Maybe yes and maybe no.

Lately, there have been a number of blog posts either focusing on proposed legislation that would prevent workplace bullying or the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would expand Title VII to include sexual orientation as a protected class.

While this type of legislation is intended to eradicate inequality and promote inclusiveness in the workplace, we shouldn’t wait for its passage to act. Wouldn’t it be more effective for organizations to take a proactive stance before such legislation is passed to begin the dialogue among employees about the benefits of a respectful workplace?

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“The hot-button issues of politics can lead to inflamed tempers that can impede your productivity—and possibly, your progress.

Who do you think should be the next President of the U.S.? John McCain? Barack Obama? Jon Stewart? Regardless of who gets elected, there is no question that this is the most diverse and exciting campaign in many years.

Given what is at stake in the election and the historic nature of this year’s race, it is tempting to discuss the issue at work with those colleagues we’re accustomed to chatting with and hashing out so many things. Yet there are very good reasons why we shouldn’t.”

In a recent post on Anderson Cooper’s 360 Blog, Bruce Weinstein, Ph.D, the Ethics Guy for businessweek.com examined the ramifications of talking politics at work. He ranked politics, along with sex, money and religion as one of the most controversial topics in the workplace.

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Last month, I helped facilitate a workshop on respect in the workplace, leading a discussion on personal values and how they affect our professional behavior. Since our values significantly impact the decisions we make, it was important to have our participants spend some time reflecting on their own and the behaviors that would ideally correspond with them.

In that discussion, our participants defined a value both as something of importance and as a compass that guides us. They also discussed and came up with a brief list of possible universal values; those core ideals which would likely be just as important to individuals from any country our demographic in the world. While not validated beyond our discussion, our group’s list included:

1. Health
2. Family
3. Spirituality
4. Education

So what happens when we work with individuals who we believe are challenging or even attacking our personal values?

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