Comments on: HR Challenge 2008: Elections and the Workplace

By: Laina Molaski

Laina Molaski — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:21:43 +0000

I have enjoyed reading all the comments on this article and agree with the sentiment that lively discussion can be health and fun. There is not a reason to prohibit or try and control such discussion but then there also have to be a point at which if things get out of hand it can be put back under control.

Agreeing to disagree is healthy as Michele said.

By: Michele

Michele — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:41:30 +0000

I was promoted to management two years ago. I have been eating in the breakroom for years and still continue to do so. All of us respect one another and freely express our opinions on anything and everything and that includes the upcoming elections. What is important is that such discussions should not take place on company time. Lunch is your own personal time to do with it what you please. Politics brings its own set of challenges. If the groundwork has already been set to disagree without being disagreeable, it can be a healthy and enlightening discussion.

By: Maria Clay

Maria Clay — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:05:58 +0000

Janet posed the question so I’ll answer. I’m a new student to Capella. I think political discussions could take place in the Cyber Cafe section. This is supposed to be for informal discussions.

The exciting thing about this Presidential Election is that people are passionate about it. We should have educated discussions with our USA wide student roster. What a better way to understand the importance of one candidate over another based on the region of this country you live in.

By: Janet Salmons

Janet Salmons — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:17:35 +0000

What about educational settings? See Stanley Fish’s article “Buttons and Bows” about campaign buttons in the classroom (http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/buttons-and-bows/).

If policies and acceptable practices are unclear in face to face settings, what about the online classroom? If you teach– or are an online learner– do you express your political views? Why or why nt? What happens when you do?

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:21:49 +0000

I think Marj’s point about CEO salaries is a good one. Anyone who is interested in voting and wants to vote already has an opinion about who they will or will not vote for. I don’t need my workplace interfering even more into my personal life and responsibilities.

But the CEO salaries, now that’s something I care about. Rich Clabaugh at the Institute for Policy Studies reports that the US has the most CEO’s who make proportionately more than their workers. The average CEO in the Unites States make 411 times more than their lowest paid worker. 411!

Other countries share more of the company’s profits with employees, and thus have lower ratios of CEO pay to employee pay: China 36 times more than the lowest paid worker, Britain 32, Canada 23, France 23, and Japan 11 times more. The stark compensation differences between American CEOs and CEOs in other countries reveal that extreme CEO greed is uniquely American.

Why is the ratio of CEO pay to employee pay in America 37 times more than it is in Japan–which also has many large, successful international companies?

The leadership in this country lines their pockets while their employees work more hours to try to get ahead. That’s a workplace issue that effects me.

By: SHeila B

SHeila B — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:27:53 +0000

This learner agree with Marj(October 2, 2008), Lets keep politics away from the workplace; educating employees about politics can hinder the workplace. Lets continue to educate our employees about ways to increase your knowledge and expanding their career within the organization.

By: Janet Salmons

Janet Salmons — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:40:05 +0000

The New York TImes’ Lisa Belkin wrote about this topic a couple of days ago…see: “Talking Politics in the Office” online at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/fashion/02work.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=lisa%20belkin&st=cse&oref=slogin.

Her closing point is a good one: ” it should be done, quietly and politely. So go off and play nicely. And remember to vote, or you don’t get to come into work on Nov. 5 and complain about who won.”

By: Marj

Marj — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:13:09 +0000

Greetings,

Keep politics out of the workplace! Having a casual conversation during break time with a colleague is fine but that does not require HR involvement in educating the employees about the different impact that a corporation might faced if a particular candidate gets in office. Let the employees do their own homework about the candidate they intend to vote for.
In some companies the HR dept. is there to prevent litigation and they are not there in the best interest of the employees. So why all of a sudden HR wants to make sure that the employees are well informed about the political candidates? How about giving the employees control over how much a CEO should make? after all, the employees have the right to know since this decision effects them directly.