If you didn’t catch the previous parts of this series you
might want to check out:
- Part 1 - The Learning Curve
- Part 2 - Studying the Environment
- Part 3 - Listen Before You Speak
- Part 4 - Don’t Beg for the Boss’s Approval
Conversation is a big part of any job. You have to have conversations about your work
but then there is the staff room or the cafeteria. Your co-workers will likely want to talk
about something besides work. But there
are some conversations that should not be a part of your work life, which
brings us to our next work principle:
Don’t talk politics at work!
Politics can be a very heated topic of conversation. Some people really have strong beliefs and
how you feel about politics can influence what people think about you.
Revealing your political beliefs and affiliations can really
divide and office which can cause a lot of contentions in the office. There are enough potential divisions in the
office as it is without bringing politics into the mix. Political conversations can cause heated
disagreements and can lead to bad feeling amongst the staff and low employee
morale.
So how do you avoid talking politics at work?
Here are a few tips for avoiding getting involved in
political conversations at work:
- Change the topic.
- Politely excuse yourself.
- Listen but don’t speak.
- Say that you are undecided.
- Tell them that you prefer not to talk politics.