For example, I’m a software developer and I happened to see a listing for a job at Newsmax, which I am opposed to politically.
I’m not seriously looking right now, so it’s not really an issue, but if I was I wonder if I would apply.
If I was employed but looking for something better, almost certainly not.
If I was unemployed but thought the job market was still pretty good, probably not, but I’m less certain.
if I was unemployed and the job market was bad, and I was afraid of running out of money, very probably yes.
Assuming the job and benefits are about the same, what about you folks?
I’d try to avoid it like I’d try to avoid prostitution or selling a kidney, but if things are desperate enough, almost anything is on the table. I wouldn’t do it just so I could afford a better car or house.
That’s my POV on it, as well. In the past, there have been a handful of times when chosen to not even apply to positions for which I know I’d be well-qualified, specifically because I know about (and strongly disagree with) the politics of the companies and/or their owners.
If it was a choice of either work there, or start missing mortgage payments, I might possibly think differently.
If I were looking for a long-term job, I’d avoid companies that make a public thing of politics I oppose. Sooner or later, they’d find out I’m on the other side, and my work life would become difficult. Most companies don’t make their politics a big deal, and it wouldn’t matter.
On the other hand, taking a job at a place like that might give you some insight into how such peoole think and act. Like travelling to a foreign country. More diversity in experience is a good thing.
I would extend that only to working at a place with political differences, not one that does horribly immoral things. But as a libertarian-leaning person on the right, I have never had the opportunity to work for a company that aligned with my politics. In software development, right-leaning shops are rare.
You just learn not to pick fights and leave your politics at home. I’ll bet a place like Newsmax is full of Democrat workers anyway, because Republican software developers are like unicorns these days. So the whole workplace might be refreshingly free of politics, unlike a liberal place like Google full of liberals who are not scared to wear their politics on their sleeves and constantly bring up politics at work.
No, I would have to be at the very end of my financial rope for me to enable a company like Newsmax by working for them, and even then I’d be more likely to take several fast food jobs instead.
I would throw out all those different scenarios (rationalizations really) and make it a simple Yes-No thing. I wouldn’t be happy if I did it, sounds like it would not work. But this does depend on the company and how it operates. If it’s not in your face, that’s a factor. If they expect all their employees to be on their team so to speak, I would be miserable.
I spent 12 years working for a company with a political stance opposite of mine. It was okay since politics relatively rarely came up within the workplace itself.
One of my first jobs was an internship at a defense contractor my dad worked at during the height of the war on terror. I interned for two summers and it’s a big reason that barring a massive chamge to the how the military-industrial complex functions, US foreign plocy etc. I wouldn’t work in defense again.
A lot of people I worked with (including my dad) were very opposed to US foreign policy, the MIC and/or didn’t eant to work on weapons that killed people but still worked there for different reasons. It became clear to me over time that none of the rationalizations really made sense at least given my over perspective on all of this stuff.
Pretty sure such a position doesn’t exist. Maybe if you don’t get caught or your position is meaningless in the grand scheme of the company. But generally if you actively undermine your employer and are caught, you tend to get fired and could face legal ramifications, depending on the nature of your undermining.
I think unless you are desperate for money, you are better off pursuing jobs and companies that personally align with your ideals and values. Otherwise you will at best be unhappy and at worst won’t be effective in your role and may get fired anyway.
Someone hasn’t heard of “bro culture” among software developers. As someone who has been in IT for the past 30 years, I can tell you that Republican software developers are very much NOT unicorns. Not when I started, and not now.
But to answer the OP, if you are the type of person with a persecution fetish or unending need to feel like you are the unicorn of the office, then yes you should apply.
I work at a newspaper, and I don’t know how much longer this leaky boat is going to stay afloat. So if I find myself in a situation where my only option is signing on to edit Marjorie Taylor Greene’s fan club newsletter, then that’s going to be the most grammatically accurate collection of crazy talk ever published.