And despite the angry rhetoric that often fills the airwaves, people on the “other side” generally aren’t monsters…most of the time. (That was a joke. Politics can be short on humor these days.)

Indeed, I’ve had many friends, going back to high school and college days, with whom I totally disagree politically — yet we are able to have perfectly civil conversations. We can even do business, to our mutual benefit.

While some web workers have made a niche for themselves by working exclusively with organizations representing one political point of view, most of us don’t have that option. And quite frankly, I’d get bored talking about the same issues, and presenting the same point of view, all of the time.

Without compromising one’s principles, then, here are my guidelines for navigating today’s rocky political landscape:

• Don’t assume that a potential client shares your political beliefs. I live in a place that leans heavily toward one political party, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t many folks of the other party in my neighborhood. Besides, there are many issues that divide people of the same party.
• In many cases, disagreeing on politics doesn’t matter. If a potential client wants my company to create a web site for selling handmade crafts, their personal politics should have no effect on our ability to develop a site for them.
• Sometimes, however, you should turn down a job if you’re not comfortable. I recently started work on a project with an existing client, only to discover that it was going in a direction I hadn’t anticipated. The client (with whom I continue to do other work) agreed that we would part ways on this specific project, if for no other reason that I couldn’t give them my best work — it’s hard to create an effective web site for something that I don’t agree with.
• Know how your colleagues feel. Since my company is a three-person team, and we’ve worked together for a decade, I have a pretty good idea where my colleagues stand on issues. So when I talk with clients about a potentially controversial project, I can generally avoid jobs that may make my fellow workers unhappy. No job is worth upsetting an excellent working relationship in our team.
• Don’t hide your beliefs, but don’t flaunt them either. I’ve been involved in local politics for many years, and while I haven’t (and don’t plan to) run for elected office, I’ve been a visible participant in several issues. So it’s not hard to find out where I stand on some things. But in this era of social media, I do try to keep my professional and political lives separate — with multiple Twitter accounts, posting only to certain Facebook friend groups, and, as Doriano suggests, by limiting cross-posting.
• Select your donations carefully. We are frequently asked donate our services, in whole or in part. We have an informal policy of regularly giving discounts to non-profit organizations, and sometimes (about once a year) may donate an entire site to a cause. But especially with discounted or donated work, we make sure to agree on project scope with clients; otherwise, it’s easy for the time spent to get out of hand. It seems to be a truism that “the smaller the budget, the more the client wants.”
• Just because someone agrees with your political views, that doesn’t necessarily make them easy to work with. Some clients may try to take advantage of us, as it’s “for a good cause.” Politicians are a strange bunch, who have pretty good opinions of themselves. I guess that one can’t be short on self-esteem to run for office. But web workers need to make sure that clients understand, and value, your professional skills.
• Keep track of time spent on political activities. Check to see whether professional activities can be counted as donations for tax purposes. Also, check to see whether professional time must be reported as a donation under campaign finance laws.

With these ideas in mind, I find that it’s relatively simple to manage one’s business and political lives without compromising one’s beliefs, and without limiting one’s potential markets.

How do you reconcile your personal politics with serving your customers effectively?

Image by sxc.hu user wvpress

Throughout the 1880s the honoring of Labor Day gradually made its way throughout the U.S., until it became a federal holiday during the administration of President Grover Cleveland in 1894. Rather than being a day of rest for the worker, however, Labor Day was initially a day of activism. Early celebrations relied on parades and festivals centered around union organizations and their workers. Homage was paid to the rights of these workers and their incredible importance in the growing industrial economy of the country.

What is certain is that since then, the world of work has changed dramatically. The American worker is migrating from the factory to service and knowledge work. Union membership is falling. More and more of us work for small businesses, or even ourselves, instead of large corporations.

As the worker evolved, so did Labor Day. It became a day of rest for office workers. Or at least it was until technology took over. Increasingly, as we’ve discussed often here at WWD, technology makes it difficult for workers to get away from their jobs — even on the supposed holiday meant to honor workers. Our BlackBerrys, laptops and other devices mean our work follows us everywhere we go, 24/7. This is doubly true for web workers. And for self-employed web workers, there is another challenge: taking time off means we aren’t making money.

So how do we web workers celebrate such a holiday when it’s increasingly difficult for us to take a holiday from our work? Maybe we need to get back to Labor Day’s original advocacy-focused roots.

Few web workers are members of unions, or of trade groups that advocate for our interests on a larger stage. That’s because, especially for solo workers, it can be easy to feel like there’s no point in speaking up on issues that relate to us, to just be one voice amidst a chorus of organized groups.

But if we don’t speak up for ourselves, who will?

So this Labor Day, even if we web workers aren’t pausing in our work to honor ourselves, maybe we should all add self-advocacy to our task lists. We need to be reminded of how important it is to stand up for our own interests, just like our ancestors did in the 19th century.

What are you doing for Labor Day? Are you working or honoring the holiday?

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A couple of weeks ago, the UK’s tax authority – Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs Service – announced a number of measures that may benefit Britain’s web workers, and more broadly, any Brits working from home.

Those working from home whom have a portion of their residence setup as a dedicated work area or office can claim that portion as a tax rebate. Also, they no longer have to pay capital gains tax on the sale of their home.

As generous and farsighted as the HMRC’s change of heart might seem, some close examination of the conditions under which these rebates can be claimed underlines how little the UK government understands about the nature of web workers in particular. Notable, in the BBC’s report are the following provisos…

HMRC are content to allow a proportion of these costs to be claimed against the income of the business if certain criteria are met, such as:

• The area of the home is used exclusively for business purposes for a prescribed amount of time – say, 9am to 5pm – this means that if you sit at the kitchen table working you won’t qualify for the additional deductions. What the taxman is looking for is an area that has the appearance of an office – so it will contain a desk, chair, storage etc.
• The amount claimed is reasonable in relation to the business – so you can’t claim that you work 20 hours a day in the office or that the area used is a large proportion of the living area of your home.

Apart from these two provisos, you will be able to claim a percentage of the total cost of running the home.

Ooops – nobody asked the web workers!
To the first proviso, one of the advantages of working from home is the physical flexibility granted to the worker; personally I don’t have a dedicated office – sometimes I work in the dining room, the lounge, family room and even the conservatory. It’s difficult to understand why HMRC are insisting on dedicated work areas and offices in the home, when its the nature, time and intensity of work that’s a more important measurable factor than location.

To the second point, again flexibility is key, in that workers dip in and out of work and domestic tasks often in the same physical space – it’s one of the reasons we work from home!

Still many of the examples given by the HMRC are illustrative and useful and the mortgate rebates are pretty generous. Though web workers represent only a proportion of those who work from home and laws need to be formulated for broad groups, it’s frustrating that the views of web workers weren’t more keenly understood – even consulted as a group – before such important legislation was completed. On the other hand, where would the UK government go to elicit the views of this community?

Web Workers Unite!
What this tells me, alongside my previous thoughts on commuting and coworking, is that web workers need to represent themselves more confidently, ensuring their unqiue perspectives are heard and noted by our politicians. As a group we’re on the bleeding edge of working practices, often at the forefront of civic and social change, but we have a responsibility as citizens to bring those experiences and passions to the attention of our politicians.

As James Bond swore an oath On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, perhaps we all need to declare some principles for Her Majesty’s Web-based Workforce!

Could WebWorkerDaily – who’s brand and iconography alludes to collectivism -  be a platform to help groups organise and represent themselves to legislators and politicans more confidently and muscularly in their localities? Should we be doing more activism as a group to influence monetary, social and civic policies?

What are your thoughts?

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But the web is such a great place to discuss political ideas and candidates, you may not want to rule out political discussion online entirely. You may seek authenticity and transparency in the way you conduct yourself online — that’s an attitude common to many web workers — and you may enjoy honestly expressing your opinion about issues that matter. If you do have an urge to join into the political conversation, however, you need to do it in a way that doesn’t create a long-lasting reputation for extremism or rancor.

Do you join into political conversation online? If so, how?

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