Politics at work
We cannot separate work and life.
I thought for a long time about what to write today. I started this publication to write about why work sucks and how to make work better. I've covered everything from toxic work environments to bad managers. I've covered navigating grief at work and DEI. I've covered the labor movement.
One thing I haven't covered — at least, not directly — is politics. And how we should think about politics at work.
Earlier this week, the U.S. held its presidential election and re-elected a convicted felon. A misogynist. Someone who spews hatred toward immigrants and LGBTQ+ people. Some of his more alarming proposed policies are, at this point, theoretical, but many people woke up concerned for their futures.
Someone on Threads wrote: "Hot take: I don't think you should mix politics and business."
My response to that? Not all of us have the option to separate "politics" from work.
We can't separate who we are from work
My teen is LGBTQ+. They are scared. They woke up on November 6th feeling less safe.
My family is multi-racial. My husband is an immigrant. We've felt the hatred ever since Trump's first run in 2016.
I have needed access to reproductive care in my life. My first pregnancy was ectopic, which can be life-threatening if not treated. I have a 7-year-old daughter who will have fewer rights than I did unless something changes.
I can't step outside of who I am. Brush those things aside and go to work. I couldn't, for example, take on a client who was expressly anti-LGBTQ+ because that is my teen.
You shouldn't have to set your identity or your values aside to show up for work — whether you have an employer or work for yourself.
"We can agree to disagree" applies to things like, "Should the government enact a tax cut?" Not fundamental human rights. Not things that can cause real harm to other people.
How to navigate thinking and feeling
If you're hurting, as I am this week, there's no right or wrong way to react. (Although I was pretty pissed at the person who sent me a sales pitch at 7:30 am on Wednesday morning, ending with "Does that sound powerful to you?" Dude. Read the room. Give us a minute to react before we're forced to continue working or thinking about work.)
My husband had some car work already scheduled for Wednesday, so we went to Panera for lunch. I looked around and wondered, "How are all of these people just... moving through their days?" And it hit me that they don't feel the things I feel. They're not impacted in the same way. To wake up and feel completely secure in who you are and unconcerned that political policies might have a devastating impact on your family is a privilege.
Or maybe for you, the only thing you can do is distract yourself with normalcy. And that's ok too.
Shoutout to all the parents out there who are trying to comfort heartbroken kids while also managing your own feelings. Trying to tell them, "It will be ok," when in reality you are filled with uncertainty.
I listened to Pod Save America and this episode encouraged people to "be good to each other right now." To talk to people who have opposing views, because that's the way to "be smart and build a political majority." If that's something you want to do, do it. If you feel like you can't — because you feel abandoned by your country and your fellow citizens, that's ok too. I've written before about giving yourself permission to remove people from your life, and I think that applies here also. Some things hurt too much.
Rebecca Solnit wrote:
There is no alternative to persevering, and that does not require you to feel good.
You can keep walking whether it's sunny or raining.
Take care of yourself and remember that taking care of something else is an important part of taking care of yourself,
because you are interwoven with the ten trillion things in this single garment of destiny that has been stained and torn,
but is still being woven and mended and washed.
Take care of yourself.
And keep breathing.
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