101: Talking Politics At Work
The presidential hopefuls will likely be a topic of conversation over the next few months. Candidates and their statements are dominating the media. But should you discuss politics at work? Political discussions can often get personal as they cut to the core of people's beliefs and values. Managers and co-workers make snap judgments about you based on your politics. Is there any good way to have these conversations around the water cooler?
Know boundaries. If you get roped into a political conversation, above all, don't raise your voice, communication coach and author Roshini Rajkumar said in an email. "Hold your emotions in check," she said. If you cannot discuss a topic without hitting the boiling point, then avoid the political discussion." She also advises choosing appropriate times to discuss politics, and knowing which topics, such as abortion or same-sex marriage, might be off limits in your workplace.
Stay away. Stay far, far away. Bruce Weinstein said in a Bloomberg Businessweek article that nothing good can come of political conversations at work, especially with supervisors."Can you be sure that s/he won't hold your position against you when, say, your performance review comes around?" he asks. It just isn't worth it, Weinstein wrote. "(With) very few exceptions, these discussions have nothing to do with our job and can only interfere with it."
Numbers don't lie. A CareerBuilder survey found that, more often, it's men who talk politics at work - 44 percent versus 28 percent of women. And things don't always stay mellow. "Twenty-three percent of those surveyed say their political conversations have turned into a heated discussion or fight with a co-worker or even a boss," said Jeff Clabaugh in a Washington Business Journal article on the survey. Clabaugh said one-in-10 surveyed say their opinion about a co-worker changed after they found out their political affiliation, "with most of those opinions changing for the worse," he said.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments