Jolie Rouge
04-08-2003, 07:41 AM
Reaad an interesting article this morning; which raised the question.
I am a full time wife and mother, so I guess I do most of my "watercooler chat" with ya'll here.
What about you ?
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Talking Politics at Work
by Thad Peterson Monster.com Staff Writer
These days, the fodder for political debate is abundant, and the discussions are heated: conflict in Iraq, the sagging economy, an impending healthcare crisis, affirmative action cases in the Supreme Court, budget debates, and nine Democratic candidates and counting hoping to become the next president.
If you're a political junkie or a fan of healthy debate, it can be tough to contain yourself in times like these. What better way to spend lunch at the office with coworkers than hammering away at one another about one political hot-button issue after another, right? That may be the case for you, but plenty of workers think work and politics simply don't mix.
Let's Take a Vote
Of the 26,000-plus Monster users who responded to a March 2003 poll, 30 percent said that when it comes to talking politics with coworkers, the best policy is “don't ask, don't tell.” Forty-six percent said the best way to deal with political discussions at work is to “listen but keep your opinions to yourself.”
Your Patriotic Duty?
While most of the poll's respondents indicated a preference for keeping their views to themselves, 22 percent felt the best option was to “stand up and be heard” on political issues.
“There's nothing more American or patriotic than hearing and listening to an opposing opinion,” says Sandra Spataro, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Yale University's School of Management. Spataro says she's “in favor of making things more explicit, talking through things that are on people's minds in a natural, take-a-break kind of way so that they don't fester in people's minds and distract them from their work.”
But Spataro concedes that talking politics on the job should be commensurate with the amount of current events chitchat that normally takes place in the particular work setting. “The amount of casual [political] conversation should be consistent with what that workplace has done traditionally,” she says. “What you don't want to do is introduce 10 minutes for politics talk in banking when that has never happened before. It should be something that occurs naturally or doesn't happen at all.”
Spataro notes that “more creative, more collaborative environments -- like high tech, advertising, media relations and research environments” are the types of industries where you tend to find more open conversation about such matters.
Warning to the Wise
The key to talking politics with colleagues is doing so without passing judgment or letting emotions carry you away. “As a manager, if I saw that there was an issue, I would remind people that there are standards of professionalism and common courtesy,” advises Spataro. “What you don't want to do is introduce differences between employees that are going to bring in more conflict or negative sentiment.”
“If you can engender a culture of exchange -- try to get rid of some of that judgment -– in the end, you're going to be healthier than suppressing conversation entirely,” she says. “What you want to get to is the point where there's going to be a healthy interchange.”
Of course, it's prudent to always bear in mind that people may come to conclusions about you based on your political beliefs; the more you vocalize your political opinions, the more you leave yourself vulnerable to such judgments. Of course, whether or not this will have an impact is your call to make.
When it comes to discussing politics and its effect on your career, you may benefit from a nugget of advice from the 23rd US President, Calvin Coolidge. His insight: “No man ever listened himself out of a job.”
I am a full time wife and mother, so I guess I do most of my "watercooler chat" with ya'll here.
What about you ?
--------------
Talking Politics at Work
by Thad Peterson Monster.com Staff Writer
These days, the fodder for political debate is abundant, and the discussions are heated: conflict in Iraq, the sagging economy, an impending healthcare crisis, affirmative action cases in the Supreme Court, budget debates, and nine Democratic candidates and counting hoping to become the next president.
If you're a political junkie or a fan of healthy debate, it can be tough to contain yourself in times like these. What better way to spend lunch at the office with coworkers than hammering away at one another about one political hot-button issue after another, right? That may be the case for you, but plenty of workers think work and politics simply don't mix.
Let's Take a Vote
Of the 26,000-plus Monster users who responded to a March 2003 poll, 30 percent said that when it comes to talking politics with coworkers, the best policy is “don't ask, don't tell.” Forty-six percent said the best way to deal with political discussions at work is to “listen but keep your opinions to yourself.”
Your Patriotic Duty?
While most of the poll's respondents indicated a preference for keeping their views to themselves, 22 percent felt the best option was to “stand up and be heard” on political issues.
“There's nothing more American or patriotic than hearing and listening to an opposing opinion,” says Sandra Spataro, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Yale University's School of Management. Spataro says she's “in favor of making things more explicit, talking through things that are on people's minds in a natural, take-a-break kind of way so that they don't fester in people's minds and distract them from their work.”
But Spataro concedes that talking politics on the job should be commensurate with the amount of current events chitchat that normally takes place in the particular work setting. “The amount of casual [political] conversation should be consistent with what that workplace has done traditionally,” she says. “What you don't want to do is introduce 10 minutes for politics talk in banking when that has never happened before. It should be something that occurs naturally or doesn't happen at all.”
Spataro notes that “more creative, more collaborative environments -- like high tech, advertising, media relations and research environments” are the types of industries where you tend to find more open conversation about such matters.
Warning to the Wise
The key to talking politics with colleagues is doing so without passing judgment or letting emotions carry you away. “As a manager, if I saw that there was an issue, I would remind people that there are standards of professionalism and common courtesy,” advises Spataro. “What you don't want to do is introduce differences between employees that are going to bring in more conflict or negative sentiment.”
“If you can engender a culture of exchange -- try to get rid of some of that judgment -– in the end, you're going to be healthier than suppressing conversation entirely,” she says. “What you want to get to is the point where there's going to be a healthy interchange.”
Of course, it's prudent to always bear in mind that people may come to conclusions about you based on your political beliefs; the more you vocalize your political opinions, the more you leave yourself vulnerable to such judgments. Of course, whether or not this will have an impact is your call to make.
When it comes to discussing politics and its effect on your career, you may benefit from a nugget of advice from the 23rd US President, Calvin Coolidge. His insight: “No man ever listened himself out of a job.”