my team doesn’t want to work for a client whose politics they disagree with

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This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes:

I just read your post about an intern refusing assignments due to political beliefs. I am finding myself in the same position but with multiple direct reports who have been part of my team for years. We share enough with each other personally to know we are on the same side politically. However, a large chunk of our work is for those on the opposite side, and what these clients are sharing on social media (through the official organization’s pages) is pretty horrifying. My direct reports are so upset that they don’t want to be associated with this client, but unfortunately it’s part of their job requirement to work with them on a project.

What’s a good way of explaining to them that they need to separate their personal beliefs from the work? While in my gut, I also feel like a sellout? We’ve always known many of our projects are for those we may not agree with on certain issues, but this political divide has never really affected our work like with the current administration. I also feel like this is just the beginning.

I don’t think it’s a given that people do need to separate their personal beliefs from work! Maybe they do in order to work for your particular firm, but it’s not a given that they need to do it in general.

First and foremost, though, I think you’ve got to get clear on where you stand on this. Is this work you’re willing to do or does it cross personal ethical lines for you? And if it does cross those lines for you, what options are you willing to employ? Would you push back with your employer about taking on this particular work at all? Ask for more internal discussion about what your company will and won’t support? Say that your team won’t be responsible for doing it? Are you willing to leave the job over it? If you’re not willing to leave over it this once, what about if it continues and becomes more objectionable?

You say you’re feeling like a sell-out, and that’s a sign to make sure you’ve thought through where your own lines are and when you’ll need to act on them.

You might have already thought it this through and landed on “I don’t like it but I’m not willing to be draw a line in the sand over it” / “I think I’d be fired if I refuse and I’m not going to risk that” … but I can’t completely tell from your letter how much you’ve hashed it through yet and seriously considered other paths. So please do that thinking — even if not for now, then because it sounds like you think it might get worse down the road, and you want to know where your lines are.

Don’t just leap to “we have to do it because we were assigned it.” Sometimes there’s no room for pushback, but sometimes there is. And sometimes multiple people speaking up is what creates that room.

But assuming you’ve thought it through and this is work you plan to do, then the best thing you can do is to be up-front with your team about that reality: “I understand you disagree with this client. So do I. I’ve talked with (upper managers) about it in-depth, and the company is committed to moving forward with the project. I’ve also asked about ways to get the work done without asking employees with personal objections to be the ones carrying it out, and it’s been made clear to me there’s no wiggle room. (Obviously this needs to be true if you’re saying it, which is another reason to explore this internally if you haven’t already.) I absolutely understand if that means the job isn’t right for you under these circumstances, and I fully support you in looking elsewhere if that’s what you conclude.”

Also, if you expect some people will feel strongly enough about this that they’re likely to leave over it if it remains a requirement, that’s a discussion you should be having with your own manager ahead of time, too. It’s possible your management won’t care, or that the work is so inherent to what the company does that there’s no practical way to avoid it. It’s also possible that there are ways to let people opt out, who knows. But it’s a conversation you might have a responsibility to have.

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