Hundreds of behavioral science research reveal that people seldom grasp what others are thinking. The causes are usually twofold. On the one hand, a mountain of Nobel Prize-winning research demonstrates that we all have cognitive biases, which alter our interpretation of what others say.
On the other hand, even if listeners try to overcome their prejudices and think clearly, emotions evoked by contentious, hot-button subjects might exhaust listeners’ reasoning abilities. This two-pronged attack on their mental fortitude or cognitive control might backfire, causing them to misunderstand us and view and treat us as a threat.
For all these reasons, we must understand the ramifications of bringing up contentious, hot-button issues in the wrong place or at the wrong time—especially at work.
Indeed, when serious issues like harassment, fraud, discrimination, and ineptitude arise, informal discussions around the water cooler do not do them justice. It is challenging to picture properly dealing with harassment or fraud during a Zoom meeting to discuss protecting the firm from a rival, for example.
Even a bit of emotional intelligence tells us this.
Luckily, behavioral science can assist us in recognizing why you must never discuss topics in the workplace, that is, in place of a formal gathering of the facts and people engaged in them.
The Presidential Election, Party Politics, and Religion
According to the old saying, “Family and friends should never talk about religion and politics.” We must apply the same rule at work—one reason for doing it is because people take a difficult position – specifically on religion and politics. As an outcome, they will never enable you to disagree with you nor soften their positions depending upon your argument’s most forte or sometimes data. For instance, University College London conducted research in which they found that showing one’s political opinions in conversation does little more than harden opponents’ opinions. It is appropriate that the harder we push, the more people push us back, even if data are on our side.
Moreover, other behavioral science advises arguments about religion and politics, leading to our passing judgments on others. But judging provides growth to mental weakness, which is what our behavioral scientists call a bias blind spot. Moreover, discussing religion in politics makes us illogical and increasingly blind to our irrational thinking. That is not easy; it is something we are being paid to allow to occur to us at work.
Immigration
Inevitably, divisiveness over immigration brings up concerns about job security. Immigration causes tension for anyone who believes their career is in jeopardy, and as we have already shown, stress causes a slew of additional issues, including reduced performance. As a result, unless your organization engages with immigration (or any of the other problems) as part of its business model—for example, you manage immigration applications—it is better to avoid discussing it at work.
Protests
Protests have occurred throughout the world over voting rights, political unrest, and racial and religious divisions. All these incentives, of course, have emotional undertones. However, as previously said, emotive issues can lead to emotional biases, negatively impacting performance. Worse, bitter sentiments can linger for a long time.
Your Financial Problems
Sharing your money troubles, like discussing your medical issues, negatively affects your competence. Sharing your financial matters with coworkers—who may or may not make the same or comparable incomes as you—makes you the top suspect anytime anything valuable goes missing or corners are done on work. Indeed, according to one poll of American employees, 52 percent admitted to stealing anything from the workplace—and that is just the percentage that confessed it. However, sharing your financial woes with coworkers shows you are poor with money on a deeper level. That, in turn, implies a certain level of ineptness.
Bottom Line
We cannot openly discuss personal time, politics, race, religion, and more in the workplace. These things will badly affect the work environment and the performance of work.
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