ADudeBeingAGuy

Account Executive

Is an apolitical workplace possible in 2022?

I am genuinely curious at people's thoughts here. Feels like every week my company is releasing its political position on something.

I think this then filters down and definitely has an impact on the broader workplace culture.

So, anyone else feeling this? Is it possible to have an apolitical workplace? Would you want an apolitical workplace?

To me it feels a little unproductive when Slack channels devolve into constant political discussions.

Maybe it's just my company, but I doubt it.

Can we have workplaces free from constant political posturing?

Attached poll

Yes No

*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.

🤠 Culture

26 comments

Sort by:

SaaSyBee

Politicker

Founder

Don't think it's possible to have a fully apolitical workplace because of how much certain political issues directly impact businesses and their employees. That said, I understand how it can potentially alienate people if the company has strong opinions that not all employees agree with. The potential to decrease diverse thought and promote groupthink is strong.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Very true. It's almost a no-win situation.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

There are certain matters companies shouldn't be silent about. The silence is louder.

SaaSam

Politicker

Account Executive

I disagree, I think it's completely appropriate for a company to abstain from voicing a political position.

It's like with celebrities. Regardless of whether I agree with their position or not, I don't much care for actors coming out and telling me what position I should take on any given political issue.

My current company is by far the best work culture I've ever had and it's a mixed bag politically. Leadership all seems to lean to the same side politically yet as a company we've never taken up a political position on anything. Political discussions, if there are any, are localized to the individuals participating. No slack channels acting as platforms for any specific political stances.

I get along great with everyone and politically probably disagree with most of them, including leadership. Yet, I'll never have to know for sure because we're mature enough not to bring that into the workplace.

ADudeBeingAGuy

Politicker

Account Executive

I think I agree with you on the preference.
Seems like the type of environment you’re describing is the exception not the rule. But I could be wrong.

ADudeBeingAGuy

Politicker

Account Executive

Do you worry about the polarization in the workplace?
Meaning, person X doesn’t want to work at Company Y because of their announced political opinions.

Seems to me like if we create parallel economies along “red team/ blue team” lines it could make things worse not better.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Nope. I keep my mouth shut personally. But I do watch to see what's important to my current company.

Gasty

Notable Contributor

War Room Community Manager

Life's too short. You Unsubscribe.

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

You don't have to participate...

As @CuriousFoxsaid, in some cases silence is unacceptable

ADudeBeingAGuy

Politicker

Account Executive

This is a perspective! That’s why I posted the question, trying to understand the support for it.

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

I'll be blunt. I wouldn't work for a company that didn't support reproductive rights or said "this is none of our business".

Does a company need to weigh in on every political issue: no -- that becomes a distraction. However, when major political events happens (e.g. overturn of Roe v Wade, Russian invasion of Ukraine) I think it's important for companies to take a stand. For the latter, economic pressure by US companies is one of the arrows in our quiver to stop the spread of fascism.

ADudeBeingAGuy

Politicker

Account Executive

This seems reasonable and consistent.

For the sake of understanding, do you equate not making a statement on something like the examples you mentioned with a lack of support? If yes, how do you implement this practically? For example, if you are making a job move are you going to go look through that companies social pages to see if they’ve made a statement? And I guess thirdly… how do weigh what they have and haven’t made statements about?

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

My company supports workers' rights, but does not bother with public statements. They're too small to be noticed, in all honesty.

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

This is a good point. When I worked at a large company (F100) they made frequent political statements (including CEO going to White House and on TV). My current company is smaller (400 employees) and we make statements of support, but not sure anyone notices.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

I look at it this way. If they don't support human rights, they don't believe in employee rights. That's imo of course.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

They notice @braintanktrust me.

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

my company is a political

saasbaby

Politicker

SDR

It depends on the company. There are companies out there that keep politics out of it (which I admire, but few I've seen in SaaS). Most are going to keep tooting their political stance though, especially if it helps the business.

However, I have seen some companies backtrack in certain stances b/c it has negatively affected business. So great :)

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

no. this is not possible. jsut try to not talk about it. yes i want an apolitical work place

thats why working from home is so nice.

Justatitle

Big Shot

Account Executive

with cancel culture and all it is impossible as a workplace to not have a political stance.

ADudeBeingAGuy

Politicker

Account Executive

If that's true, we're in for a seriously ugly ride.

Justatitle

Big Shot

Account Executive

Think about it, taking a stance to stand with BLM, the LGBTQ community, Oppose the supreme court ruling on abortion, etc... are all political stances. I'm not saying it's wrong but the fact is that those are all stances on political matters.

ADudeBeingAGuy

Politicker

Account Executive

Yes, those are all political stances. My fear is that both sides start to do this with increasing frequency, and the population of the US now can not even participate in the free market without signaling their political "side". Deepening polarization is bad. Setting up parallel economies, is a very very bad sign for the future prospects of any sort of unity or middle ground.

GDO

Politicker

BDM

Yeah everything is political. I hate it.

NoSuperhero

Politicker

BDR LEAD

In an ideal world, the workplace is just somewhere you show up and make it happen. But, we're human and politics will always be a topic of conversation. All companies have values, and according to those values they make decisions, sometimes those values align with certain political movements.

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

Bravado's Resident Asshole

opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and they are there whether you want them to be or not. just like political views and politics in general

Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.

Products

The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U

Company

About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty

Contact

Press Careers

If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.

ADudeBeingAGuy

Is an apolitical workplace possible in 2022?

Can we have workplaces free from constant political posturing?

26 comments

Related posts

Romance in the workplace?

Competition at workplace?

Dating in the workplace…