Talking Politics In the Work Place

There are a myriad of dangers in bringing politics up at the office, yet does that give anyone the right to ban political discussions at office? Recently, my business sent around an e-mail asking all employees to stop sending e-mails or talking about the recent presidential election. At first I didn’t think much of the e-mail, but then I started thinking more about what such a measure means. It simply means that my office is trying to silence my first amendment rights in order to provide for peace and tranquility in the work place. I can’t blame them for trying to shut up one of my supervisors who was telling people (with a nasalized harshness and judgmental tone) it was “too bad” they were McCain supporters or stop the barrage of private e-mails pointing to voting records and political slogans. Yet, beyond my unwitting supervisor I hadn’t noticed any hostility or bad attitudes over the upcoming political debates.

If anything the topic was something of a bonding event in which democrats would find comradery with fellow voters and vice versa. Often the joking between republicans and democrats in the office were friends finding a new topic to jostle each other with other than the car they drove or their social lives. This new political banter was harmless at best. So, why then would my boss with no provocation or incident decide to ban such innocent political banter?

Despite what corporate America may wish to believe, they can not regulate the freedoms of their employees. As Americans have the right to say anything we want and anywhere we want. Of course there are limitations to this (hate crimes & criminal action), but I really don't think preemptive bans on specific topics are a solution. If anything there seems to be a sort of pressure and uncomfortableness now settling over the office about politics. Co-workers now whisper in low voices and some friendships have approached icy silence. Even though our first amendment right guarantees our freedom of speech, the majority of my co-workers seem to have fallen victim to the whims of our boss and company. As astounded and intrigued as I am by this whole process, I was wondering if any other bloggers and/or readers out there had similar experiences or thoughts to share about talking politics in the work place??