辦公室里談?wù)稳绾伪苊饧姞?zhēng)？
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????親愛(ài)的安妮：我在一家大公司的一個(gè)小部門(mén)（20個(gè)人）里工作，部門(mén)老板在我眼里基本上是個(gè)好人。他是一個(gè)好父親，對(duì)員工很公允，一般也很好相處。問(wèn)題是他的政治觀點(diǎn)非常極端，與之相比，極端保守派廣播脫口秀主持人拉什?林堡也只能算是一個(gè)思想開(kāi)明的人。這段時(shí)間以來(lái)，我倆幾乎在從移民政策到醫(yī)保改革所有新聞事件上都針?shù)h相對(duì)。 ????如果他不是一直高談闊論政治話題，還試圖贏得他人認(rèn)同的話，倒也沒(méi)什么。有幾位同事，我碰巧知道他們其實(shí)屬于溫和派，但都假裝同意他的觀點(diǎn)，竭力巴結(jié)，討他歡心，可我就是不愿這樣做。不知道你或者你的讀者能不能給點(diǎn)建議，如何能得體地清除這些聒噪之聲，讓大家重新投入到工作狀態(tài)？——咬牙切齒 ????親愛(ài)的“咬牙切齒”：無(wú)論如何，你并不是唯一一個(gè)有這種困惑的人。近來(lái)其他很多讀者也問(wèn)到了如何說(shuō)服同事不要將政治觀點(diǎn)帶進(jìn)辦公室。但問(wèn)題是有些人相信根據(jù)《美國(guó)憲法》第一修正案他們有權(quán)在工作場(chǎng)所發(fā)表自己的觀點(diǎn)。但其實(shí)我在2010年美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)大選期間撰寫(xiě)的一篇專欄中就談到過(guò)這個(gè)問(wèn)題。你猜怎么著？私營(yíng)部門(mén)員工在辦公場(chǎng)所（以及上班時(shí)間）不享有第一修正案賦予的權(quán)利。 ????“每到這個(gè)時(shí)候，政治討論往往就會(huì)異常熱烈起來(lái)，”明尼阿波利斯的溝通培訓(xùn)公司Roshini Performance Group 的主管以及《有話好好說(shuō)!》（Communicate That!）一書(shū)的作者羅什尼?拉基庫(kù)瑪表示。“今年這個(gè)大選年略不同于以往，雖然羅姆尼領(lǐng)先，但并沒(méi)有明顯的優(yōu)勢(shì)。他的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手有非常多的熱心支持者，引發(fā)了很多討論?！倍?，她還補(bǔ)充說(shuō)：“今年公開(kāi)爭(zhēng)論的一些問(wèn)題非常情緒化，很多人似乎都有點(diǎn)走極端。” ????既然你說(shuō)你是在一家大公司工作，肯定在什么地方，比如員工手冊(cè)里，有書(shū)面規(guī)定，禁止因?yàn)橥獠渴聞?wù)（如政治討論）分心，妨礙工作?！叭绻F公司存在這樣的政策，你就可以把這種情況告知人力資源部，”拉基庫(kù)瑪表示。“但這樣做太極端了。” ????更好的做法是“與老板私下談話時(shí)提起這項(xiàng)政策。不要在其他人面前提起，不要太對(duì)立或帶刺。不妨這樣說(shuō)：‘我不知道您是否清楚辦公室里的政治討論讓持有不同觀點(diǎn)的員工感覺(jué)不那么自在。有沒(méi)有辦法，可以緩和一下呢? ’” ????保持冷靜。“內(nèi)心越平靜，就越有說(shuō)服力，”拉基庫(kù)瑪指出。不管是和老板，還是同事，不要說(shuō)出那些除了平添傷害、毫無(wú)益處的話?！八苏?wù)撜卧掝}或你認(rèn)為不合適的話題時(shí)，保持沉默也沒(méi)什么不妥，”她說(shuō)?！叭绻腥藛?wèn)起你為什么不開(kāi)腔，只要回答說(shuō)正在忙著干活就行了?！?/p> ????如果有人（你可能不是）喜歡和同事談?wù)撜危鶐?kù)瑪有一些建議，如何讓談話保持心平氣和?！罢握勗捒赡芗鞭D(zhuǎn)直下，”她說(shuō)?！叭藗儠?huì)根據(jù)你的觀點(diǎn)來(lái)評(píng)判你。討論是有趣的，但不值得為此搭上職業(yè)前途。”下面是需要注意的幾點(diǎn)： ??? |
????Dear Annie: I work in a small (20-person) department of a huge company, for a boss who I think is fundamentally a good guy. He's a devoted dad, very fair to us employees, and usually a pleasure to be around. The problem is his political opinions, which are so extreme they make Rush Limbaugh look like a flaming liberal. He and I are on polar opposite sides of almost every issue in the news these days, from immigration policy to health care reform. ????That would be fine if he didn't insist on talking about politics all the time and trying to get the rest of us to agree with him. A few of my colleagues, who I happen to know are way more moderate than they're letting on, are kissing up to him by pretending to agree in order to get on his good side, but I'm just not going to do that. Can you or your readers suggest a diplomatic way to shut down all this yakking and let us get back to work? — Gritting My Teeth ????Dear G.M.T.: For what it's worth, you're not the only one wondering. Many other readers have been asking lately how to persuade colleagues to leave their political views in the parking lot. One issue is that some people believe they have a First Amendment right to spout off at work. But as I wrote in a column during the 2010 Congressional elections, guess what: Private-sector employees on company property (and company time) have no First Amendment rights. ????"Political talk does seem unusually heated this time around," says Roshini Rajkumar, head of Minneapolis-based communications coaching firm Roshini Performance Group and author of a book called Communicate That!. "It's a little different than in previous election years because, although Romney is ahead, he's not a clear favorite. His opponents have so many avid supporters that it opens up a lot of discussions." Moreover, she adds, "Some of the issues on the table this time are very emotional, and many people seem to be taking extreme positions." ????Since you note that you work for a huge company, there may be a written policy somewhere -- in the employee handbook, for example -- that prohibits outside distractions, including political talk, that get in the way of work. "If your company has such a policy, you could alert human resources to this situation," Rajkumar says. "But that would be a drastic measure." ????A better course of action: "Mention the policy in a private conversation with your boss. Don't bring it up in front of other people, and don't be confrontational or critical. Say something like, 'I wonder if you're aware that all the political discussion around here makes the atmosphere uncomfortable for people with different views. Is there a way we can all agree to tone it down?'" ????Stay cool. "The calmer you are on the inside, the more persuasive you'll be," Rajkumar notes. Whether with your boss or with coworkers, don't be drawn into arguments that are likely to produce nothing but hard feelings. "When others are talking about political subjects, or in fact any subject that you don't think is appropriate, it's perfectly all right to say nothing," she says. "Then if someone asks why you're not piping up, just answer that you're busy working." ????For anyone who (unlike you) actually enjoys talking politics with colleagues, Rajkumar has some common-sense reminders about keeping the discussion civil. "Political conversations can go downhill fast," she says, "and people may make snap judgments about you based on your views. Debates are fun, but they're not worth risking your career." A few pointers: |
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