Politics at Work: Don't Ask, Don't Tell?
In this election year, workers struggle to express feelings on Obama and McCain.
Oct. 2, 2008 — -- If you're anything like me, you check your favorite news site 27 times a day to catch up on the latest campaign trail barbs and gaffes. You schedule your work and social life around the debates. And you talk about the presidential horse race every chance you get -- up to and including public restrooms.
But no matter how many twists and turns the economy and election polls take, there are some people you're better off not talking campaign politics with.
Exhibit A: Your in-laws.
Exhibit B: Your boss.
While I can't help with the in-laws, I do have some thoughts on talking political turkey at work: Reveal which candidate you're backing to a boss with opposing views, and you risk being penalized on the job by a petty partisan. It's not worth it in my book.
Yet, according to a 2008 survey of U.S. employees conducted by human resources firm Adecco USA, 50 percent of workers openly talk politics on the job. Among Millennials -- the youngest generation of workers -- that number jumps to 61 percent.
But addressing the election in the workplace is sometimes unavoidable, especially if you work in an ultra-casual small office, or your manager is politically, shall we say, exuberant. So, what should you do if you find yourself staring down a political debate with your boss or another colleague? Put that banner down and read on.
Turn the Political Tables
Forty-seven percent of respondents to the Adecco survey said they listened to political banter in the workplace without sharing their own viewpoints.
But how do you stay out of the fray when that manager with the Obama bumper sticker on their car or McCain action figure on their desk is egging you on about your presidential pick?
"When you're in that kind of situation, often it's useful to just ask questions," said Kathleen Reardon, professor of management at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.
