Enlarge image
Tell me, who would you like to have in the government?
Photo: Maskot.
/ Getty Images / Maskot
Ole, 51, asks: “I'm from Hamburg and have been working in Düsseldorf for two years. We keep talking to colleagues about the Bundestag election, I'm Team Scholz, the colleagues love their father Laschet - and we sometimes get into heated discussions. Somehow I feel uncomfortable and I have the feeling that a limit has been crossed here. But on the other hand: The choice is THE topic right now and if you don't talk about it over lunch - what else? "
Dear Ole,
many warn against talking to colleagues about overly private matters, let alone about topics from politics and society or even illnesses.
All of this has no place in the job and could endanger your career.
I see it differently and I am of the opinion that in today's working world there is room for all topics that affect people in their professional environment.
You should be aware of the possible consequences if you make your voting secret public, but as long as you can defend it and do not hurt anyone personally with your opinion, everything is fine.
Cafeteria talks are not a reason for termination
The times are over since Twitter, LinkedIn and Co., in which socio-political issues were only allowed to be discussed privately behind closed doors. Today it is normal for everyone to freely express their own opinion on a number of online channels just like in real life. So why should we ban all non-professional topics when we check into the job in the morning and only allow them to come back to us at the end of the day?
And let's be honest: Anyone who believes that their career is at risk if they talk about corona policy, climate protection or the body language of the chancellor candidates in the last TV triall at lunch should think about what is wrong with this employer .
So far, I have not met anyone who has lost their job due to political breaks - apart from extreme political camps and employers with secret party registrations.
Respect and appreciation define boundaries, not topics
To me, appreciation means appreciating other people's values. To respect other opinions as such and to be interested in the perspectives of others instead of shouting at them in combat mode. If I watch discussions on political talk shows or dive into the depths of some Twitter discussions, then today I often miss this respectful way of dealing with one another. The content-wise valuable discourse as a real exchange of opinions is drowned out more and more by the superficially loud or even personal attack.
How is it with you and your political lunch break?
Is it just about "Team Laschet versus Team Scholz" and the winner of the day has to be determined for the pudding?
Or is it about really getting to know something about the point of view of your colleagues, understanding different points of view and also critically examining your own opinion?
It is not the topic that defines boundaries or that should be taboo among colleagues at work.
It is our own attitude as human beings towards other people that decides on respectful appreciation or derogatory disregard with all its consequences in professional and private life.
Promote political opinion-forming instead of making topics taboo
Ole, you are right about what interests your colleagues in your stamp collection if the election campaign is the number one topic these days.
Common topics can bring you closer together as people and thus also strengthen you as a team.
If your collegial relationship level is strong, then the content can sometimes fly apart without endangering the good cooperation.
This election campaign is raging differently.
Many people around me still sound undecided shortly before the election.
I therefore think it is important to now promote a diverse, political formation of opinions outside of our filter bubble of family and friends, instead of making them
taboo
through old "This has no place in the job
"
rules.
Whether in the family, among friends, in a sports club or with colleagues - the exchange of perspectives always enriches our own perspective on something. Provided we really care. Maybe this is exactly a topic for your next lunch break for a change?
