Politics, Religion and the workplace

[Just_learning]

I work for a large corporation that for lack of a better term can be referred to as a maze. We are huge, about 250,000 people. You would think a company that prides itself on diversity would have a little lesson on being PC. Lately I have noticed a trend, with the elections coming up world events being what they are, personal agendas running awry- Is it really necessary to have a tag line in your work email quoting someone with slanted views, praising God or advertising a non-profit or other organization?

I really don’t mean to be a pain, but for Pete’s sake, business is business. Keep your font normal and black, not loopy and purple. Don’t put a foofy background, keep it white and professional. And please, please the only thing that should be in your signature should be your name, position, company, number and company/department slogan. Nothing else.

Anyone else hate this?

Rant over

[JustCallMeDave]

Email signature lines which embrace a specific ideology are about as professional as email with a graphical "stationary".

[PGJPJ]

Originally Posted by JustCallMeDave

Email signature lines which embrace a specific ideology are about as professional as email with a graphical "stationary".

Oh I hate those.

[Shark Bait]

I have had to crack down on some of that stuff in the past. Some of the stuff I have seen makes you wonder if the sender has taken leave of their senses?

[jvp]

i once worked for a company where everyone in the office was from 1 church. i was not and it was uncomfortable knowing that most decisions were based on that. now i have even been persuaded as to how to think and who to vote for from another company i worked for. all i can say is i don't bleet

[northriver1]

I am surprised a company that large does not have a policy covering issues outside the normal course of business regarding emails.. One would hate to send an email to the RNC looking for that order with a tag line suggesting Al Gore would be a great President.

[wishin]

I feel the same about bumper stickers. I hate being stuck in traffic looking at somebody's political statements, many of them just offensive to me, plastered all over their car. Why do people insist on sticking beligerant statements in other peoples faces?

[3riversBob]

I don't see what the issue is!

Bob

[1pump]

I work for a large conservative corporation, and every once in a while they slip in some Christian idealogy, although it's rare.
They do promote United Way to the point that I think it interferes with company business, but it's all about public image.

[Joe Schwab]

Originally Posted by Just_learning

I work for a large corporation that for lack of a better term can be referred to as a maze. We are huge, about 250,000 people. You would think a company that prides itself on diversity would have a little lesson on being PC. Lately I have noticed a trend, with the elections coming up world events being what they are, personal agendas running awry- Is it really necessary to have a tag line in your work email quoting someone with slanted views, praising God or advertising a non-profit or other organization?

I really don’t mean to be a pain, but for Pete’s sake, business is business. Keep your font normal and black, not loopy and purple. Don’t put a foofy background, keep it white and professional. And please, please the only thing that should be in your signature should be your name, position, company, number and company/department slogan. Nothing else.

Anyone else hate this?

Rant over

When you get to the Executive level you can change all that. In the meantime!

Heaven forbid that we praise God!

[ORhunter]

It's like knowing who or what everyone sleeps with. I don't want to know anything about what church or that Monica Lewinski's ex boyfriend's wife is going to be president, unless I ask. When someone volunteers this information it only promotes how stupid they really are. As for myself, I'd like to keep that a secret as long as I can.

[JustCallMeDave]

Plain-text email=good thing.

[rimrock]

Originally Posted by Just_learning

Anyone else hate this?

Nope

[crittergitter]

I can understand it when it's on a personal level, ie: some ones home email signature and such. But as for work it doesn't belong. Religon for some and politics in particular have started more arguments and disagreements between people than probably any other subject.

[Ryan Pultz]

The company I work for is the pushing it in the opposite direction then most of you are complaining about. They gladly promote alterative lifestyles and if you are married and have a family then you are not in management. Then there is the good boy club in upper management let just say the good boy club hear swings the bad from the wrong side of the plate for me. And well if you do not fit into that then you will not get any higher. Would I leave the job in a heart beat but I have a family to support and money is good and I like that I do so you take the good with the bad. Even if it is management putting little rainbow flags on the company newsletter rp

[Dullhook]

or advertising a non-profit or other organization?

Would this also include what we add to our ifish signatures?

[rimrock]

Originally Posted by Dullhook

Would this also include what we add to our ifish signatures?

Or in our National documents…how unprofessional they are; I mean every time I read them they have all those references to God. Business is business there is no place for this kind of stuff in the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution.

[Joe Schwab]

Originally Posted by rimrock

Or in our National documents…how unprofessional they are; I mean every time I read them they have all those references to God. Business is business there is no place for this kind of stuff in the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution.

Thank you for that observation Rimrock!

[JustCallMeDave]

If business is so good that such things can be put on anything that is part of the business identity, then I commend the business owner for being so successful to be able to pick and choose their customers. Must be a nice position.

[ORhunter]

Rimrock:
Good response. Couldn't agree more.....Thomas Jefferson for prez....

[TheRogue]

Ahhhh....religion and politics, the solution to the world's problems (unfortunately, the cause of most of them to begin with).

For the most part, all we're allowed (mostly) on our work e-mail sigs is contact information; and that's the way it should be. However, privately held companies should be able to set the rules as they want. If a potential customer is put off by something in an e-mail sig line, that's the company's decision.

Mostly, I guess I just have to say that if people in this world would become a little thicker skinned and quit getting upset over the tiniest thing, we as a race would be a lot better off.

My .02

TR

[jokester]

Originally Posted by TheRogue

Mostly, I guess I just have to say that if people in this world would become a little thicker skinned and quit getting upset over the tiniest thing, we as a race would be a lot better off.

My .02

TR

Best response i've heard yet!

TR FOR PREZ

-jokester

[roadsend]

Originally Posted by wishin

I feel the same about bumper stickers. I hate being stuck in traffic looking at somebody's political statements, many of them just offensive to me, plastered all over their car. Why do people insist on sticking beligerant statements in other peoples faces?

I find some of them offensive also. A few of them offensive to the extreme.
I guess being offended is part of the price we pay for having free speech.

Along these lines one of the best bumper sticker I have seen was in the parking lot of the Astoria Red Lion.(west basin):
"Nuke the unborn gay whales."

[JustCallMeDave]

Originally Posted by roadsend

Along these lines one of the best bumper sticker I have seen was in the parking lot of the Astoria Red Lion.(west basin)

You sure hang out in some pretty seedy areas.

[roadsend]

Originally Posted by JustCallMeDave

You sure hang out in some pretty seedy areas.

This was in the '80s.
Does that make it more seedy or less seedy?

[JustCallMeDave]

Considerably less.

[Joe C]

I find it mildly annoying when people wear their religion or their political affiliation on their sleeve. For instance, I don't think having 25 Jesus bumper stickers on your car earns you extra brownie points in heaven. But hey, people take some things pretty seriously, and as long as they're not constantly in my ear about it, I tend to look the other way.

It's just not worth it to get upset about that stuff. Every election cycle you're gonna get nutty emails full of slander and mistruths from both sides, annoying bumper stickers, loudmouth know-it-alls etc. Politics isn't about who you like anymore, it's about who you hate. It's a lot easier to get Americans to hate "the other guy" than it is to get them to care about your own platform. As long as it works, you're gonna see the sheep falling into line.

As for work, every job is gonna have someone with some beliefs you find wacky and they take way too seriously. If you let it get to you, you'll be miserable everywhere you go.

[Silver Hilton]

Originally Posted by ORhunter

Rimrock:
Good response. Couldn't agree more.....Thomas Jefferson for prez....

You do of course realize that Jefferson was not a christian?

[Joe Schwab]

Originally Posted by Silver Hilton

You do of course realize that Jefferson was not a christian?

But he did believe in God.


Thomas Jefferson
In the thick of party conflict in 1800, Thomas Jefferson wrote in a private letter, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."


Of course that was a private letter.

[ORhunter]

Yea, I knew that.......

[CombinationLicense]

The Constitution doesn't guarantee an individual right to "Not Be Offended". Quite the opposite in fact, it guarantees the individual right to free speech via the 1st Amendment. That being said though, the right of employers to regulate non-business related communications in the workplace has been long established. As in most things, the devil is in the details and a written, well communicated policy needs to be in place for such regulation. I would be surprised if a company of that size doesn't have a policy in place regarding such non-business related communications, so there should be no problem getting it enforced.



"CL"