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Conflicting Political Opinions at Work

Dealing with Political Disagreements and Conspiracy Theories

Some conflicts and disagreements at work can be productive. They're a sign that multiple views are being heard in order to reach considered decisions. However, other conflicts can create a toxic work environment and cross the line into harassment and bullying. Political conflicts at work are particularly likely to create division rather than connection and understanding among coworkers.

Potential Problems with Political Conflict at Work

In a divisive political environment, with strong feelings and moral beliefs tied to political views, talking politics at work can do the following:

• Spark heated arguments, leaving employees angry and upset.
• Damage the collegial relationships needed for effective teamwork.
• Shut down productive and creative discussion on important work matters.
• Isolate some employees, making them feel like outsiders in the organization.
• Drive away customers, leading to loss of business.

The hostility political discussions can create has the potential to damage morale and reduce productivity. It can lead to the loss of high-performing employees and previously loyal customers. Promoting political conspiracy theories at work can be even more divisive and damaging.

At the same time, healthy discussions of different viewpoints can open people's minds to new ideas and new ways of approaching work problems. As citizens, everyone should be open to informed debates on important policy matters.

How should employees and managers handle the expression of political views at work? Where is the line between healthy and unhealthy conflict? And what can you do, as an employee or a manager, to promote civility, teamwork, and productivity without violating rights to free expression?

Understand Your Employer's Policies Around Political Expression at Work

As a first step, find out whether your employer has policies around the expression of political views at work. If so, follow those policies as your guide. The policies might allow or disallow, for example, the wearing of political buttons or T-shirts while on the job, or the display of political posters in the workplace. They might suggest or mandate that political discussions unrelated to work be kept out of the workplace.

If your employer has such policies, they will reflect your organization's commitment to a range of priorities, such as diversity, openness, transparency, and mutual respect. They will also be grounded in laws and regulations related to free speech and the rights of workers to organize:

• In most cases, the constitutional right to free speech does not apply to employees at work. The U.S. Constitution prevents the government from limiting speech, but it places no such constraint on private employers. Most employers are within their rights to bar political discussion or the display of political messaging at work. They can even fire workers for some types of political expression and even for political actions outside of work that go against employer policy. (The line is less clear for government employees, and a few states and local jurisdictions specifically allow some forms of political speech and activity at work. Union contracts can also determine what is allowed or disallowed.)
• Labor laws prevent employers from restricting the expression of views on employment-related matters, such as wages, hours, and working conditions. When the expression of political opinions is tied to these kinds of work issues, it must generally be allowed. Although how and when these views are expressed can be restricted—to prevent disruption during work time, for example.

If your employer does not have written policies around political expression at work, or if the policies are unclear to you, ask your human resources (HR) representative for clarification or guidance. Your HR rep should be able to help you find a reasonable and fair way to deal with the situation you're facing or the behavior you've observed.

When Political Expression Can Become Harassment and Bullying

Political expression at work can cross the line into harassment or bullying if it is forced on other employees in unwanted ways:

• Harassment is deliberate and repeated behavior that annoys, disturbs, frighten, or irritates another person. Harassment is not determined by the intent of the behavior, but by how the behavior is perceived.
• Bullying is behavior that involves verbal abuse, including insults, malicious gossip, and personal attacks and criticism.

Even a political conversation between two like-minded employees could be considered harassment or bullying if conducted loudly and intentionally within the hearing of other employees who find it hurtful or offensive.

Both harassment and bullying damage productivity. They can cause division in a work group and lower team morale. Both can also cause an employee to leave an organization or to file a lawsuit.

What about conspiracy theories at work?

Conspiracy theories aren't a new phenomenon. They're also a complicated topic: Some conspiracy "theories" in the past have turned out to be true. However, they can also lead to distorted thinking and distrust of experts and an organization's leadership. Believers tend to close their minds to demonstrable truths that challenge deeply held beliefs. Some conspiracy theories have become intertwined with political beliefs. This can have the effect of hardening political positions, strengthening moral convictions, and casting doubters and people with different political beliefs as untrustworthy.

You might be tempted to argue against a conspiracy theory with facts when you get into a political discussion, but this is rarely productive. A person who believes in a conspiracy theory will be adept at explaining away your "facts" and is likely to dismiss you for your efforts as a person no longer worth listening to.

If you're willing to engage deeply, you might ask the person how they came to their beliefs; ask how the evidence for the conspiracy lines up with what they know about how people act in other contexts. How many people would need to be involved for the conspiracy theory to be true? Can they think of another occasion when that many people were able to keep a secret without it coming out? Note that you'll need to have stamina to go into the details of the conspiracy with the person: The experience could be draining, and you're not likely to change their views.

When conspiracy theories become part of a political discussion at work, that's generally a sign that the conversation is not going to be productive. It's probably better to walk away from it. Agree to disagree, and discourage further conversation on the topic.

For More Information

"How QAnon-Like Conspiracy Theories Tear Families Apart," National Public Radio (NPR) (January 15, 2021)
Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.npr.org/2021/01/15/957371294/how-qanon-like-conspiracy-theories-tear-families-apart

"How Should HR Handle Political Discussions at Work?" Susan Milligan, HR Magazine (February 26, 2020)
Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/spring2020/pages/political-talk-in-the-workplace.aspx

"Managing a Team with Conflicting Political Views," Rebecca Knight, Harvard Business Review (HBR) (October 22, 2020)
Link opens in a new windowhttps://hbr.org/2020/10/managing-a-team-with-conflicting-political-views

"Demonstrators in the Midst? Handling Political Activity in the Workplace," John Birmingham, Jr. and Jeffrey Koop, National Law Review, Volume XI, Number 19 (January 19, 2021)
Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.natlawreview.com/article/demonstrators-midst-handling-political-activity-workplace

"The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories," Karen Douglas, Robbie Sutton, and Aleksandra Cichoka, Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol 26(6), 538–542 (2017)
Link opens in a new windowhttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0963721417718261

"How I Talk to the Victims of Conspiracy Theories," Marianna Spring, BBC News (November 1, 2020)
Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-54738471