Something interesting is happening in American workplaces. On social media and in discussion forums outside of the workforce, the culture wars rage on. Turn on right-wing media and you’ll find endless outrage about DEI, pronouns, “woke corporations,” and identity politics.
But inside most workplaces, there’s a desire to “keep politics out of the workplace” and to be “civil.” While workplaces have gone quiet on culture war issues, workers are tired. Economic uncertainty, burnout, trauma from massive layoffs, and growing awareness of wealth inequality may be breeding a different kind of conversation at work.
SHRM launched something called the “1M Civil Conversations” initiative. Employers are being advised to prohibit political discussions, remind employees that the workplace is not the appropriate venue for divisive or inflammatory discussions, and create policies that address political expression as potential harassment.
On its face, this sounds reasonable. Who wants a hostile workplace? But look closer at what “civility” is actually silencing. Topics like DEI, ESG practices, and political beliefs, once widely accepted in workplaces, are now becoming areas of contention. The policies being written to address “civility” are so broad that they can be used to shut down discussions about anything that makes management uncomfortable. It leaves the door open to shut down conversations, including working conditions, pay equity, and benefits.
When you can’t talk about issues that are impacting you that might be related to your identity (whether that’s class, race, gender, caregiving status, etc), and you see identity politics still showing up in the news, there’s a cognitive disconnect. Meanwhile, the material reality is clear:
- Job burnout is at 66%
- One-third of workers without retirement benefits rarely or never have money left over at the end of the month
- 44% of employer matching contributions go to the top 20% of earners while the bottom 20% get just 6%
Without the ‘distraction’ of identity politics, perhaps something else is taking root that’s been an unexpected benefit to workers.
70% of Americans now support the labor movement, more than any other institution in American life. Union organizing is on the rise, focused squarely on economic issues: wages, benefits, working conditions, and protection from automation.
Major recent labor movements include auto organizing in the South, dockworkers protecting jobs from automation, hotel workers striking for major raises, and grad workers organizing in response to university repression. Starbucks workers are striking on Red Cup Day, calling it the Red Cup Rebellion.
Millennials and Gen Z workers, who came of age during the economic crisis and stagnation, are at the forefront of new organizing, with over half identifying as radical and citing Bernie Sanders and Black Lives Matter as political influences. They’re connecting economic justice and racial justice, yes, but through the lens of material conditions, not symbolic battles.
The enforced workplace silence has created space for something the culture war was designed to prevent: workers recognizing their shared economic interests across cultural divides.
What This Means for the Future of Work
We’ve spent over a decade navigating major workplace disruptions. We’ve witnessed economic anxiety get channeled into culture war rage and have seen organizations fight symbolic battles while material conditions deteriorate.
And we’re watching something shift right now. The future of work won’t be determined by which side “wins” the culture war, partially because employers are trying to remove the culture war from workplaces entirely through civility policies.
Instead, it will be determined by whether organizations can address what workers are noticing in the silence:
- Material conditions matter. Stress, burnout, and economic precarity aren’t solved by values statements or by banning discussions. They require structural change.
- Economic solidarity is possible. When cultural division is removed as a workplace tool, workers across differences may be able to recognize shared interests.
- The distraction strategy has limits. You can run culture wars online all day long, but if workplaces enforce silence, workers focus on what’s in front of them: their paychecks, their benefits, and their working conditions.
- Power responds to organized workers. 70% of Americans support unions because they see it as a path to a better life and their fair share of prosperity. While there was a significant dip in support for unions in the past few decades, in recent years we’ve seen a marked shift back towards popular acceptance
What Leaders Should Actually Do
1. Understand what “civility” is actually doing
- Are your civility policies creating space for authentic conversation or enforcing silence?
- Are you accidentally preventing workers from discussing working conditions alongside cultural issues?
- Is your “apolitical workplace” actually just a workplace where workers are figuring out their shared economic interests?
2. Pay attention to what workers are organizing around
- When workers can’t fight about culture wars, are they really just focusing on work?
- Are the conversations shifting toward compensation, benefits, and working conditions?
- Is that shift revealing something about what they actually need?
3. Address material conditions, not just symbolic conflicts
- Audit your actual economic structures: pay equity, benefits access, wealth-building opportunities
- Before you write another civility policy, look at your burnout rates and who’s experiencing them
- Ask yourself: if workers got quiet about culture and loud about economics, what would they demand?
4. Recognize the emerging class consciousness
- Workers—especially younger ones—are connecting economic and racial justice through material analysis
- The split between external culture wars and internal workplace silence is creating space for economic solidarity
- This isn’t going away; it’s accelerating
We help organizations navigate the future of work by seeing patterns others miss. The split between external culture wars and internal workplace dynamics is creating a unique moment, one where the old playbooks don’t work the same way.
If you’re noticing your workplace has gone quiet on cultural issues but loud on economic ones, if you’re seeing organizing energy where you didn’t expect it, if your civility policies aren’t delivering the peace you thought they would, let’s talk about what’s actually shifting and what it means for your organization.