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Unless you are in the job of politics or possibly the news, politics doesn't make for good conversation around the water cooler. Political topics, while fun to debate, can lead to hot tempers and long term relational difficulty. In other words, if you want to get along with your co-workers, talking about Politics is probably a topic that should be nixed!

Politics and religion. Both of these are hot-button topics. It's amazing how over-heated people can become when talking about either. That's really a good thing because that means we are very passionate about it which indicates strong beliefs.

While some can push the boundaries into dogma with little logic and a lot of yelling, most of us sincerely believe what we sincerely believe. We have thought through the things we believe and discovered for ourselves why we believe them. Then we have discovered we are willing to fight for what we believe.

I am a staunch conservative. My parents were also staunch conservatives who certainly influenced me, but at some point in my life, I had to decide why I believe what I believe. Was it because I'd always heard that's the way to go or did it make sense to me. Once I had gone through that process in politics and religion, I had a firmer grasp on my own belief system. It's not just hot air floating around in my brain, it is something I have dug into and looked at with the magnifying glass of logic and faith.

That said, when people have strong beliefs, they tend to believe the rest of the world should agree with them. This is not always a bad thing either. First, if we truly believe what we believe and are willing to stand behind it, then we will believe that it's good for the rest of society (all or in part) as well. So, in essence, we defend our core beliefs because we believe society will benefit along with us.

When something comes with this much passion, and when there are people at opposite poles who hold their beliefs just as strongly, you can imagine what will happen if they begin discussing their political beliefs in the office. Think of two trains headed toward one another on the same track.

If you don't want that kind of explosion going on at the office, causing bitter feelings and possible polarizing feuds, then, by all means, nix political discussion at the office. It is the rare work place that finds all workers rational debaters rather than rabid defenders. So rather than set off those who cannot keep it civil, it is best to just put a lid on it and save the political conversations for elsewhere.

Learn more about this author, Angela S. Young.
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