I don’t talk about politics or religion at the workplace, yet there is a drama queen that loves just blurting out what she thinks to everyone around.
My way to go so far has been to ignore her, but sometimes I just want to yell at her how incoherent she is.
Then I’d be the one starting drama I guess…
I’m looking for advice to deal with these kind of people. I don’t want to work listening to conspiracy theories.
When you figure it out, please let me know.
Whole ‘Alt right playbook’ series is great, but this one aligns with your question:
https://youtu.be/yts2F44RqFw?si=i4spe1pMZEYyswrLMaybe it will be some consolation for you to remember that you and your coworker have a common adversary: your employer. If you find yourself taking your ignorant coworker’s bait, you can try constructively twisting it or redirecting her complaints against the ownership.
Nah. You’re giving an enemy tools against you.
Not sure what you mean, but pitting enemies against each other is also an option.
If OP bad mouths the company, annoying colleague can snitch on them if they disagree.
“Please don’t talk about politics in the workplace. It is unprofessional.”
People like that routinely ignore polite exhortations.
Skill issue
Are you trying to blame the victim here?
I didn’t suggest being polite.
For the discussed situation, you response is so neutered that it verges on transparently hypocritical.
Many, if not most large companies and government agencies have workplace harassment policies. If you find out what you’re covered by, and make your views known, the behavior of this individual could be reportable.
It’s a long road, but
Let them.
I work 100% remote, which has made it very easy for me to ignore my coworkers’ bad politics takes because they’re confined to a specific Slack channel
You grow up.
You aren’t supposed to agree with everyone around you all the time.
Grow up or hate the world you share with the rest of the people living on it.
That’s the risk of places like lemmygrad and hexbear.
Best of luck moving forward
Politics is group decision making. Religion is humanities relation to the supernatural. Drama, in context, seems to be a flaring of emotions.
Politics is unavoidable. Working with others requires decision making. She is telling you how she goes about making decisions i.e. deferring to authority.
Religion is also unavoidable since it informs politics. Many people believe God-King Jesus will come fix all the world’s problems. Thereby they are primed for deferring to authority.
Drama is a result of the multiplayer game of conversation. You can control your inputs and responses. You can control your internal state. There is no shame leaving a game instead of grinding to “git gud”. Not every game is for everyone. I enjoy the grind.
She is telling you how she goes about making decisions i.e. deferring to authority.
This is really insightful. Thanks.
AirPods?
Mind your own business, Sarah. I know it’s you.
ignoring them is the best thing. when you start feeling super annoyed, that’s a good time to take a break & walk away for a few mins.
also, the headphones suggestion is on point.
I would do the following.
- Politely ask her to refrain from talking about politics at work as it makes you uncomfortable.
- If #1 fails, go to your supervisor/manager and put in a formal complaint.
- If #2 isn’t handled discreetly or is simply ignored, go to your superior’s boss and repeat the action of step #2.
- If #3 fails, go to HR.
- If #4 fails or there is no HR to go to, seek new employment elsewhere, and write a review of company on Glassdoor.
Reply to them in a “really? Aren’t you just adorable” tone of voice. Don’t engage with what they’re saying but treat them way you would treat a puppy that has just learned not to crap on the rug. Or a mental patient.
“Trump says he’s going to fix everything two weeks after he takes office!”
“Really? That’s amazing! Here I was thinking that you hadn’t thought this through, when clearly you had.”