Six years ago, American political dialogue was not exactly peaceful, but it deteriorated far more during Donald Trump's presidency. Millions of individuals are conversing with one other in what is referred to as the national dialogue. If you could tune out all of the malicious yelling, you might be able to discern some of the silences that have developed when two people have stopped talking totally. This observation is accurate for both at work and home. 

In the current political and social climate, one wrong thing believed, said, or done can land you in deep waters with people around you. We tend to become another version of ourselves tiptoeing around everyone's fragile mindsets at work. Not that holding people accountable for their transgressions is wrong. While you can't be mad at someone for being a democrat and gravitating towards left-winged politics, similarly being a republican and following a right-winged approach, you can take action against it if either party is causing you physical or emotional harm. 

However, newfound society dynamics turn to push every situation to the extreme. The idea that a person might be "canceled" — that is, culturally barred from having a large public platform or profession — has become a divisive topic of debate in recent years. The growth of "cancel culture" and the concept of canceling someone follows a predictable pattern: a popular figure does or says something objectionable. A public backlash ensues, frequently exacerbated by politically progressive social media.

However, many right-wing conservatives and liberals who disagree with more strident progressive language have come to believe that "cancel culture" is a sort of harassment designed to silence anyone who deviates from the amorphous ideas of "woke" politics. So, depending on who you're talking to, the concept now reflects a wide range of goals and might have drastically diverse connotations. 

This also spills over into your place of work. If you've been experiencing rejection at work because of your political and cultural identity, the thing is: Either you've been causing harm, or harm is being caused to you. Either way, you're supposed to separate your professional life from your work life. 

Relationships are harmed due to a dysfunctional political system, but they also indicate a lack of strategies for resolving significant political differences among Americans. Will Friedman, president of Public Agenda, believes Americans have the intrinsic capacity to resist the forces of division and begin the process of constructing a more robust democracy as the country emerges from a divisive election, a devastating pandemic, and a cratered economy. According to psychologists, most of us adopt distinct personas depending on whether we're at home or work. Although alot of us are unlikely to go so far as to create a new persona, our career and personal success are frequently dependent on our ability to switch between these two personalities. 

To combat the toxic environment set by today's political and cultural divide and debate at your place of work, it's essential to know how to get along with others, despite differences in opinion. According to a 2020 census, the United States population is more racially and ethnically diverse than ten years ago. With such diversity and differences, it's essential to be kind to everyone. 

10 Ways To Help Fix Your Relationships At Work 

We have ten steps for you spanning over ten days to help you understand the reasons for keeping harmony at work. Along with this, we'll provide you with a question as a journal prompt to answer. As you write down the answer in your journal, you'll go through your emotions and feelings and work your way to understand better not just your perspective on life but also of the people you work with. 

Step 1: Understand Others' Perspectives

A routine conversation can quickly devolve into a verbal war if there isn't a basic level of comprehension and respect for another's point of view. And, while it is critical to learn how to communicate your point of view effectively, it is critical to comprehend someone else's. If you interact with people who agree with you, you may be missing out on crucial information. For example, if someone believes in the Second Amendment, you might want to stop to think why they think that way. 

According to social psychology, understanding others' cognitive and affective perspectives leads to several favorable effects. First, perspective-taking improves communication and decreases misconceptions and distortions by affecting how communications are worded and perceived. Participating in perspective-taking has been shown to improve interpersonal relationships. When the other person sees that you view their perspective accurately and use it to generate prospective agreements that benefit both sides equally, you are more loved and respected.

Step 2: Ask Questions 

Asking your coworkers questions will not only help you learn things about them in-depth, but they will also help you create relationships. When you inquire about a coworker's personal and professional aspirations or standard requirements, you demonstrate that you care about them. Allow them to tell you about their lives before you tell them about yours. Your employees will associate you with being a good communicator if you ask questions and encourage open conversation. They are more inclined to come to you with worries, joys, or when they need someone to listen to them.

Dale Carnegie urged in his 1936 book How to Win Friends and Influence People. "Ask questions that the other person enjoys responding to." No one likes being probed, and some inquiries might force responders into a yes-or-no situation. Open-ended inquiries can help overcome this effect, making them valuable for learning new things or revealing information. They are, in fact, wellsprings of invention, which is frequently the result of discovering the hidden, unexpected answer that no one else has considered.

Step 3: Mindfully Listen 

This should be self-evident, but I believe it is worth emphasizing. Listening actively implies paying attention to what the other person is saying to comprehend what they are saying. Anyone would be turned off if they believed they were being heard to have their words flung back at them. That would pull someone further away from not only the person with whom they're disputing but also the subject of their argument. So, as unpleasant as it may be, listen first and foremost to comprehend, as much as you may want to rush in and correct. 

This article perfectly describes a good active listening situation. When you accurately reflect on someone what they've said, you demonstrate that you've been listening — not just hearing — and that you genuinely comprehend the feelings or messages they're trying to convey. This provides a setting in which the speaker can delve deeper and, in some cases, even come to new conclusions. It's the foundation for mutual respect and trust.

Step 4: Reset The Tone 

Conflicts have an emotional component to them. Even minor disagreements can build friction between us and others, prompting us to withdraw in an attempt to lessen our feelings of hurt, irritation, and rage. When we notice any tension, however, rather than withdrawing, research suggests that we should reset the emotional tone. 

Deepak Chopra MD. says that writing your feelings out on paper is also valuable to express emotion. This is very effective when you can write out your painful experiences 

• in the first person
• in the second person
• and from the perspective of a third-person account

You should address the tension right away and enable each other to vent evil thoughts, using your written words as a guideline. Still, it would help underline your good feelings about the relationship's future. Ascertain that your relationship's "rules" allow you to share your feelings and inquire about your coworkers, knowing that they will listen without becoming defensive. 

Step 5: Develop Your Relational Agility

When confronted with a problem, we must be willing to attempt different ways of connecting, in addition to resetting the emotional tone and building a shared narrative. This is referred to asrelational agility. When a relationship breaks down, we frequently "dig in," sticking to our version of events and favored remedy. Instead, if we pause and improvise — looking for a new and creative way to tackle the problem — we are more likely to effectively heal and improve the relationship.

Improvising well necessitates forethought. Plan ahead for any snags instead of expecting your interactions to run smoothly. When you know how you'll communicate strains in your relationship, you and your colleague can hash it out before. Even if the interaction isn't intensely damaging, people have stopped talking to someone they don't share their political beliefs. According to Pew Research Center, the post-Donald Trump era has left Americans bitter on both sides and untrusting. Before he took office, Trump divided Republicans and Democrats more than any other incoming president in the previous three decades!

Step 6: Respect Their Political Boundaries 

With 2020 being an election year, it's usual for political conversations to take place at work, according to Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., president, and CEO of SHRM, who tells CNBC Make It that it's vital for us to recognize that "people have the right to have their opinion." For example, you can't just shout out the "Let's Go Brandon" slogan in the middle of work. It's disrespectful to people's political views and creates hostility in the work environment. 

Taylor advises that when discussing politics at work, you should respect other people's viewpoints and treat the debate as to if it were any other topic at work.

"I believe the same method applies to this circumstance as it does to any other sort of diversity and various perspective talks," he says. "Your boss [or colleague] has the right to disagree with you on politics as long as it does not result in workplace harassment, retribution, or animosity."

Step 7: Develop Work Friendships 

The Gallup Management Journal polled 1,003 employees across the country to learn more about the influence of workplace connections. Respondents were questioned about their work connections in several ways. Gallup looked at the replies to discover which questions differed the most between engaged and non-engaged or actively disengaged employees.

According to this research, engaged employees are much more likely than others to say that their organization "encourages close friendships at work." Eighty-two percent of engaged employees showed agreement by rating the statement a 4 or 5 (on a 1-5 scale where five is "Strongly Agree"), compared to 53% of those who are not engaged and just 17% in the actively disengaged group. 

Ping pong tables, casual Fridays, and bring-your-dog-to-work days have little to do with great corporate culture. People and how they interact, react, communicate, and collaborate are at the heart of healthy company culture. 

Step 8: Develop People Skills 

We all know people who are excellent listeners, whether in business or our personal life. They always seem to know just what to say – and how to say it – so that we aren't insulted or disturbed, no matter what scenario we're in. They're kind and sympathetic, and even if we don't discover a solution to our situation, we usually leave with a renewed sense of hope and optimism. There are many ways in which you can increase your emotional intelligence. 

Emotional intelligence is the capacity to detect and comprehend your emotions and their impact on those around you. It also affects your perspective: understanding how others feel assists you in managing relationships better.

Step 9: Accept That You Might Not Agree or Change Minds

It's pointless to expect others to change for you. This is common in relationships where one partner wishes for the other to improve, behave appropriately, and love them in the way they desire. Those expectations, however, are rarely satisfied.

The term personality is used in psychology to define relatively constant characteristics. As a result, if someone is timid and introverted, suddenly becoming outgoing will be difficult. Now, displaying a distinct personality feature will not prevent people from changing their minds and adopting unnatural personality traits.

Psychology would be pointless if people did not believe in change. People can better themselves, modify their thinking and behavior, and change things about others.

Step 10: Celebrate The Process

The good news is that we don't have to sit back and let ourselves become victims; we can take control of our professional relationships by being proactive.

You have a strong possibility of making progress in applying these steps unless the other person is closed, determined to fight, or carrying a grudge. Either way, you will feel better after expressing what you need to say and do your best.

By celebrating the process and your growth, you'll undoubtedly be able to gauge better the situation and how you'll handle work environments in a post-Trump era where society is hell-bent on canceling everyone. When difficult times pass, we tend to forget what we've gone through and begin to take things for granted again. You will understand that you are not the same person you were while employed if you write down the most critical components of your self-reflection journey. That's not a terrible thing because you might not have found the strength to look yourself in the mirror and determine that you could live a better, more fulfilling life if you hadn't been free to finish what you started.

To be clear, we at JournalOwl believe that journaling therapy is a beautiful and powerful practice. As a result, you can sign up for a daily online journal on our website to assist you on your path of self-reflection. No matter where you are with us, write down your thoughts!