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.