Political Pharmacy... Bad Idea.
I could just be the only one out here that has heard of this, but don’t people know that discussing religion or politics in the workplace is a recipe for disaster?
We have a new staff pharmacist, and she’s been quite... interesting? to work with. I may save the irritating actions for another post, but the main issue that the pharmacy staff, as a vast majority has, is that she is very loud and opinionated on her political stance... to the point of taunting, mocking, radical statements, etc. There’s nothing wrong with having an opinion -- everyone is entitled to their opinion(s) -- but knowing that recent times have become rather tense, it simply does not seem like a great idea to discuss your views.
It’s known that if you state your opinion or stance on any issue, there is always going to be someone in opposition. And there certainly is in my pharmacy. I don’t share my views either way because it’s not going to help me count or type prescriptions any more efficiently. I’m here to do my job, so I just play “Switzerland”. But this particular pharmacist has made very extreme, unsolicited comments that have caused an extreme divide in our work place, which I wouldn’t expect anyone to react in a civil manner is. We work in very close quarters and we around each other often. We’re already having issues working as an efficient team with being short-staffed. How does this help us be any better? It just doesn’t.
There’s no written rule within the company I work for that states that this kind of thing is not allowed, so it’s challenging to rectify. My coworkers vent to me about their frustrations; some are upset with her comments because they perceive them as crude, while others just feel it’s not necessary. I brought it up to my pharmacy manager, and their resolution was “I'm just going to lead by example, and hope she catches on.” It’s been about two months, and nothing has changed. I feel like my hands are tied, as anytime I find a resolution when my pharmacist can’t come up with one, they think I’m stepping on their toes and then I find myself having a “sit-down” on why I went over their head.
Has anyone else experienced something like this, or experiencing something like this currently? What do you do to get through your workday?