Politics can be a tricky and emotional subject. But there's no reason you can't have political discussions in the workplace, so long as you set some clear boundaries.
Politics in New Zealand isn't dull for long. Even between elections, there is a lot happening, and many problems and solutions get debated in parliament, local council chambers, and, of course, in the media.
Yet sadly, we still suffer from low voter registration in some key demographics, which is a problem faced by many democracies around the world.
I think one of the issues is the old-school attitude that politics is a taboo subject and should not be talked about openly.
This is the sort of thing my parents or grandparents would say. Frankly, it comes from another era, but it has entrenched itself in workplaces and even made its way into written policies.
Social media has helped open discussion up and we can extend this to work, too. Let’s engage in this democracy and encourage people to discuss politics and to vote.
Set some ground rules
From an HR perspective, you should be aware of these things:
- Don’t force people to participate in the conversation; it is a personal decision and they do not have to share if they don’t want to. Respect this decision.
- Do not discriminate against or harass anybody because of political views.
- Be sensitive to others; some topics are very challenging and can cause heated debate.
- Respect people’s opinions.
In short: keep it legal, be mature, and don’t be a dick.
If people struggle with these basic principles they might have bigger issues; discussing politics is not the problem.
Provided you can handle this, you can and should talk freely about politics at work. Engage people in the democracy in which we live. This develops a well-rounded, informed view, and such discourse is critical to the process.
(As an interesting aside, research by the University of Western Australia has found that employees who feel empowered over decisions that affect them at work are more likely to engage in politics outside of work.)
In MyHR's New Zealand office, we have a diverse range of views: one of my staff is a volunteer for the Labour Party while others are clearly all blue. A few are undecided.
We debate most things: the government's response to COVID-19, National’s recent track-record, Green’s leadership, TOP’s policies, and NZ First's tactics. We often talk about international politics, too.
The result is an informed group of people. We have many laughs and there is plenty of emotion.
One of our younger team members had never voted, but now intends to. If talking about politics at our work has increased voter turnout by one young person, then I think these discussions have been successful.
And yes, we have some who politely sit by and choose not to say anything, which is totally fine.
So, watch out for those conservative HR managers who want to write policies against this. There really isn’t a need to create a rule that stifles democratic engagement.
As Plato noted: "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."
So get talking and get voting!
