Can Work Friends Talk About Israel-Hamas?
With tensions high around rising antisemitism and conflict in the middle east, friends of all kinds can find themselves in the most awkward situations for discussion. But friendships that are rooted in the workplace can have extra complexity.
This is because most adults live in political and religious bubbles based on geography, family and social media. Our workplaces, therefore, are the last, true bastions of heterogeneity in our lives. This is especially true for big and hybrid employers that bring people together from disparate backgrounds and locations.
Work friendships therefore require a different set of relating skills, and this is more true than ever when a major external event happens. When the company itself is in conflict, employees may be able to either band together in unity or walk out in solidarity. But if the external issue is unrelated to work yet top of mind, it’s going to be very difficult for companies and the work friends inside of them to navigate it.
n.b. Companies can and should do more to foster friendships at work. I’m working extensively on this topic right now and would love to hear from you about it. Feel free to reply here as well!
Of course you’re going to want to talk to your close work friends about things happening in the news. As a lifelong startup founder, I’ve…
