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It is effortless for me to keep my political opinions airgapped from my work environment. While I emphatically believe my political positions are correct, I kno
by crmd 4y ago
It is effortless for me to keep my political opinions airgapped from my work environment. While I emphatically believe my political positions are correct, I know that plenty of people don't agree with me on contentious topics. To bring my politics to work, especially as a senior leader, borders on abuse of power, because my role in the organization would confer unearned authority to my political opinions.
I learned this early in my career when I discovered that my company's senior management were all members of an ultra-conservative Catholic sect. I remember censoring myself as a young person because I knew many of my opinions were not aligned with the values and culture of the management team. I"ll never forget how that made me feel, and I hope I never make a young colleague feel the way I did.
- vharuck 4y agoThe kind of "politics" to avoid at work is the kind you avoid in polite conversation: irrelevant. If one's work has nothing to do with Israel, then talking about it must causes problems. But if the work has an effect on the matter, then it's not just politics, it's work. And work should be talked about at work. That way, the people who make the decisions get relevant information. Politics can be messy, but we have to slog through those messes that fall along our path. >I"ll never forget how that made me feel, and I hope I never make a young colleague feel the way I did. That's a good lesson to be aware that power can unintentionally cause chilling effects (like in your experience). But I don't think that applies here, where an employee was trying to influence decision-makers up the hierarchy.
- vinceguidry 4y agoPolitical heft belongs to those who talk the loudest and organize the most effectively. Unstated political opinions do neither.
- o_1 4y agoYou'll always be at the behest of a system of power in any Job. Optimizing some minscule political opinion space will only be temporary. If you believe you're voice is "correct" you will have unilateral bias towards anyone who opposes it. You might start become your prior bosses. If you want an open discussion start with the premise you might not always be correct. Listening to people traveled different journies make you understand the world and have empathy for opposing positions. You don't have to agree with someone to respect them. Also I agree suffering the feeling of suppression and silence is frustrating.
- SilverBirch 4y agoIf you don't bring your political opinions to work someone else will. It isn't politically neutral to build AI systems for the Israeli defense forces. So someone, somewhere in Google clearly is bringing their politics to work. So to thn point at the person being fired for disagreeing and saying "Well you shouldn't bring your politics to work" is disingenuous. The only thing that your approach does is allow the political decisions that do get made, to go unchallenged.
- frumper 4y agoTrying to get government contracts sounds like good old fashion love of money.