How To Defuse Tense Political Conversations At Work
You often cannot choose who you work with, and unlike with family members, you cannot just avoid co-workers if you disagree with their politics.
It’s estimated we spend over 2,000 hours each year working closely with our colleagues. And as Election Day looms and the division and animosity between both political parties deepens, the hours we spent with co-workers of opposing political beliefs may get more awkward and uncomfortable.
In an October poll of 617 job seekers using Monster.com, more than 1 in 3 said they had changed their opinion of a co-worker due to that person’s political affiliation. Thirty-two percent said they were uncomfortable discussing the upcoming presidential election with their co-workers.
You may be hearing underhanded jabs or direct comments about the presidential candidates or where people would side if the election leads to a constitutional crisis. When a work conversation is going off the rails due to election talk, it takes strategic finesse to call it out and bring the topic back to firmer ground, all while making each person feel heard.
State your discomfort with where the conversation is going.
If you believe talking with your co-worker about politics will not be productive and will disrupt everyone’s workday, one option is to directly state that you don’t want to get into the election and what the Trump administration has done today.
Gregory Tall, a workshop facilitator with more than 15 years of human resources experience, said it’s effective if you first validate your colleague’s interest in discussing politics with a statement like, “Thank you for your interest” and then let that co-worker know you would rather not discuss your personal political views in the workplace.
What I found is that even if the conversation is uncomfortable, things tend to go a lot better if you first give the person a chance to respond one on one. Gregory Tall
This is step one in the “swivel” strategy communication...
