Talking about politics at work can be a really touchy situation. It’s good for people to be able to express themselves in the office. But it can lead to serious tension when people don’t see eye-to-eye. It can be especially difficult when a company takes a hard line on a controversial issue that employees are forced to stand behind.
So Basecamp, a project management software company based in Chicago, has just decided to ban talking about politics at work altogether. It seems the company tried to foster an open atmosphere but it backfired.
“Sensitivities are at 11, and every discussion remotely related to politics, advocacy, or society at large quickly spins away from pleasant,” co-founder Jason Fried wrote in a post on the company website.
In a world where everything has become political, Fried believes this gives people the freedom to stay out of the fracas. “You shouldn’t have to wonder if staying out of it means you’re complicit or wading into it means you’re a target,” he wrote.
“By trying to have the debates around such incredibly sensitive societal politics inside the company, we’re setting ourselves up for strife, with little chance of actually changing anyone’s mind,” Basecamp partner David Heinemeier Hansson wrote in a follow-up blog post.
Basecamp’s decision brings up a big debate in the world of business: Should companies feel compelled to do social good? Basecamp says no.
“We make project management, team communication, and email software. We are not a social impact company,” Fried said. “We don’t have to solve deep social problems, chime in publicly whenever the world requests our opinion on the major issues of the day, or get behind one movement or another with time or treasure. These are all important topics, but…they’re not what we collectively do here.”
Basecamp’s decision mirrors one that Coinbase, the cryptocurrency marketplace, made last October. The company’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, told his employees that he won’t stand for any politics at the office and offered those who disagree a generous severance package.
“Life is too short to work at a company that you aren’t excited about. Hopefully, this package helps create a win-win outcome for those who choose to opt out,” he said.
Some worry that a ban on political speech in the office creates an environment where marginalized people aren’t allowed to speak out for fear of it being deemed political.
The big problem with banning politics from the work floor is that every topic can be avoided by branding it politic… https://t.co/SkLoyJVN2R
— Jonas Drieghe (@jonasdrieghe)
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While others agree with the move because professionalism often means putting our personal lives aside to do what’s best for the company.
Some will say that if you don’t like your company’s political culture, then find another job. But that’s a lot easier to say than do. Most of us don’t have the freedom to work anywhere we choose, so we have to put up with a company’s stances or lack thereof, whether we like it or not.
The deeper problem appears to be that the company has given up on any attempts to foster an environment where people can talk openly because as Fried writes, any political discussion “quickly spins away from pleasant.”
While banning political speech is one way to stop the tension, it seems rather limited. Why not foster a culture where people can discuss sensitive issues in a constructive way?
Asana co-founder Duston Moskovita has some good suggestions on how to make that happen.