For the Sake of Everyone, Keep Politics Out of the Office

By Jeremy Story and Heidi Johnson

It’s likely that we can all agree that politics over the past few presidential election cycles has become a much more visceral and emotional experience than in previous decades. Passion on both sides can run high, and it often feels like we, as a nation, are more divided than ever.

That division doesn’t just exist nationally. Locally, and even in our workplaces, we see conflict that can sometimes spiral out of hand. While we fundamentally believe that we have more in common than divides us, we know that focusing on those things we agree on can be challenging sometimes during contentious presidential election cycles.

Guidelines for Keeping Politics Out of the Office

As we approach the election in November, we thought it would be helpful to share some guidelines you may want to enforce in your workplace to help prevent distracting, divisive and even destructive conflict from taking root.

• Don’t assume we all think alike. We shouldn’t presume to know or understand a colleague’s political ideology or leaning.?Making comments assuming that someone shares the same belief may cause conflict without intention.
• Remind team members of your core values. Most workplaces strive to be a place of belonging for individuals of all backgrounds, points of view and differences. You may want to use staff meetings or all-employee emails to reinforce that you expect team members to be respectful of others’ viewpoints.
• Remind team members that together we are a team. The core value of respecting one another underscores the need to always consider the feelings of others and accept that those feelings may not be the same as our own. Team members should understand that no other team member shares every view that they hold, and it is possible to disagree without being disagreeable.
• Remind team members that the office should be a politically neutral place. Team members can and should have opinions on political issues and candidates, but those opinions should be shared with family and friends or others outside of the workplace (assuming you don’t actually work in the fields of politics or advocacy). The workplace should be a respite from the often-overwhelming world of politics, and team members should refrain from talking about their own personal politics or hot-button issues while at work.?

For some workplaces, limiting political activities in the office is not just a good idea, it is the law. The Hatch Act limits some political activities of federal employees – as well as some state, D.C., and local government employees who work in connection with?federally funded programs.?The intention is to ensure that “federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation,” according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

The good news is that team members will naturally start to move on from politics to some degree following the election. The bad news is that the next election always feels like it is just around the corner. By keeping these guidelines in mind, hopefully you can keep political disputes from being a distraction at your office and keep your team members focused on why they are there – excelling at their jobs.

Jeremy Story is a partner at the communications and digital marketing firm GFM|CenterTable, where he leads its Crisis & Issues Management practice.

Heidi Johnson is the founder of Investment HR, a consulting firm that offers human resources and talent acquisition services to small businesses.