Go slow on political talk at the workplace
Many offices are relatively quiet before 8am since other employees are still on their way in. Aside from not being interrupted every five minutes by a coworker, you will be able to make a major progress in your latest project. Photo by Abubaker Lubowa.
We talk horse and dry our throats in support of whomever we choose to support but the politics and the environment around us has been poisoned and you don’t want to be judged or associated to any negativity.
Politics, according to David Omoding, the national advocacy and communication officer at Platform for Labour Action, is a polarising aspect and no manager would want to see a polarised staff.
“The topic should be treaded carefully,” the national advocacy and communication officer at Platform for Labour Action, says.
But beyond trading carefully, he says, staff must have limits and should not portray the organisation as supporting a certain side, that’s if the company as an institution does not identify with any side of the political divide.
“Staff must understand the strategic interests of management. In an environment like ours where politics has been so corrupted, it would be wrong to seem as if you (company) identify with a certain side,” he says.
In government agencies, ‘political talk’ is a sensitive subject and speaking for or against a certain political party is usually construed into belonging to ‘them or us’, which might have severe repercussions.
Therefore, he says, you need to understand the interests of top management and of the company before promoting politics at work because it’s natural that politics can create dangerous edges that might work against certain interests and long term strategies.
Staff should also desist from obsessing themselves with politics because it can be a time waster, thereby impacting on deadlines and workflow.
Thus, just in case you cannot avoid it, according to Omoding, take caution on some of the factors below:
Know the right time to hold discussions; either at lunch time, break time and or after work rather than discussing it at unscheduled hours.
Avoid being misunderstood and changing goal posts. It can reflect badly on you.
Know the people who you need to discuss with. Not everyone enjoys the politics therefore study the environment and understand everyone’s interests to know best what you discuss with them.
If you work in a government office you need to be extra careful because what you discuss might be taken differently which might have severe impact on your performance.
At all times, know when to say what, when and how to say it.
Avoid discussing politics with your bosses unless you have specific interests and a relationship that goes beyond work.
If your professions requires you to be neutral while executing your duties try just as hard as you can to stick by that, especially in public.
Otherwise you might be held by what you do or say.
People in professions such as journalism are judged on things like credibility. Therefore, however much you might want to, stick to providing credible information, free of your opinion and interests.
Therefore, all in all, whereas political discussions are not criminal at work places it should be guided by company strategies and aspirations as well as individual judgment.
