Politics affect us at work- It’s time to speak up
No longer can we expect or require people to avoid the topic of politics at work. Politics has impacted our workplaces in dramatic ways, and it’s time to speak up. When we face mass layoffs and email terminations have become normalized, someone has to talk about the elephant in the room.
Discussing politics at work used to be considered taboo. Likewise, people didn’t discuss politics in polite company. But today’s political decisions are creating circumstances beyond the norm. We aren’t living or working as if we are in polite company. People are on edge and waiting for the other shoe to drop every single day! The fear and chaos are exactly as planned. Staying quiet only strengthens the perpetrator’s position of total control.
We have big problems when:
– Union agreements and valid contracts are ignored.
– Funding is cut, and working parents no longer have access to daycare.
– People accept work, uproot their families, and move, only to find the job no longer exists.
– Workers who have worked for organizations for 10-30 years are summarily dismissed by email.
– Research is abruptly stopped, and millions of critical projects are left unfinished.
– The prices of drugs that help people function have been uncapped and are no longer affordable.
– Funding for education is cut, and students can’t complete studies or skill-building that will prepare them to function as working adults.
– Equity and inclusion efforts are dismissed or unsupported.
Think these issues don’t affect you?
If you think these issues don’t affect you, you’re pretty short-sighted. How many fewer people will be defending us, planning strategies, or caring for injured soldiers because transgender people are no longer allowed in the military? How many brilliant ideas will be missed because we only allow people who look, talk, and act like us to contribute to conversations? How worried or distracted will you be when healthcare providers won’t treat your grandmother because she no longer has Medicaid? How many times will you be called to pick up your autistic child from school because the overworked, ill-prepared teacher can’t cope? When you finally take a day off and go to the park, will it be pleasant to find dirty bathrooms and unkempt picnic areas? How will you take on the workloads of the three DEI hires arbitrarily terminated during a hiring freeze?
So many questions. These concerns impact our ability to perform at work. All the more reason we cannot remain silent in the workplace. Please stop acting like what’s going on in politics doesn’t impact the workplace. It most certainly does. It’s time to speak up. We need to discuss these issues so we can come together and move forward.
