“…Office cliques can have an adverse impact on someone’s career if the person is associating with people who are performing at a lower level, said Joyce Marter, a psychotherapist and CEO of Urban Balance, a Chicago-based counseling group practice.
“It’s really important that you maintain your professionalism,” said Marter, who has counseled working professionals who struggle with relationship dynamics in the workplace. “If, for example, let’s say they’re a group of people that are not as productive—they’re talking a lot, visiting a lot, not talking about professional things—then you’re kind of guilty by association, and it can make a bad impression on your boss or on leadership.”