Should politics be off limits at work? Why young staff need room to disagree

A healthy workplace isn’t the absence of controversial topics, writes Matt Cowley. Photo / 123RF

There are some conversations we’re generally advised to avoid at work, such as religion, salaries and politics.

Politics might be the most dangerous.

Someone says something you think is completely wrong. You correct them. They double down. Someone else joins in.

Before long, a conversation about tax has somehow become a judgment about whether your colleague is a decent human being.

So, I understand why many workplaces have an unofficial rule to leave politics at the door.

But with voting in this year’s general election now underway, I wonder whether we’ve taken that rule too far.

Young New Zealanders are particularly disengaged from the political system. Earlier this month, about 160,000 eligible 18- to 24-year-olds were still not enrolled to vote.

It’s too simple to conclude that they don’t care, and I don’t think that’s correct.

Young people can be disengaged from politics while being highly engaged with its consequences.

Their employment prospects, wages, tax, housing, healthcare and justice are clearly concerns.

Then there’s the bigger question more young New Zealanders seem to be asking about whether their future is actually here or overseas.

Perhaps employers have a role here, because workplaces may be one of the few places where young adults regularly interact with people outside their own algorithm.

Online, it’s relatively easy to gravitate towards people and content that broadly reinforce how we already see the world. Workplaces don’t give us that luxury.

And I think that’s a good thing.

Someone in their early 20s might work beside someone paying a mortgage, someone still renting at 50, a parent with teenagers, a business owner trying to pay wages each fortnight, and someone approaching retirement.

They may disagree about what New Zealand should prioritise next, but they should still get on with each other on Monday morning.

I think that’s incredibly valuable and a sign of a good workplace culture.

Maybe we’re not as divided as we think. Perhaps we’ve just become worse at disagreeing.

Politics has become a workplace taboo because disagreements can become personal. Someone expresses a view we dislike and suddenly we’re assessing their character rather than their argument.

But what if avoiding political conversation isn’t protecting younger workers from politics?

Perhaps it’s removing one of their opportunities to encounter different views and learn how to disagree with them?

There is plenty of territory between political indoctrination and pretending an election isn’t happening.

Ask if younger colleagues have checked out tools like the Vote Compass or On The Fence.

Encourage them to look beyond a social media clip, talk to different people and, most importantly, encourage them to vote.

It doesn’t need to become a formal thing. In fact, it might work better if it doesn’t.

Our chamber has had casual political conversations in our own workplace, specifically including younger staff.

People don’t always agree, and there isn’t a correct answer. That’s rather the point.

Over the next few days, workplaces across the country will be full of people deciding who they think should run New Zealand.

I think workplaces should accept the challenge and not block those conversations from happening.

A healthy workplace isn’t the absence of controversial topics.

It might be where someone can say something you think is completely wrong, you can disagree with them, and you’re both still perfectly happy to have lunch together afterwards.

Democracy could probably use a bit more of that.

Matt Cowley is chief executive of the Tauranga Business Chamber.