Political tension
Moria
78 Posts
Our organization has been a fairly cohesive group, but with the impending war I am beginning to "sense" that we are going to suffer a crack in the cohesion. We have several people that are policially active and are beginning to use the internal email as a "soapbox". We have several people that may not share the same opinions and we have some mothers of military personnel that are already in the gulf who are already emotional and sensitive to these issues.
I have included below excerpts from our policy, but I wonder should I bring this up now individually, or to the whole staff. Again no one has complained, yet!
"Crow Canyon strives to maintain a workplace free of harassment and sensitive to the diversity of its employees. Therefore, Crow Canyon prohibits the use of computers and the E-mail system in ways that are disruptive, offensive to others, or harmful to morale.
The use of Crow Canyon's computer and electronic communications system for private use is prohibited when attempting to solicit others for commercial ventures, religious or political causes, or other non-business matters. However, the systems may be used for personal reasons with approval of the supervisor during non-business hours."
Help me Don D, with your humanitarian wisdon, I need Baloonman's $0.02, Christy and Margarets professionlism and Paul's prayers. And the multitude of other experts out there what are you doing if this is becoming an issue in your workplace.
I have included below excerpts from our policy, but I wonder should I bring this up now individually, or to the whole staff. Again no one has complained, yet!
"Crow Canyon strives to maintain a workplace free of harassment and sensitive to the diversity of its employees. Therefore, Crow Canyon prohibits the use of computers and the E-mail system in ways that are disruptive, offensive to others, or harmful to morale.
The use of Crow Canyon's computer and electronic communications system for private use is prohibited when attempting to solicit others for commercial ventures, religious or political causes, or other non-business matters. However, the systems may be used for personal reasons with approval of the supervisor during non-business hours."
Help me Don D, with your humanitarian wisdon, I need Baloonman's $0.02, Christy and Margarets professionlism and Paul's prayers. And the multitude of other experts out there what are you doing if this is becoming an issue in your workplace.
Comments
Hope that helps!
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]
Hey, Margaret - I love that! May I borrow it as well. Beautiful.
And yes, it is better to address the issue now before it causes unnecessary harm.
Of course if the non-war tree huggers continue, you should start with progressive discipline. x:-)
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]
>$0.02, Christy and Margarets professionlism and Paul's prayers. And
>the multitude of other experts out there what are you doing if this is
>becoming an issue in your workplace.
I agree with all the posters so far. Address it now as a whole company before it gets out of hand. It's always a good idea to reiterate all policies and procedures once a year and have the employees sign a sheet stating that they have been given a copy of and understand the company's policies.
On a side note, only those listed above can help? Aren't there other wise, professional and prayerful people out here. I can definitely think of some that you've missed...gillian, ritaanz, parabeagle to name a few off the top of my head and don't forget James S!
Whoa, didn't mean to offend, I just included all the rest of US experts in the last sentence. I have said this before, and have heard it said often, that we all learn from this site.
Thanks for all the insight.
My co-workers are more like family to me than anything else. I share their joyful weddings and births, I grieve their losses and dissapointments. I hear their opinions in the lunch room.
Expression is a basic human impulse. There are some very positive ways of encouraging expression at work (allowing some control over workspace) and some very negative ones (see the "fingerpainting" post).
I think inter-office e-mail should not be used for political ramblings, sexual jokes, religious discussions, etc... However, I wonder if some very tightly knit organizations might actually benefit from an organized, controlled, very well thought out forum of some type so that people could express their thoughts and feelings about the impending war and the anxiety we are all feeling.
I could envision possibly a couple of brown bag lectures with opposing viewpoints presented. Maybe a moment of silence for the troops on both sides. Maybe an moderated open mike forum where employees could respectfully present their views. There are well thought out, rational arguments for both sides.
I think the organization would want to avoid coming down on one side or the other so that no one feels uncomfortable or outside the "establishment" position.
I wouldn't recommend this for every organization. For example, the post that mentioned the two managers who were fighting over a pen don't need any more stimulation. But in a mature, close-knit environment where respect is valued I could see it working and being something positive.
Paul