ESPN ban | Should staff avoid political discussions at work?

Politics has always been a divisive topic in the workplace. As with religion and finances, politics has historically been a conversational faux pas – and it’s easy to see why.

As a team, it’s important that all members feel like they’re on the same page. Chastising a fellow worker for their political beliefs will only serve to drive rifts through the workforce and cause unrest. And the issue is only growing worse; as world politics becomes more divisive and party politics slides further away from the middle and closer to their polar extremes; many workers feel the need to analyse the constant barrage of political news within the workplace.

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Whilst feeling supported by your peers is important, simply assuming that others share your political beliefs is treacherous territory – if they disagree, productivity plunges as the whole office weighs in on the subject.

This was the problem faced by sports broadcaster ESPN recently, as the network was forced to send round a memo to all employees urging them not to discuss politics in the workplace as a result of show host Dan Le Batard’s scathing words on President Trump. However, the move faced strong criticism from Le Batard, who called its policy of preventing on-air personalities from voicing their political views “cowardly”.