle, but I treat washing vehicles like a business and I also accept LINX.” Speaking with Business Day one evening after work, Purcell recalled how he left a career in construction to wash vehicles because he wanted to be his own boss.

“I always liked cars, liked being around them, liked fixing them.

I wanted my own business, so I decided to do something that involved my passion. At first all I had was a sign and a small tarpaulin. We’re located close to the Pitch Lake visitors’ entrance; on the left side of main road when you’re coming from San Fernando.

Residents and employees of companies that operate on the LABIDCO Industrial Estate started to come to me and from there, the business grew.” Purcell originally called his company Antic’s Car Wash but in 2016, he changed the name to Driven Automotive. He also created a Facebook page by the same name, so that customers and interested persons can contact him easily.

Six months after he set up shop, Purcell had gained enough regular clients that he needed to hire someone. It remained a twoperson operation until 2015, when Purcell began selling auto supplies.

He also expanded his car wash service beyond regular washing and vacuuming to include full auto detailing, shampooing of interiors, foam washing, vehicle polishing, minor and major paint correction, engine wash and headlight restoration.

Asked if he had met his goals in the eight years since he became an entrepreneur, Purcell revealed that his accomplishments have exceeded his original expectations.

“What I’ve been able to do, how I’ve expanded, it’s way more than I thought was achievable.

The people in the community and the workers from companies on the estate, like TOFCO (Trinidad Offshore Fabricators Unlimited), NGC (National Gas Company), Oil Mop, TGU (Trinidad Generation Unlimited), BSI (Services) and CGCL (Caribbean Gas Chemical Limited), have really supported me. The councillor for Brighton/ Vessigny, Gerald Debesette, also supports me.” Purcell would like to expand his business to include “a place where you could get something to eat while your vehicle is being washed and a proper waiting room.” This, however, requires money and more land.

Access to land on which to open a business is something which Purcell said is a problem for many La Brea residents. He cited leases for land that has remained unoccupied for various reasons and land under the control/ ownership of energy companies.

“A lot of the land is tied up, so people don’t have access to it and if they do try and build on it, they get notices to stop. So I think the authorities should find some way to open up land use to (entrepreneurs).” Regarding access to services, Purcell echoed what many others in the area have previously told Business Day – that La Brea needs a bank or at least a few ATMs. He also suggested the opening of a food court and a vehicle alignment service centre.

“There are a few people running food places but they’re unable to do it throughout the week; mostly on weekends. La Brea has potential for a lot more, there are many companies in the area and also upcoming ones which would all benefit from the businesses when opened on a regular basis.

“With the right resources if more small businesses were to open, there would be more employment opportunities for La Brea residents,” Purcell said.

Bloom Fabres started the upmarket some years ago at the Woodbrook Youth Facility and has very successfully continued to organise a Festival of Fabulous Foods and Finds, which includes hand-made local cards, jewelry, plants, beauty products and more, at very reasonable prices, and always in an attractive setting. The upmarket will offer a variety of unusual Mothers’ Day gifts.

However, up to press time last night, Caldrac were filing a complaint over the final standings of the Premiership Two competition.

The current standings in the Premiership Two competition shows that Araaguez finished on top, followed by Orangefield and Queen’s Park II. Aranguez advanced to the final as a result of winning the preliminary stage, while Queen’s Park II and Orangefield were scheduled to play at the Munroe Road Recreational Ground at 1.30 pm today for a place in the final.

It is uncertain if the match will be played today, as fourth placed Caldrac are questioning if headto- head results or net run-rate should determine the final standings.

The Premiership II final will be played on Sunday from 1.30 pm at Munroe Road.

The winners of the Queen’s Park-PowerGen encounter will tackle Merry Boys in the final on Sunday from 1.30 pm at the NCC.

San Juan North managed to survive relegation initially and, with renewed confidence, went on to win the Intercol title. However, a media release by the SSFL on Tuesday stated, “two matters (that) were raised by two schools, which after review by both the Credential and Disciplinary Committees resulted in the reversal of the final results.” The SSFL revealed their ruling on a pair of matters involving two footballers who played in the 2016 season – Abdus Ramcharan of East Mucurapo Secondary and fellow defender Kori Cupid of Presentation College in San Fernando – but were ineligible.

Ramcharan, a Lower Six student, was not eligible to play in the 2016 season because he did pass enough subjects. Cupid, who wrote the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) in 2008, is in Secondary School for more than eight years which makes him ineligible to play.

As a consequence, the results in a number of matches involving East Mucurapo and Presentation San Fernando were changed. The new standings saw San Juan North (13th), Pleasantville (14th) and East Mucurapo (15th) finish in the bottom three, which saw the teams relegated.

Vice principal of San Juan North, Joseph Taylor, said the school’s hierarchy are not accepting the decision, having already met with the SSFL two or three times.

Taylor said, “I am a person who never thinks anything is cast in stone.” Taylor said there were protests questioning the eligibilities of a few players during the season, but he believes the League did not deal with the situation quickly.

“If they had dealt with these things in an expeditious manner, in a timely manner, then we will not be in this position. My coach (Jerry Moe and) the players played their heart out down to the last game and we were not relegated.

Because of that their spirits were lifted and motivated by the coach and we went on to do what people might think was the impossible.

We won the Intercol because we know we have the talent, but only now to find ourselves in this position.” Taylor said the accomplishment of San Juan North has made the entire community of San Juan and Santa Cruz proud. “It is a community school, we really lifted the feelings of people in San Juan and Santa Cruz. People were out (supporting) when we won the Intercol, the Zonal and the East. We were even successful in T10 cricket, we always doing good things in cricket.” Taylor said sporting heroes have come from Santa Cruz and sometimes schools such as San Juan North may only be recognised through sport. “These are the things that schools like mine are recognized by and communities are motivated. When we look at the Santa Cruz valley, we have Ato (Boldon), we have (Brian) Lara, we have (Arnold) Dwarika from Santa Cruz also. We look forward to these things. I am from Santa Cruz, everyday when I walk (in the area) people ask me what is the position (with the SSFL ruling).”

The cricketer, 34, who played in the semi- finals of the TTCB T-20 Festival at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Thursday last, was fined $6,000 when he appeared before a Point Fortin magistrate on Monday.

A breath tested revealed 133 micrograms of alcohol with the legal limit being 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 milligrams of breath. The sportsmen were visiting the borough for the celebrations. The offenders were from Point Fortin and environs.

The court collected a total $75,000 in fines from drunk drivers.

The DUI team was headed by Sgt Gosine of the South Western Division DUI Task Force and was assisted by officers of the South Western Division Highway Patrol and Aranjuez Task Force.

Police said 350 persons voluntarily tested themselves at the stations set-up in Point Fortin. Head of South Western Division Snr Supt Balram and Supt James were also present during the exercises.

The man, who was wearing jeans and a jersey, appeared to be of mixed descent with a plaited hairstyle.

Up to press time, the identity of the body remained unknown. The body was taken to the Forensic Science Centre, St James where once formal identification is made, an autopsy will be done to ascertain cause of death. Police said it appears he was shot to the back of the head. Up to press time, the murder toll stood at 183 compared to 163 for the corresponding period last year. Up to yesterday, there were 13 murders recorded for this month.