Tag: Ask a Manager

Best practice is to not talk politics in the workplace. You can say “you know, I'd rather not talk politics at work” or “we look at these issues pretty differently and I'd rather keep politics out of our work relationship.” You can even say that you're taking a break from politics right now. You probably will not be the only person in your office who would like that break and other people may actually be relieved that someone is setting that boundary. My workplace isn’t like that, it’s acceptable to talk about politics. So there are people who are happy to talk politics with their co-workers. I think you've just got to be aware that you are probably working with people with a diversity of viewpoints and most people want to be able to do their jobs without having to inject politics into their relationships there. I’d avoid it at work. But at work you need to be able to work effectively with people from all over the political spectrum. And there's more harm than good that's likely to come from injecting your political viewpoints into relationships with people who you rely on to be able to do your own job effectively. But as soon as someone doesn't want to be in that conversation or doesn't want to have to hear that conversation, it's inappropriate for work.