Post Election Blues
My recommendation to nix political discussion at work was hotly contested by some individuals who posted on the site this election season. In one recent comment, an individual said that without the work conversations and encouragement, hundreds of Americans would not have voted for his guy. Now, maybe I’m old fashioned, but I don’t think that’s appropriate in any workplace. Just like I don’t want employees proselytizing about religion, politics belongs outside the office, too.
Way too much potential exists for harmed work relationships, lowered productivity, and lingering negative feelings. Why, you’re probably thinking, am I bringing this up post election? The answer is that now I am receiving notes from employers who want to know what to do about the hard feelings election talk caused.
Most workplaces I know held respectful discussions, mostly among like-minded employees, but when political proselytizing was allowed, employers are now engaged in a mop up job.
Employees felt assaulted by politics they disagreed with on company mailing lists, in email, and in the cubicle next door that was adorned with red or blue and political paraphernalia.
It’s one thing to find a like thinking group of friends and share articles and ideas that are of mutual interest. It is quite another to attempt to “convert” a coworker to your point of view. Political discussion is best kept out of the office. It averts the cleanup some employers and coworkers are doing now.
I recommend that you assess the degree to which post election blues are affecting your workplace and your employee relationships. Human Resources will have received complaints - or not. As always, the best possible policy is to keep your open door policy on the front burner so you know what employees are thinking.
The majority of workplaces will just move on, although some employees feel jittery about what the election results may mean for them personally. As always, communicate what you know when you know it. But, don't predict a future that you cannot see, you don't know, and you have no impact on its direction.
Do the best you can to safe guard your employees, your workplace, and your sales. These tips for recession planning for employees should help. At least your staff will know you have their best interests at heart, even if you disagreed on political direction.
If your workplace is seething with disagreement, these resources about conflict resolution will help.
Conflict Resolution in the Office
- Workplace Conflict Resolution.
- Personal Courage and Conflict Resolution at Work.
- Overcome Your Fear of Confrontation and Conflict.
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Comments
I wanted to comment on your article Nix Political discussions. Although I agree with the negative outcome that can come from these discussions I must comment on the fact that I work for an incredible company that does not have this problem. We can openly discuss politics, religion etc. without confrontation or hurt feelings. We have great “values” here and highly respect one another and realize that we can have difference of opinions but that does not mean we devalue the individuals opinions. I believe the problem is “not” discussing these issues at work. I believe it is the “people” who are discussing them that is the problem.
I, too, work for for an organization where open discussion is welcomed. We all learned a lot from our different perspectives this election season.
As long as conversation is respectful, I think the workplace is an appropriate place for it. If a level of polite conversation is maintained there are no lingering issues or hard feelings.
Is it okay to talk about a candidate’s new clothes, but not the issues? Where do you draw the line?
We all have different values when it comes to lots of things, not just politics. And, if you stifle election conversation, where do you draw the line when it comes to other discussions that someone decides is inappropriate?
The key, I believe, to office conversation is maintaining a respectful workplace where employees feel comfortable voicing their opinions - regardless of the topic or what side of the political fence they are on.
Alison
Most workplaces I know held respectful discussions, mostly among like-minded employees, but when political proselytizing was allowed, employers are now engaged in a mop up job. Employees who feel as if they were targets of conversion attempts are also not happy on either side of the political spectrum.
People have deep feelings and values and political discussion is always potentially negative unless employees have agreed they want to discuss the subject. If such agreement exists, so be it, but I mostly find that like thinking prevails for most civilized discussion. This year, a lot of people agreed to disagree and stopped talking politics. I honor their wishes.