Wellness Corner: Politics in the workplace—a wellness issue

“Americans are more polarized than ever before,” according to the Polarization Research Lab.¹ Today’s political climate has many people vocalizing fears and frustrations in places they normally wouldn’t—including the dental office, often before they’ve sat down in the chair.

Regardless of official office policy (sometimes found in a HR-crafted employee handbook), our patients are our customers and making them feel heard is part of the process of empathy that enhances patient satisfaction, strengthens patient-provider relationships, and has a correlation to positive clinical outcomes.² We need our patients to like us enough to keep returning. This delicate relationship can be difficult to navigate, especially if the patient has a loud voice when taking a stance on a particular issue or if their opinion opposes ours.

It's widely understood that discussing politics in the workplace is generally considered a bad practice, but it’s not just for legal reasons or patient relations. It’s a matter of mental wellness for everyone in the office.

When participating in or hearing conversations about negatively charged political issues, like racism for example, the conversation doesn’t end with the spoken word. There is a measurable physiological stress response resulting in increased cardiac output, blood pressure, and sympathetic nervous system activity.³ Glucose is released into the bloodstream for energy (to fight or fly), and cortisol is released.⁴ The stress response to an experience has an emotional attachment or residual imprint on the entire experience that is nearly four times that of a single item of stress, such as when we have a bad experience with an incorrectly made pizza.⁵ The patient may leave with a smile on their face, but they (and everyone else who heard or participated in the conversation) experienced an increase in adrenaline and cortisol from a stressor that their body will associate with the dental office. The experience of going to the dentist often has a negative connotation to it for many patients, so expected agitation can be a recipe for disaster for a business and staff morale.

Many dental teams spend more time together than with their families, so it’s much easier to know where we each sit about issues without having deep discussions about political topics in the office. This includes the break room, where staff are supposed to have a place to take a break for a rest period. There is nothing restful or restorative about increased adrenaline response to a conversation (heard or engaged in) about an emotionally charged topic. Having extensive conversations when someone may be vehemently opposed in thought could alienate or drive an unnecessary wedge between team members who would otherwise work very well together. Some things are best left unsaid or said in private.

The good news is that as much as a negative experience can be associated with the dental office through emotional memory associations, good ones can as well.⁶ The more positive experiences we and our patients have in the office, the more we want to be there.

So, what about that patient with big opinions and a loud voice? What can we do to stop it without harming relationships? Here are some steps you can take.

Pause, make eye contact, and acknowledge

Most people just want to be heard. Taking a moment for a simple “I hear what you’re saying” can go a long way. It doesn’t express agreement, just that we value them enough to acknowledge them.

Distraction by dental

“Sir, I am noticing … about this tooth/quad/etc. I am currently working on. Can I ask you a question about it?” Acknowledge, but then bring the conversation back to dental. What are they there for? What part of the procedure is being done? Is there anything about the oral condition that can be discussed?

Diversion by joke

If the person still doesn’t take the queues and we need to curtail the conversation, it may be time to make light. I have, on more than one occasion, said to a patient “well, someday when I’m queen, I’ll fix all of this.” They laugh, I laugh, and we move on. It’s a subtle way to say that we can’t keep this line of conversation going, but it may not work on everyone.

Shut it down, politely

Again, offer acknowledgment but with a sprinkle of “this isn’t what we’re here for.” “I hear you, ma’am, and we could talk all day to solve the world’s problems, but we better get your [procedure] done before we run out of time.” This dialogue helps to preserve the relationship while cutting the conversation short.

It is very possible to cultivate an environment where people (patients and team members alike) are heard and respected as individuals without compromising relationships. It takes mindfulness to keep negatively charged conversations to a minimum and experience the emotional and physiological wellness that results from an atmosphere where people want to return.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Clinical Insights newsletter, a publication of the Endeavor Business Media Dental Group. Read more articles and subscribe.