Every morning for a year, Simon (who did not want to reveal his last name) took the train from Menton-Garavan station (Alpes-Maritimes) towards Monaco. The young man, who was 21 years old at the time, joined the energy company for which he worked part-time. It was a difficult time for him, as the trip was often marked by incidents with immigrants. One morning, two police officers informed him that there was a migrant under his seat. “Everything happened very quickly, the man was arrested, the police treated him like an animal and mocked him. » When he arrives at work, he expresses his excitement to his colleagues. His manager, who takes the same train line, tells the same story. From another point of view. “He said, ‘It’s horrible, these stories; “The last time I was the one who had to call the police because a migrant was hiding.” »
In July, concerned about the increase in votes in favor of the National Rally in his region of Provence, the young man, who now works in the CSR (social responsibility) department of an organic cosmetics company, decided to write a message to the attention of his companions. a text “take note of the proposals of political parties on all ecological issues.” “Social issues are very present in my missions, it seemed essential to me to take a position at the time of the elections by disseminating information”says. Write a text that considers “factual and without effect” which he publishes on the intranet for his 350 employees. “After five minutes, management told me to tell me we couldn’t do that because it wasn’t legal. » According to the latter, the red line had been crossed.
How to talk about politics in business? This is the dilemma for some newly hired young graduates. The news of recent months (legislative elections, increased far-right voting, and budgetary austerity) have multiplied and revived opportunities to address hot topics in the office. If freedom of expression is a principle engraved in the Constitution, “may be limited to promoting the proper functioning of the company”recalls Bersay social law lawyer Anne-Lise Puget. A principle that seems to be understood by the majority of employees. In a survey conducted in 2022 on the occasion of the presidential elections, Linkedin revealed that 52% of employees approached politics with “diplomacy”when 33% considered that the issue was “too risky”.
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