Please don’t punch your office politician

Hi! I’m Peter, CEO of Kickresume, and these career-related stories caught my attention this month — and might catch yours too.

In partnership with BeforeSunset AI

2024 is shaping up to be... well, anything but boring. In fact, it’s been downright record-breaking.

This summer brought the hottest temperatures on record (again), gold prices soared to all-time highs, and as if that weren’t enough, 2024 is set to host a record number of elections. 

With over half the world heading to the polls, there’s no escaping political chatter—not at work, and definitely not in this newsletter. (Relax, I actually won't get political.)

And how do companies handle those tricky conversations? Well, let’s just say...some handle it better than others…

Warning! May cause spontaneous resignations.

Now, it wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining to look at companies that have it all figured out.

Instead, let’s look at two examples of companies that didn’t exactly ace the politics-at-work test.

Take Basecamp. Back in 2021, the project-management company made headlines for banning political discussions in company channels. CEO Jason Fried banned all societal political discussions in company channels to “keep things focused on business.”

The result? Roughly a third of the company’s employees decided to quit. 

Seems too dramatic of the employees? Well, you can actually read Fried's whole announcement, and be the judge for yourself. 

Then there’s Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, where the CEO, Brian Armstrong, took a similar stance. 

He banned all talk of politics and social causes at work—and offered a severance package to anyone who didn’t agree. Employees had a week to decide, and many took the deal.

At first, this might seem like a reasonable approach—fewer distractions, right? But here’s why it backfired. 

When companies lay down a blanket ban on political talk, it often triggers an equally powerful response. Psychologists even have a term for it—the 'critical parent vs. rebellious child' dynamic. So, when a company bans discussions about something, it often just pushes those issues underground, where they can build up and eventually blow up.

Case in point: the widely publicized mass exodus at Basecamp.

On the flip-side, if the ban is accepted, it can create a “compliant child” mentality, where employees expect management to make more and more detailed guidelines around what is and isn’t allowed. This too could spiral out of control pretty quickly. With bans like these, there are only lose-lose scenarios, it seems.

Fake it till you...snap and assault your coworker

Okay, we’ve covered what some companies are doing about political talk at work, and we’ve even seen what psychology thinks about it. 

But what about employees themselves? How do they feel about discussing politics at the office?

With 2024 being a record election year, we at Kickresume decided to run a survey and ask them directly. Nearly 3,000 employees across all continents responded.

I thought I'd cherry-pick the juiciest findings, but if you're really into data, feel free to dive into the full report.

First off, 21% of employees have faked political views, mostly to avoid conflict or fit in with colleagues. (So, next time someone agrees with you, maybe don’t feel too flattered.)

When we asked how people react when a colleague holds a different political view, here’s what we found:

• 54% claim they engage in respectful conversations (props to them!).

• 14% say they'd rather send in their resignation letter and never see those colleagues again.

• 3% jump straight into a heated argument.

• 2% go so far as to give their colleagues the silent treatment.

• And, the cherry on top? 1% are ready to get physical over their political opinions. (Seriously?)

But what disturbed me the most was that 19% of employees say they've been asked politics-related questions during their job interviews. 

I’m no expert, but asking about voting habits in a job interview is wrong on so many levels…

So... How about that weather?

Discussing politics at work is just as messy and controversial as you’d imagine—and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon.

But I guess there are two lessons here:

1. If you own a company, it's probably not a good idea to ban political discussions at work altogether.

2. If you're employed in one… don't fight? 

In the end, it's probably best to keep things civil and respectful—and save the more intense debates for after work hours.

Or, you know, just talk about the weather instead (but not climate change—definitely not climate change).

Hand-picked remote job of the month: Senior Software Engineer (Full Stack, Front-End Focused) at Scribd

$122k—$216k annual US base range

• Healthcare Insurance Coverage (Medical/Dental/Vision): 100% paid for employees

• 12 weeks paid parental leave

• Short-term/long-term disability plans

• 401k/RSP matching

• Tuition Reimbursement

• Quarterly stipend for Wellness, Connectivity & Comfort

• Mental Health support & resources

• Free subscription to Scribd + gift memberships for friends & family

• Book Benefit

• Sabbaticals

• Vacation & Personal Days

• Paid Holidays (+ winter break)

• Flexible Sick Time

Learn more here >

Random piece of career advice

LinkedIn is THE tool for recruiting and job hunting, with over 87% of recruiters using it as part of their hiring process. 

This means you need to make sure your profile isn’t just existing but is popping up in searches and standing out for the right reasons.

To help you with that, here are 5 LinkedIn profile hacks to increase your visibility:

#1 Complete your full LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn works like a search engine, so the more information you provide, the easier it is for recruiters to find you. In fact, LinkedIn says your profile will show up 40 times more often in search results if it’s complete!

#2 Use keywords to boost your profile searchability.

If a recruiter is searching for someone with experience in digital marketing, they might look for specific keywords like SEO, content creation, analytics. If you’ve included these keywords in your profile, you’re more likely to show up in their search results.

#3 Customize your LinkedIn profile URL

Your profile URL is basically the link to your page, but by default, it comes with a series of numbers after your name. If you customize it, not only does it look cleaner, but it also makes you easier to find on Google and LinkedIn.

#4 Engage with your network

LinkedIn algorithms prefer active users. To stay active, you can join groups and get involved, post interesting content and interact with others, or give & get recommendations and endorsements.

#5 Reply to recruiters even if you're not interested

The thing is, LinkedIn’s algorithm prioritizes those who are likely to respond over those who are not. So, replying to recruiters —even just to say no—will help keep you visible.

At last, I hope you didn't think I'd forget! 

As a token of appreciation for your excellent scrolling skills, here’s a 20% discount code for Kickresume Premium. 

Catch you later! 

Peter