- Google has fired more than 20 employees who participated in the sit-in at its offices.
- It is a reminder that the phrase “to do my best at work” has its limits.
- Leaders and employees need to discuss what is appropriate in the workplace.
Put your heart and soul into your work.
Many workplace experts will tell you that it’s never a good idea to share too much about your personal life at work. But in the years since the flimsy “whole self” concept became something of an HR cliché, the idea has become even more frayed.
Some Google employees realized this after the company recently fired more than 20 people for participating in sit-ins at its offices in California and New York. It seems increasingly clear that in a year when almost half of humanity is expected to vote in national elections, a 9-5 political rise may be even riskier.
“When a manager or leader says, ‘I want you to do your best,’ they are ignoring the terms of the contract,” says Megan Reitz, co-author of the book Speak Out, Listen Up. told Business Insider.
“What they’re really saying is, ‘As long as we can handle what you’re saying, please work as hard as you can. And stay within the rules of the game in this organization. , and don’t follow it.” It’s so destructive, please stop being an activist,” she joked.
It’s easy to see how this got a little confusing. Table tennis table. group yoga. Tech founders wear activewear during the day on a Silicon Valley campus. Even before the pandemic, there was a movement toward showing more of who we are at work.
We brought our dog, a unique design sense, and apparently an appetite for eating half a can of sardines. (Sorry, it’s the office refrigerator.)
The pandemic has further blurred the lines. Since the early days when anyone who could was working from home, we were all used to “seeing” our cats, spouses, and kids. Peeking behind the curtain at co-workers’ lives outside the office has become a constant, something made worse by the steady shift to hybrid work.
However, one thing seems to have changed from the past. It’s that even the most “woke”-seeming companies don’t want political views to be brought into work. not at all.
Google employees who protested the company’s $1.2 billion cloud computing contract with the Israeli government said that even at a company that has encouraged its employees to work to the best of their ability, there are significant differences in what is acceptable. I certainly noticed that there can be subtle differences. .
The incident prompted CEO Sundar Pichai to warn employees not to bring political discussions into the office.
“This is a business, and it’s a place where you behave in a way that disrupts colleagues, makes them feel unsafe, tries to use the company as a personal platform, fights over disruptive issues, or debates politics. “Not,” he wrote this week. . It was part of a broader memo on a corporate restructuring aimed at accelerating the company’s advances in artificial intelligence.
Of course, there’s a difference between talking about politics and holding protests that disrupt work. But the recent political uproar at NPR following Google’s decision and a longtime staffer’s criticism of NPR’s nonprofit news organization suggests that while Dr. Martens and midriff-baring crop tops may look good in the office these days, It’s a reminder that that may not be the case when politics is exposed.
“I will do my best as a professional.”
Ella Washington, a professor of practice at Georgetown University, told BI that the idea of the whole self became popular in the 2010s. But it has to be within reason and within what is acceptable for the organization, she said.
“It’s phrased in a way that encourages integrity, but the reality is that in most workplaces you won’t be able to bring your whole self to the table. It’s likely that you’ll be able to give your whole professional self.” she says.
Washington said business leaders need to communicate what is acceptable, and employees need to consider whether the organization’s values align with their own.
“When it comes to business, it shouldn’t just be based on our personal politics. And I know it’s hard for people to say that because, ‘Okay, wait. You can give all of yourself to work, but I can do it.’ Don’t talk politics,” she said.
This is where nuance comes into play. Sometimes it’s necessary to discuss politics at work.
“If it’s relevant to the work we’re doing, we absolutely need to have those conversations,” Washington said.
determine what is political
Still, Wrights noted that people don’t always agree on what is political. Perhaps it’s a conversation about race that some people may consider troubling, while others may consider essential to discuss in a work context, she said. Told.
When it comes to jobs, “it’s not clear what politics means, so any conversation about whether it’s internal or external is already very problematic,” Reitz said.
“Leaders are saying, ‘Go to work, speak up.’ And some people say, ‘Oh, thank you for inviting me. Let’s talk about race. Let’s talk about abortion rights.’ “Sho.” ” said Wrights. But then some leaders say, “Oh, I really didn’t mean that.”
Both Reitz and Washington said having discussions in the workplace shouldn’t mean the actual work of the organization is put on hold.
Reitz also seemed to agree with Washington that business leaders and employees need to discuss the types of conversations that are appropriate for the workplace.
It may not be easy. “It means we’re ready to make mistakes. We’re ready for fallout. We’re ready to not please everyone,” Reitz said. I did.
But “when you have an environment that doesn’t tolerate diverse opinions and viewpoints without the whole thing exploding, the problem is bigger than politics,” she says.
If a company doesn’t address the issue and someone gets taken down for raising something that management deems outrageous, rank-and-file employees can become distrustful of the idea of being fully committed to their jobs, Reitz said. , added: That creates even more cynicism. ”
But Washington said workers need to remember what their bosses often actually want.
“They don’t want to go back and say, ‘Bring all of yourself to work,’ but the reality is that doesn’t mean bringing all of yourself, including your worst, meanest, and most difficult self.” she said. “They don’t need that.”
