How To Talk Politics In the Workplace
by Alex Lloyd Gross
The best strategy for not creating a hostile work environment is to have a policy of what can and cannot be discussed. That, according to Mark Saddic of CCI Consulting, a Blue Bell Pa. talent management consulting firm. https://cciconsulting.com/our-team/
This election is very polarizing. If everyone in the workplace supports the same candidate, then few problems arise. Very rarely does that happen. “It’s bound to get complaints at HR,” Saddic said. It’s not just politics, it is social causes as well.
“We had an incident when a worker had a Black Lives Matter Flag in her cubicle. Another worker had relatives that were police and they put up a Blue Lives Matter Flag. “That incident created friction in the workplace,” Saddic said. This year it could be the same with Palestine or the Ukraine War.
Those places that don’t have guidelines run a risk of getting into murky waters. It’s one thing to talk up a candidate to someone however, “You have to have emotional intelligence to know when to stop,” Saddic said.
There is a joke that if you want to save money on holiday presents, bring up politics during Thanksgiving Dinner. It’s true. It might not be the candidate but their position on an issue. Guns, abortion, minimum wage, workers rights are all hot buttons. It is doubtful a business owner is going to agree with an hourly employee over pay or workers rights.
You have a first amendment right to discuss things but according to Saddic, “You do not have a first amendment right to force your opinions on your co workers.