Being Politically Correct: Follow the Golden Rule

Ever have one of those moments where you’re glad your colleagues can’t hear your inner voice? Not every moment in HR is politically correct. Today is a good day to think about the importance of using politically correct language in the workplace. With the presidential election taking place yesterday we have all been bombarded with various opinions and political messages from family, friends and maybe even co-workers – some of which may have sparked some heated discussion. We would all benefit from using language that is politically correct in the workplace at all times.

Remaining politically correct, or PC, means to avoid using vocabulary that is offensive, discriminatory, or judgmental, especially concerning race, gender, age, disability, occupation, culture, religion, and beliefs or ideologies (politics). Using language that is politically incorrect at the office can cause unnecessary conflict, hurt feelings, and is just unproductive. 

Language is important and words can have lasting effects. If you’ve ever seen the TV show The Office, you’ve seen the faces of the characters and how they are frequently not amused. These are expressions you have probably seen on co-workers faces after an insensitive remark was passed along. It’s important to remember that people come from different backgrounds and we don’t all share the same beliefs. Just because a certain statement doesn’t offend you, that does not mean that it doesn’t offend someone else. 

I try to follow the golden rules my mom taught me, “treat others how you want to be treated,” and “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” If you remain courteous and respectful of your coworkers, the fear of being politically incorrect should not be something you have to worry about. 

In closing, I’ll leave you with a little HR Humor regarding PC. 

The Politically Correct Glossary of Terms:

• Please note that you should not describe an employee as ‘lazy.’ The person concerned should be referred to as ‘motivationally deficient.’

• Someone does not ‘fail,’ they ‘achieve a deficiency.’

• Colleagues are not ‘dishonest,’ they are ‘ethically disoriented.’

• Please do not use the word ‘wrong,’ instead use ‘ethically disoriented.'

• Instead of using ‘ugly,’ try saying ‘cosmetically different.’

• For ‘unemployed,’ say ‘involuntarily leisured.’

Also…

• Dead = living impaired

• Miser = negative saver

• Ignorant = knowledge based non-possessor

• Unsophisticated = socially malformed