Google tells its employees to focus on work – not politics
Google has told its employees to cut out political debate and politics at work.
The company put out employee guidelines last week, according
to widely published news reports, informing staffers that “disrupting the
workday to have a raging debate over politics or the latest news story”
does not help build community.
Google always took pride in embracing free speech and open debates among employees. But that free-range approach is creating challenges. For instance, the tech giant found itself in the crosshairs of some prominent politicians accusing it of an anti-conservative bias, as well as some employees who said they were retaliated against for speaking out about equal treatment and equal opportunity.
Guidelines on politics at work
“Community guidelines exist to support the healthy and
open discussion that has always been a part of our culture. They help create an
environment where we can come together as a community in pursuit of our shared
mission and serve our users,” a Google spokeswoman told CNN Business.
“It’s critical that we honor that trust and uphold the integrity of our
products and services. The guidelines are official policy and apply when
employees are communicating in the workplace.”
Google first published community guidelines about a year ago
concerning how employees engaged with each other, specifying that trolling
online and name calling are not okay in the workplace.
The new guidelines take that a step further, noting
employees should not make “statements that insult, demean, or humiliate
(whether individually or by reference to groups) other employees, our extended
workforce, our business partners, or others (including public figures).”
The guidance also applies to internal channels, including
the company’s email listservs, where a lot of employee conversation takes
place.
Google is also seeking to cut back on employees making
“false or misleading statements about Google’s products or business that
could undermine trust in our products and the work that we do,” according
to its guidelines.
In addition to the new guidance, which was first sent in an
email by CEO Sundar Pichai to employees before it published online, the company
said there will be a new “central flagging tool” for employees to report
content that may not align with its guidelines. A new “community
management team” will then assess whether the content is in violation.
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