Should we ignore the social views of our coworkers and bosses?

October 11, 2017

Especially for those views that one sees as dangerous to their existence, is it reasonable to tell an employee to ignore their coworkers’/bosses’ social ideologies?

I know thinking in the abstract can be difficult, so here are some examples among many to start the conversation:

  • A Muslim employee sees their Facebook ‘Friend’ vehemently defend a travel ban that is preventing their family from joining them in the US.
  • A Mexican employee sees a coworker post meme after meme about how people of Mexican heritage are lazy.
  • A woman (or anyone, for that matter) sees their boss fighting for a universal ban on the right to have an abortion for any reason.

I’m not suggesting that one investigate to discover these beliefs. But in this modern era of personal/professional mixing, coworkers ‘Friend’ each other on Facebook and follow each other on Twitter. They often hang out after work (and failing to do so, if we’re being honest, will have some impact on one’s advancement).

So if someone is broadcasting social views that an employee feels personally threatened by, what should the employee do?