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Company bosses draw a red line on office activists

Livemint · 7m

Companies are taking a stricter stance against employees who voice their personal convictions on charged issues such as politics and social justice. Google recently fired 28 workers for protesting against the company's cloud-computing contract with the Israeli government. This shift comes in contrast to the previous trend of corporate leaders encouraging dissent and supporting social causes. While private sector workers do not have protection for free speech like the First Amendment, the boundaries of employee expression in the workplace are still unclear. Clash between companies and dissenting employees is becoming more common, with cases at NPR, The New York Times, and Starbucks, among others. Corporate leaders are grappling with how to balance employee expression with potential backlash and maintaining a focused work environment.