Work should be a ‘No Politics’ zone

Institutions around the country are in turmoil, subject to loud clamoring about events in the Middle East. Many members of their communities are making claims of anti-Semitism, while there are counterclaims of Islamophobia. Public universities and institutions may have no way to avoid those disruptions, but fortunately private employers need not be pulled into that melee—if you have policies and practices to protect you.

You can Google this

The dangers of politics at work are quite real, no matter how careful you are. On April 16, 2024, as an act of protest over Google’s cloud-computing deal with the Israeli government, some of the company’s workers engaged in what it describes as a “physical disruption inside our buildings,” with “employees disrupting and occupying work spaces, and making other employees feel threatened and unsafe.” Google terminated the employment of an estimated 50 employees who were found to have been directly involved in disruptive activity.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai reiterated that employees should keep “politics” out of the workplace, adding, “This is a business, and not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers” or “fight over disruptive issues or debate politics” in the workplace. Meanwhile, dozens of the terminated employees have filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), saying the terminations were for a “peaceful, non-disruptive protest that was directly and explicitly connected to their terms and conditions of work.”

‘No retaliation’ for lawful off-duty conduct