One of the many mistakes job seekers make is to wear their political affiliations on their sleeves. Whether you are looking for a job, or are already working at one, it is important to be a professional and avoid all sorts of political, or for that matter, religious discussions at the workplace.
Political talk has no place either in a job interview or in the office, and you must make every effort to avoid it. You should keep your politics at home or at the ballot boxes, where they belong. There are many good reasons for this.
According to a recent survey by CareerBuilder, 1 in 5 employees have argued with a co-worker over politics in the recent elections. This can affect the morale at the workplace, as people start hating their coworkers or their employers for their political views.
Now, an argument can also be made that modern day offices have become too politically correct. In another survey, 50 percent of employees said that they found the politically correct environment in their offices to be too constrictive and 33 percent said that they were too scared to voice their opinions freely.
However, 22 percent of employees in the same survey said that political correctness worked, as it ensured that everyone in the workplace focused on the job at hand instead of wasting time and energy on heated debates over politics.
If you’re in a workplace where there are a lot of people that want to talk about the recent political events, you should make every effort to avoid getting into such discussions with them. After all, all the political talk adds nothing to the bottom line, and only affects the productivity at the workplace.
Here are a few tips on how you can keep the peace in the office when everyone is losing their mind over politics.
Tip #1: Just get out of the discussion as quickly as possible.
The way to get out of a political discussion is to stop it even before it gets started. Just excuse yourself on some pretext or another, when someone breaches a political topic with you. End the conversation without coming across as impolite. Make it clear that you don’t have time for such talk at the moment and would rather focus on your work. If they persist with the political topic, just smile and divert the conversation to a work related topic.
Tip #2: Don’t allow a conversation to get negative.
Negativity should be strictly avoided at the workplace. Naturally, when your candidate or party has lost an election, you will feel depressed and sad. But that’s not an excuse to lose your focus on work. If there is anyone who is being negative in the workplace because of a recent election result, make it very clear to them that you are not interested in such talk. Instead, divert the conversation to something positive and more productive, such as implementing the strategies discussed in the last office meeting.
Tip #3: Stick to your cubicle and pretend not to listen when things get heated.
Often times people get carried away by political events and start arguing in the office. This can get really loud, and even disturb the peace in the office. When this happens, just stay away. Stick to your cubicle and cut off the chatter by wearing high quality noise-proof headphones. When everyone else is losing their mind, you should make an effort to stay calm.