Q: When I asked my colleague to cover for me so that I could vote, she just rolled her eyes and said that I should only ask her to cover when it is important. She is my only backup–what should I do?
A. You have your priorities straight, good for you. Voting is important. You are not only exercising your expression of freedom and democracy, you are also demonstrating that you are engaged in our democratic process. You are in the game, not on the sidelines. One way to gauge the importance of your actions is by observing the efforts underway in Hong Kong to secure the right to vote there.
It seems as if your colleague doesn’t know what is important to you. I wonder, have you had the following conversations with her:
- Does your colleague feel sufficiently “thanked” or acknowledged for being your back up?
- What opportunities have you created to lend your colleague support when it is not a crisis?
- How would you rate the quality of communications with your colleague? Has there been a recent breakdown in communications?
- Is your work relationship balanced? Fair? Reciprocal?
- What is important to your colleague? To you? Similarities? Differences?
If talking politics at work is taboo in your organization, remember that there is a big difference between talking and voting. Thanks for recognizing the importance of the midterm elections by voting on Tuesday, November 4, 2014.