Talking politics at work can be a recipe for disaster—the topic is full of potential pitfalls that could lead to workplace arguments or serve as a drag on productivity. These distractions and their related turnover or absenteeism risk could also cost employers millions of dollars.
To help ensure that workplaces remain civil, a Newsweek Horizons event sponsored by the SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) recently brought together a panel of medical, legal and social psychology experts to discuss the dicey issue of talking politics at work.
NewsweekWorkplaces Editor Aman Kidwai moderated the discussion, entitled “Better Workplaces: How to Foster Inclusion and Civility,” at the media company’s World Trade Center headquarters in New York City on Tuesday, December 10. Onstage participants included Stephen M. Paskoff, president and CEO of ELI; Gabriella Rosen Kellerman, MD, BetterUp’s chief innovation officer and leader of BetterUp Labs; professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Dr. Kurt Gray; and Michael …